raymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) (03/07/90)
For those of you who missed the FAQ file and for those of
you who don't have perl (and can't use my "lookup" program
to hunt down programs in the SIMTEL20 index), I've written
a mail server just for you. (Yes, I wrote it all by my
lonesome.)
To access the FAQ server, send a piece of email with the
subject "Command" to raymond@math.berkeley.edu. The body
of the message may contain any of the following commands:
path your-return-address [optional]
The server can usually figure out the correct return address so
you don't need this line unless your first try didn't work.
send filename
Sends the latest version of the specified file.
Currently, the only file available is faq.csip,
namely the Frequently Asked Questions for comp.sys.ibm.pc.
lookup regexp
Looks in the SIMTEL20 directory index for any file
whose filename or description matches the regular
expression. The output is mailed to you.
end Marks the end of your mail. If you leave this off,
the server will get confused. So don't leave it off.
Keep the command left-justified and don't put control characters (e.g.,
tabs) in the message. Note that the account is my regular account, so
please, be gentle. It's the only account I've got.
Sample usage from a UNIX machine: Suppose I want the latest copy
of the FAQ file and want to see if SIMTEL20 has any programs that
let me redirect printer output to a file.
% mail raymond@math.berkeley.edu
Subject: Command
send faq.csip
lookup printer.*file
end
^D
After a few hours, I receive two pieces of mail. One contains
the FAQ file, the other contains the output of my lookup request.
Isn't that simple? Now you have no excuse for not looking in
either the FAQ file or the SIMTEL20 index.
Warning: I keep the index as up-to-date as I can, but I make
no guarantees.
--
raymond@math.berkeley.edu Maintainer of the csip Frequently Asked Questionsraymond@math.berkeley.edu (Raymond Chen) (03/24/90)
[Note to those following along at home: The syntax of the "lookup"
command has changed radically. I have added comp.sys.ibm.pc.programmer
because it seems that lots of "Where can I get a program to..." requests
are getting posted there instead of to comp.sys.ibm.pc.]
[@(#)help 1.16, last update: 3/23/90]
To access the FAQ server, send a piece of email with the subject
"Command" to raymond@math.berkeley.edu. That's a capital "C" and a
lowercase "ommand". (If you mess it up, you will not receive a reply.)
The body of the message may contain any of the following commands:
path your-return-address [optional]
Bang-style addresses (based at any major node) and domain-style
addresses are acceptable. If you don't get a response, it
might be because the reply bounced. Give a better path here.
send filename
Sends the latest version of the specified file. For a directory
listing, do a `send directory'.
lookup search-list
Looks in SIMTEL20's MS-DOS directory index for any file whose
filename or description matches the search-list you supply.
A search-list consists of one or more search strings enclosed
by slashes, separated by && or || (meaning "and" and "or", of course)
with parentheses to specify grouping. ! negates a search string.
The search is case-sensitive, unless the letter "i" immediately
follows the closing slash. "i" stands for "ignore case".
Example Searches for
lookup /modem/i The word "modem" in upper or lowercase.
lookup /VGA/ The word "VGA" in uppercase.
lookup /printer/i&&/file/i The word "printer" and "file"
simultaneously, regardless of case.
lookup /modem/i||/kermit/i Either the word "modem" or "kermit"
in upper or lowercase.
lookup /modem/i && !/Telix/ Modem things, but not Telix
lookup (/screen/i || /monitor/i) && (/save/i || /blank/i)
Explained below.
The third example shows how you can combine searches to narrow
down the scope of your search. It would show you only programs
whose descriptions contain both the words "printer" and "file".
The fourth example shows how you can use a single "lookup" to
search for several different things at once. It is equivalent
to two separate lookups
lookup /modem/i
lookup /kermit/i
but it'll use less CPU time.
The last example is how I would search for a screen blanker.
It looks for any program whose description contains either
the word "screen" or "monitor", and which also contains
either the word "save" or "blank". So descriptions like
"blanks the screen" or "saves your monitor" will be found.
Note to UN*X hackers: The things inside slashes are actually
interpreted as regular expressions, so you can use egrep-style
regexps to perform really sophisticated searches.
If the lookup generates more than 100 matches, the output will
be truncated. If you want the whole list, ftp it from SIMTEL20.
end
Marks the end of your mail. Stick this on the end to
prevent the server from choking on your signature.
Better yet, don't send a signature.
Note that the account is my regular account, so please, be gentle.
It's the only account I've got. Due to the large number of CPU
cycles eaten up by the mail server, I will soon be limiting people
to one request per day.
Sample usage from a UNIX machine: Suppose I want the latest copy of
the FAQ file and want to see if SIMTEL20 has any programs that let me
redirect printer output to a file.
% mail -s Command raymond@math.berkeley.edu
send faq.csip
lookup /printer/i&&/file/i
end
^D
I repeat: The subject of your mail must be the word "Command",
capital C, lowercase "ommand", no quotation marks, no "Re:" in front,
just a pure naked "Command". If you fail to follow these instructions,
the server will ignore your mail.
--
raymond@math.berkeley.edu Maintainer of the csip Frequently Asked Questions