[news.software.anu-news] Problems with ADD FILE under 5.8A

conslt32%ZEUS.UNL.EDU@VM1.NoDak.EDU (Tim Russell) (07/09/89)

I had this problem as well, a couple of weeks ago.  I fixed it and forgot
to post it to the net, I'm sorry....  :-)

    I spent an hour debugging, and found out that the problem has SOMETHING
to do with the headers..  I really can't remember now and wish I had written
it up, but the fix is easy...

    In file NEWSADD.C, routine add_file, there is a call to get_line that
skips over some data, and there needs to be two calls.  Here's the section:

/*
 *  add_file
 *
 *  Read in file "fnam" into the news system.
 */

static
add_file(fnam)
  char *fnam;
{
  int retval = 0;

  if (!strlen(fnam))
    return(printf("\tError: Add - No filename specified\n"),0);
  if (!(fpr = fopen(fnam,"r")))
    return(printf("\tError: Add - Cannot read %s\n",fnam),0);

  printf("\nAdd - Reading file: %s\n\n",fnam);
  *add_inline = *fline = '\0';
  infile_eof = next_eof = n_stripping = 0;

  first_msg = 1;                                           |--------------|
  get_line(); get_line();                           <----  |Add second    |
  while (!infile_eof) {                                    |get_line here |
    infile_eom = 0;                                        |--------------|
    init_context();
    if (!strncmp(add_inline,"N#! rnews ",10)) n_stripping = 1;

---------------------------------+--------------------------------------------
 Tim Russell, Computer Operator  | Internet: russell@zeus.unl.edu
 Campus Computing                | Bitnet:   russell@unoma1
 University of Nebraska at Omaha | UUCP:     uunet!zeus.unl.edu!russell
---------------------------------+--------------------------------------------

timl@maxwell.Concordia.CA ( TIM LAPIN ) (07/11/89)

Hi all,

I am in the middle of installing news v 5.8 and would like to have a few
points cleared up.

1)  For a client installation, it says that no special installation is
necessary.  Yet in the client upgrade section, it says that it's necessary
to install NNTP_DEC.EXE in the NCP database.  Surely in all cases it is
important to have an nntp object listed?

2)  I am setting this vms client to feed off an ultrix server.  Given this,
are the conditional compilation of NNTP_FEED and NEWSREMCLIENT with the
defininition DECNETSTREAM the **** only **** modifications?  Or do I also
have to modify the object listed in point 1) as well?

Thanks in advance.

Tim Lapin   internet:  timl@maxwell.concordia.ca

p.s.  If people like, I will keep a log of my experiences with a vms-ultrix
      setup and will post or mail any bugs and fixes I find.

gih900@UUNET.UU.NET (Geoff Huston) (10/26/89)

Again old mail, but I have had a number of personal mail items sent to me
asking about the Digital written NNTP over DECnet for Ultrix:...
     
Date:         Tue, 11 Jul 89 14:04:30 GMT
From: TIM LAPIN <timl%MAXWELL.CONCORDIA.CA%VM1.NoDak.EDU@murtoa.cs.mu.oz>
     
>I am in the middle of installing news v 5.8 and would like to have a few
>points cleared up.
>
>1)  For a client installation, it says that no special installation is
>necessary.  Yet in the client upgrade section, it says that it's necessary
>to install NNTP_DEC.EXE in the NCP database.  Surely in all cases it is
>important to have an nntp object listed?
     
The answer is the task string used to connect to the NNTP server .. the default
is now to use the string "TASK=NNTP" which assumes a connection via the DECnet
account to NNTP.COM. This is compliant with Digital's Ultrix NNTP over DECnet
implementation. Previous versions used the default connection string "NEWS="
which does require an entry in the known object list in the NCP database. The
documentation has not been updated correctly for the lcient.
     
>2)  I am setting this vms client to feed off an ultrix server.  Given this,
>are the conditional compilation of NNTP_FEED and NEWSREMCLIENT with the
>defininition DECNETSTREAM the **** only **** modifications?  Or do I also
>have to modify the object listed in point 1) as well?
>p.s.  If people like, I will keep a log of my experiences with a vms-ultrix
>      setup and will post or mail any bugs and fixes I find.
     
There will be other changes to get this working, but NOT NCP database changes.
I do NOT have access to a NNTP over DECnet implementation under Ultrix so I
cannot make the changes first hand. I wold be grate for any comments in this
area, as I suspect that I will need to get rid of the VAX C IO calls into
DECnet and replace them with QIOW calls with appropriate IO$M_MULTIPLE
modifiers and the TCP type code which breaks a stream into records to make this
work reliably. Any help here is appreciated.
     
Geoff