jac@yoko.rutgers.edu (Jonathan A. Chandross) (10/29/90)
Submitted-by: jac
Posting-number: Volume 1, Administrivia: 15
I would like to thank Kent Landfield and Doug Gwyn for their help with
this document.
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Subject Line:
Each posting in comp.sources.apple2 is called an "issue"; there are roughly
100 issues to a volume. Postings come in three flavors:
- sources
- information postings
- administrivia
They can be distinguished by the subject line. For instance:
Subject: v001INF1: Introduction to comp.sources.apple2
This first word in the title identifies this as the first info posting of
volume one. Similarly, the subject line shown below:
Subject: v001n060: badblock: find bad blocks, Part01/01
identifies this as the 60th source article in Volume 1. Large sources are
broken up into pieces because of constraints on the size of a posting.
The above subject line indicates the contests are part 1 of a 1 part
posting. A multi-part posting would look like:
Subject: v001n056: Blast: kill aliens, Part01/04
Administrative postings are *NOT* to be archived. These postings are
used to indicate various administrative things, like my going on vacation
for a while. For instance,
Subject: v001ADM1: Out of town a while.
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Auxiliary Header Lines:
comp.sources.apple2 uses the standard auxiliary headers with a few
additions. The first few lines of an article are auxiliary headers
that look like:
Submitted-by: nemo@foobar.com
Posting-number: Volume 7, Issue 82
Archive-name: game/blast/part01
Version-number: 1.2.3
Architecture: Only_2c
The "Submitted-by:" is the author of the program. This person, NOT the
moderator of comp.sources.apple2, should be contacted with all bug reports
and comments regarding the program. The author may submit "official"
patches to the group from time to time; please do not submit unofficial
patches to the moderator of comp.sources.apple2.
The "Posting-number:" line repeats the volume/issue information for the
aide of NOTES sites and automatic archiving programs.
The "Archive-name:" is the "official" name of this source in the archive.
Large postings will have names that look like this:
Archive-name: game/blast/part01
Please try to use this name when requesting that sources be mailed to you.
Also, note that the "part number" given in the title, and the archive name
given in the auxiliary header need not be identical.
The "Version-number:" line is meant to indicate which version of the software
the article contains. Version-number will be a sequence of digits, separated
by periods. For example:
Version-number: 1.2.3
Version-number: 25.12.87
The "Architecture:" line is to be used to indicate to which architecture the
sources contained within the article pertain. The following is the current
set of defined Architecture: categories.
Architecture categories are:
Any_2 Any Apple //
Only_2plus Apple ][+ only
Only_2e Apple //e only
Only_2c Apple //c only
Only_2gs Apple IIGS only
Only_2e_up Apple //e (enhanced), //c, IIGS only
Only_3 Apple III only
Only_Franklin Franklin ACE only
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Patches
Authors of sources posted to comp.sources.apple2 should send all
subsequent patches to me. This allows patches to be obtained from one
central source as well as ensuring that patches will be archived. Other
sources groups have lost patches because they were not archived.
To support the tracking of patches, the
Patch-to:
line is used in comp.sources.apple2. The Patch-to line exists for articles
that are patches to previously posted software. The Patch-to line only
appears in articles that are posted, "official", patches. The initial
postings would not contain the Patch-to auxiliary header line.
Syntax:
Patch-to: package-name: Volume X, Issue x[-y,z]
Patch-to examples. These are examples only and do not reflect the
actual volume/issue numbering used by the "rkive" program, if any.
The Patch-to line:
Patch-to: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122
specifies that the posting is a patch to a single part posting.
A slightly more complex patch line is:
Patch-to: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122-124
122-124 indicates that the patch applies to a multi-part posting.
This notation means "article 122 through article 124, inclusive".
If a patch applies to multiple part postings that are not consecutive,
then ',' separates the part issue numbers. It is possible to have both
',' and '-' on a single Patch-to: line. For instance:
Patch-to: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122,125,126,127
Patch-to: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122,125-127
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Patch Levels and New Versions
After a program's release various enhancements and bug fixes become
available. Minor updates will be distributed as a patch. When the
set of minor patches becomes sufficiently large a new version of the
source incorporating all the changes will be posted to the group.
All bugs should be reported to the person listed in the Submitted-by
header or in the documentation. I will not post patches for a package
from anyone other than the author except in rare instances.
If you have patches you would like to see included in the package, send
them to the person listed in the Submitted-by header. Do not send them
to me.
It is up to the author to determine if there have been major enough
changes to warrant a complete reposting. This may be necessary if the
size of the patches exceeds the size of the source but in most cases
only patches are posted. Total repostings should be treated as an
initial posting.
In the Unix world patches are specified by context differences and
are typically applied to source code by a program, not by hand. The
Apple // world lacks such tools so I am inclined to be flexible about
how patches will be handled.
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Source Archive Categories (first component of Archive-name)
Category Contents
---------------------------------------------------------
archive archiving programs
audio music programs and the like
cda classic desk accessories (IIGS)
comm data communications
database database managers and utilities
demo demos and programming examples
dos3.3 DOS 3.3 related tools; drivers, etc.
editor text editors
formatter text formatters
game games of all kinds
graphics graphical tools; editors, paint programs, etc.
gsos GS/OS related tools; drivers, etc.
hypercard HyperCard and HyperStudio stacks
language assemblers, compilers, interpreters
library libraries for programmers, various languages
midi MIDI tools
misc things that don't fit anywhere else
nda new desk accessories (IIGS)
prodos ProDOS-8 related tools; drivers, etc
shell shells; both source and applications
spreadsheet spreadsheet programs and utilities
techinfo technical information; not from Apple
technote Apple technical notes and file type notes
unix UNIX only; Apple // simulators, binary archive extractors, etc.
util utilities that don't fit into other categories
virus virus tools
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If you are willing to be an archive site, pleasse send me the following
information.
Site: the name of the site nice enough to act as an archive site
Contact: the name of the person to contact and their e-mail address
Location: the general area of the world in which the site is located
Modems: for providing UUCP access, what types of modems are available
UUCP: type of UUCP access is available
FTP: type of FTP access is available
Mail Server: account address of the automated e-mail server if available
Additional: additional information pertaining to accessing the archive
I am looking for archive sites in the following places:
USA - Eastern, Central, and Western sites
Europe
Canada
Japan
Far East
Australia
USSR
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To get something posted to comp.sources.apple2, send it to:
Internet: jac@paul.rutgers.edu
UUCP: rutgers!paul.rutgers.edu!jac
Please mark comments that are not to be posted with "Not for Posting".
Otherwise, I often can't tell.
Jonathan A. Chandross
Internet: jac@paul.rutgers.edu
UUCP: rutgers!paul.rutgers.edu!jac