NOVA - For the NeXT Workstation/NOVA - For the NeXT Workstation.iso/Newsletters/GEnieUnixNews/unxnl-10.91

Text File | 1992-12-27 | 21KB | 479 lines

          _  _  _   _  _   _
         // // //| // // \//     N E W S
        //_// // |// //  /\\     Vol 2, Issue 5 - October 1991
      R o u n d T a b l e (tm)

   Items of interest to participants of the GEnie Unix RoundTable

      The RoundTable SysOps are:
      Andy Finkenstadt....ANDY       Rick Mobley.........LRARK
      Gary Smith..........GARS       Brian Riley.........DELPHI
                  All Unix SysOps.....UNIXSYSOPS$
   We strongly encourage you to contact any or all of us if you have -ANY-
 comments or suggestions. This is -YOUR- RoundTable. We are here to make
 your participation as pleasant and beneficial as possible.

 ED: editor notes - chgrp     GARS (Gary Smith)
 --
         chgrp Changes the group that is associated with the file
         -----
    The file in question is the GEnie Unix RoundTable, and the members that
 represent your SysOp support group have indeed changed. Both Dave Weinstein
 and Christopher North-Keys succumbed to the demands of their employment and
 resigned their respective posts. Christopher (HARP) will not, at least for
 the moment, be replaced. Stepping in as new lead SysOp is someone most of
 us are already familiar with, Andy Finkenstadt (ANDY).

    Dave and I go back some distance. As a matter of fact, I recruited Dave
 for the position of Unix RoundTable Lead SysOp when this area was still in
 the planning stages, so it is difficult for me to be totally objective about
 this necessary exodus. Much of the flavor of the Unix RoundTable can be
 attributed to Dave. Christopher and Dave are both quite knowledgable about
 Unix internals and that knowledge will be missed.

    Suffice it to say we wish Dave and Chris both success and thank them for
 the time and effort each expended in behalf of all of us. We also hope each
 will log back in as time permits.

    Andy will handle his own intro in the 'who' section which follows.

  WHO  getting to know... Andrew Finkenstadt [ANDY]
  ===                     Sysop, Unix RoundTable on GEnie

 Greetings!

 For the past two years Dave Weinstein, the previous Chief
  Sysop, has been working with his team to bring you the best
  information and publicly available files for the Unix
  operating system, and Unix work-alike progams for other
  computers, as well as several interesting Conferences with
  such notables as Richard "Free Software Foundation"
  Stallman and ***.

 Please allow me to introduce myself to you in this brief
  letter.  I am the new "Chief Sysop" of the Unix Roundtable,
  responsible to GEnie for its management and
  well-running-ness.  If you have a problem, complaint,
  suggestion, or just want to chat, please feel free to drop
  me a note directly or via the "Feedback to the Unix Sysops"
  item on the Unix Roundtable menu.

 I've been a member of GEnie since 1985 beginning with the
  American Apple Round Table (now called the Apple II
  RoundTable).  Many of you may know me already as the "Chat
  Lines Games Guru," author or sponsorer of many of the
  Multi-Player games played online in Chat for the past 3
  years.

 I've been involved in Unix systems for almost 15 years,
  starting with Unix on a PDP 11/70, graduating to BSD Unix
  on a VAX, and now most recently with Sun SparcStations, Sun
  386i's, and AT&T System V Unix for Intel 386 platforms.
  The company for which I work uses Unix for telemarketing
  applications, relational database management systems,
  raster image processing for the PostScript(tm) language,
  and for word processing.

 The Unix RoundTable sysops will be taking steps over the
  next few weeks to spruce up the area and we welcome your
  comments and suggestions for how to better serve you and
  your needs as a participant in the Unix RoundTable on
  GEnie.  [[[We began this process on October 1 during our
  GEnie*Basic RoundTable Conference which some of you may
  have attended and several excellent suggestions were given.
  Please continue with any and all comments that you have.]]]

 In closing, we thank you for your patronage in the past,
  and look forward to serving you in the future.

 Cheers!
 -Andy

 file - the HOT 35 files in the Unix RoundTable libraries
 ----

 Version 29 September 1991
 35 Most Popular Files for and about the Unix operating system
    Now available for downloading.
     File # File Name                              Size Date        Library
 ---------- -------------------------------- ---------- -------- ----------
         83 ARC512S.CPIO.Z                        47880 12/12/89         13
            Desc: C source for ARC ver. 5.12
        267 ARCHIVE.SITES                         11340 02/11/90         14
            Desc: list of archive sites, most FTP
         62 COMP40.ARC                            39060 11/27/89         13
            Desc: utility,compress/uncompress,msdos
        197 COMP43D.ARC                           49140 01/21/90         13
            Desc: 16-bit Compress for MS-DOS
        517 CU.TAR.Z                              55440 05/24/90         16
            Desc: CU.tar.Z, cu with x/ymodem & dial
        310 DOS-VI.ZOO                            22680 02/25/90         11
            Desc: vi for ms-dos
          2 DOS.SHELL                             23940 10/28/89          7
            Desc: A DOS shell for XENIX / UNIX
       1525 DOSTAR.COM                            22680 02/22/91         13
            Desc: This is a MS/DOS tar program
        107 GNUSITE                               20160 12/24/89          1
            Desc: Info on how to get what GNU stuff
         68 INTERNET.ARC                          32760 12/02/89          1
            Desc: Hitchiker's Guide to Internet
         41 LOOZ210.EXE                           18900 11/19/89         13
            Desc: MS-DOS specific ZOO extractor
       1043 MINIX15.INF                           27720 09/13/90         24
            Desc: The latest info on Minix 1.5 (9/90)
        322 NIXPUB.LONG.SHORT.0290                34020 03/04/90         15
            Desc: pubnet.nixpub listing dated 02/90
         14 NIXPUB.LONG.SHORT.1089                17640 10/29/89         15
            Desc: pubnet.nixpub listing dated 10/89
       1504 NIXPUB.Z                              23940 02/15/91         15
            Desc: Unix access list (long)
         91 PCOMM.ZOO                            154980 12/22/89          1
            Desc: Portable C source code for PComm
        334 PDTAR.ZOO                             51660 03/07/90         13
            Desc: TAR for Unix/ms-dos
        722 PROTOCOL.TXT                          46620 07/03/90         17
            Desc: Compression and Upload Protocol Docs
          1 RTC/QK.REF                             2520 10/22/89          2
            Desc: Handy 3 x 5 Conference Command Ref
         24 RZSZ.ZOO                             102060 11/07/89         16
            Desc: X/Y/Z MODEM for VMS and Unix
        274 SETUP.UUCP                            11340 02/12/90         15
            Desc: how to setup for uucp
         37 SH.ZOO                                17640 11/15/89         13
            Desc: 'shar' de-archiver
        255 TCP.TUTORIAL.DOC                      94500 02/09/90         14
            Desc: TCP/IP tutorial
        115 UMODEM.ZOO                            21420 12/27/89         16
            Desc: C source for Unix xmodem
         65 UNCOMP16.COM                          13860 11/29/89         13
            Desc: 16-bit uncompressor for MS-DOS
         23 UNIX.HACK                              3780 11/05/89         20
            Desc: What is a "Unix Hacker?"
          4 UNIX.QUESTIONS.0789                   16380 10/28/89          5
            Desc: Unix questions with answers 7/89
         40 UNIX/XMODEM                           10080 11/18/89         16
            Desc: XMODEM C Code for UNIX
         29 UNIXDOCS.ARC                          41580 11/08/89          5
            Desc: Intro to Unix - beginner answers
         67 UUPC-IBM.ARC        V1.5             137340 11/30/89         15
            Desc: UUPC for the MS-DOS machines
         66 UUPCREAD.ME        V1.5                7560 11/30/89         15
            Desc: notes for installation of uupc-IBM
        192 VI.REFCARD                            18900 01/20/90          6
            Desc: handy vi ref card - shell
        230 XOBBS.ARC                             54180 02/01/90         16
            Desc: Complete Unix based BBS
         93 ZOO.ARC                              153720 12/22/89          1
            Desc: Portable C source for zoo utility
        935 ZTERM.TAR.Z                           83160 08/13/90         16
            Desc: zterm.tar.Z, zmodem with dialer

 FAST and NASTY, DOWN  and  DIRTY:  quick  fix scripts that do something
 --------------------------------

 uutry    (LRARK) Ricky Mobley
 -----
 I have a little down and dirty script that I have used very successfully
 before a true executable file came along. I called it 'uutry'. Its
 purpose was to:

 -remove any lock (LCK) files that existed, then
 -call the system to deliver, or receive anything
  that was in the que.

 (-rwxr-xr-x 1 uucp uucp 73 uutry)
 ---------------------- cut here ----------------------
 rm /usr/spool/uucp/STST.$1 2>/dev/null
 /usr/lib/uucp/uucico -r1 -x1 -s$1
 ---------------------- to here -----------------------

 I also had one called uutry.4 that was an exact copy of the above with
 the exception of '-x4' in place of the '-x1'. This gave me a bit more
 feedback when I needed it. It is advisable that you NOT run the -x switch
 high, because the output is usually appended to /usr/spool/uucp/AUDIT
 which can grow quiet large on BOTH the master and slave end.

 Short and Sweet, but useful, heh?

 [e-mail]       *    bang path --> uunet!ddi1!lrark!rick    *
 Ricky Mobley          *          LRTUG [phone]             *
 1800 Sanford Dr. #4   *    GEnie Unix RT SysOp address LRARK      *
 Little Rock, AR 72207 *     WB5FDP.AR.USA.NA wb5fdp.ampr.org      *

 ff   (GARS) Gary Smith
 --
 In unxnl-10.90 a neat script called 'where' by Jim Foy was presented that
 quickly located a file if it was in your path.  I really like that script
 and use it often.  Unfortunately, where() is satsified by the first match
 and will not look beyond $PATH.  That means falling back to good ole'
 reliable find(). Using find means typing a long string subject to errors
 from my fat fingers. My solution was ff (file-finder), which is nothing
 more than a quick alias for find(). Since ff does use find, it lacks the
 speed of where, but it will find every match for your argument, report
 the path, and accept wildcards.

 ---------------------- cut here ----------------------
 # ff (file-finder)         Gary Smith   4 September 1991
 # ...uunet!ddi1!lrark!glsrk!gars
 # returns path of argument <filename>
 if [ $# -ne 1 ]
      then echo "$0 = *nix filefinder"
           echo "Usage: $0 <filename>"
      exit 1
 fi
        clear
     echo "....searching for '$1' "
     /bin/find / -name $1 -print
 if [ -s $1 ]
      then echo "$1 search complete"
      else
      echo "$1 not in current directory"
              exit
 fi
 # EOF ff
 ---------------------- to here -----------------------

    __         _  Gary Smith           * ... uunet!ddi1!lrark!glsrk!gars  *
   / _' _   _ (_' P. O. Drawer 7680    * GEnie Forth RT  &  Unix RT SysOp *
  /__/ (_|_/ '._) Little Rock,AR 72217 *   voice phone  :  [phone]   *
  ---------------        - U. S. A. -  *   group 3 fax  :  [phone]   *

 split
 -----
 Lee Phillips ([e-mail]) sought input on ways to split
 non-text files. The following are responses from Chris Ross and Randal
 Schwartz.
    Gary (GARS)

 Chris Ross used dd ...

   Well, dd(1) should be able to do what you're looking for.  Example, to take
 10kb chunks of file foo.Z:

        dd if=foo.Z bs=1024 count=10 of=foo.Z.1
        dd if=foo.Z bs=1024 count=10 skip=10 of=foo.Z.2

   etc.  I realize there are probably much easier ways to do it, but this should
 work.
                                        - Chris
--
Chris P. Ross                         University Of Maryland
[e-mail]                     Engineering Computer Facility
Work#: (301)/405-3689                 Project GLUE
      "Love is like the ozone layer; you never miss it 'til it's gone."
                           - Leslie Nielsen, Naked Gun 2 1/2

 Randal Schwartz used perl...

        #!/usr/bin/perl
        $chunk = 32768; # whatever chunksize you want
        $prefix = "out."; # chunks will be named "out.nnnn"
        while (read(STDIN, $data, $chunk)) {
                open(OUT, ">$prefix." . ++$num);
                print OUT $data;
        }

 Embellish to taste.

 print "Just another Perl hacker,"
 --
 /=Randal L. Schwartz, Stonehenge Consulting Services [phone] ========\
 | on contract to Intel's iWarp project, Beaverton, Oregon, USA, Sol III    |
 | [e-mail] ..!any-MX-mailer-like-uunet!iwarp.intel.com!merlyn|
 \=Cute Quote: "Intel: putting the 'backward' in 'backward compatible'..."==/

 'alarm' shell script   (GEO.DOSCH) George Doscher
  -----
 This alarm shell script uses the 'at' processor to send a reminder to your
 terminal at a pre-determined time.  You simply enter a message and an
 execution time (explained later.)  At the selected time your terminal will
 beep, and the message will be loaded into the status (or message) line of
 your terminal.  It should not affect any other input/output on your
 terminal.
 If your terminal does not have a writable message line, or if this capability
 is not defined in the terminfo database for your terminal, the message will
 be echoed to your screen (not very nicely!)

 The script itself is quite simplistic, but uses the power of the 'at'
 processor for its versatility.  An alarm may be set to 'go off' in the next
 few minutes, hours, days, months, etc.  Rebooting the system does not disturb
 it.  If you are logged-off you will still receive the message.  As long as
 your terminal is powered-on at the alarm time, you should get the message.

 One of the nicest features is the flexibility with which time arguments may
 be entered.  Some examples are:

     10:30
     8:15 pm
     Noon
     3:30 Thursday
     Now + 20 minutes
     0800 am next Mon
     16:00 Nov 15

 This is just a small sample of the possibilities.  Check your 'at' man page
 for a detailed description.

 One of the times I find this utility helpful is when someone says "Call me
 back in 10 minutes."  Simply use "now + 10 min" for the time and you will be
 given a reminder.  Since it works equally well for reminders minutes away or
 months away, I use it all the time.

 Some operational notes:

 Entering "alarm off" will clear your terminal's status line.

 Running the command with any other line argument will show a short help line.
 If your terminal's terminfo database does not support status line writing,
 you will get a message to that effect.  This is a quick way to see if your
 terminal has this capability.  If not, you may need to add "tsl" (start
 status writing) and "fsl" (end status writing), and recompile (tic) your
 terminfo source.

 Pressing <return> for the message prompt will result in a default message
 (<ring!>.)

 Pressing <return> for the time will display a help prompt.  The one used in
 this script is specifically for SCO Xenix.

 This script was written on SCO Xenix 2.3.2, and I have also used it on SCO
 Unix.  If other flavors of *nix have differences in the way at's messages
 are output, you may need to do some tweaking.

 Enjoy!
                                  -geo

 ====== Start of script ============================================
 :
 # set an alarm using the 'at' processor
 #
 #  George Doscher   (GEO.DOSCH)  4/89

 status=no
 wstat=`tput tsl 2> /dev/null`
 estat=`tput fsl 2> /dev/null`
 [ $wstat ] && status=yes

 [ $# -gt 0 ] && {
 if [ $status = "no" ] ;
      then echo "\nSorry, your terminal does not support writing
 to the status line.  No arguments allowed!
 " ;
 elif [ $1 = "off" ] ;
      then echo "${wstat}${estat}\c" ;
 else
      echo "usage: $0 [off]" ;
 fi
 exit
 }

 echo "\nalarm  v1.1\n"
 success=1

 message="$0: <ring!>"
 echo "\nmessage: \c"
 read instring
 echo "\n"

 until [ $success -eq 0 ]
 do

 while true
 do
      echo "Enter alarm time: \c"
      read atime
      [ "$atime" ] && break
      echo "

 Time options: time [day] [+ n unit]

      time               1 - 4 digits (optional am, pm, zulu(GMT))
                         or noon,midnight,now or next

      day                either month name followed by date,
                         day of week, today or tomorrow,
                         (reasonable abbreviations accepted)

      + n unit           n munutes,hours,days,weeks,months, or years
 "
 done

 [ "$instring" ] && message="$0: $instring"

 if [ $status = "no" ] ;
      then outstring="\r\n$message\007\n\n" ;
 else
      outstring="${wstat}${message}${estat}\007\c" ;
 fi

 command="echo \"${outstring}\" > `tty`"

 at $atime <<EoF 2>$$
 $command
 EoF
 success=$?

 set -- `cat $$`
 /bin/rm -f $$

 if [ $success -ne 0 ] ; then
      shift
      echo "\nError setting time: $*

 Try Again! (press <return> for help)\n\007" ;
 else
      shift ; shift ; shift
      echo "\nAlarm message stored: $*" ;
 fi
 done
 ======== end of script =========================================

 CURSES - of a different sort, humor   (GARS) Gary Smith
 ------   subtitle : Does this roundhouse have an exit ?

   A few weeks ago I happened upon a Unix unzip program archived in .zip
 format, and was instantly reminded of an incident I will never forget.

   Now the story can be told. When the GEnie Unix RoundTable first became
 a reality I realized one of the first requirements would be to stock the
 library with essential utilities, and I took it upon myself to fullfill
 this need. This included a rush to provide as many compression/archival
 programs such as compress, arc, zoo as was possible, reasoning that the
 majority of the other files would be stored using these techniques.
   I had managed to post a number of such programs in a relatively short
 period of time, and had even garnered a few kudos from some of our early
 members. I was feeling pretty good about the job we were doing, especially
 the progress of the libraries until ....
   One day, about six months into the project, I received a very pointed
 message suggesting where I might put some of our files, and asking just
 what sort of sadist I was ! Only then did I realize I had created an endless
 loop with the following files :
                             26  zoo201.zoo
                             30  comp40.sh.Z
                             38  arcsvr2.arc
   Needless to say, I hastened to include some methods to break the loop !

  ---------------
   REMINDER - This newsletter is being sent to you 'by request'. If you do
 not wish to keep receiving it, e-mail a stop notice to GARS. On the other
 hand, we would very much appreciate it if you would pass the word that we
 do distribute this item near the tenth (10th) of the month of issue to any-
 one on GEnie who requests it, and will gladly add any name that is requested
 via the same route... e-mail to GARS.
   P L E A S E  also remember contributions are most welcome. Please e-mail
 items and/or suggestions to GARS.

 (EOF)

  Trademark and Copyright notices:
  Unix is a Trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.; GEnie, LiveWire, and
  RoundTable are Trademarks of General Electric Information Services  Company;
  Xenix and ms-dos are Trademarks of  Microsoft  Corporation; PostScript  is a
  registered trademark of Adobe.

 The contents of this newsletter are copyright (c) 1991 and may be copied whole
 or in part only if  original  credit is included. The GEnie UNIX RoundTable is
 not affiliated with AT&T or UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.
y if  original  credit is included. The GEnie UNIX RoundTable is
 not affiliated with AT&T or UNIX System