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NODELMNG Version 1.02 Documentation
NODELMNG -- The nodelist manager
NOTICE
Version 1.05
Copyright (C), 1992, 1993
Donald L. Tees
First, a short explanation of what NODELMNG does is in
order. Nodelmng is designed to allow you to completely automate
the maintenance of nodelists and nodediffs. That includes
maintaining BBS library areas, FILES.BBS directories,
nodelist/nodediff merging, and the purging of obsolete files. It
also will create a batch file to trigger a nodelist compile
whenever a nodediff arrives.
Because NODELMNG erases old files, it is a good idea for
users to read this documentation. You can, for example, ask
NODELMNG to erase all NODELISTs that it finds ... but it is
doubtfull that you want to. For those that want to dive in, the
following is a synopsis of what NODELMNG does. You can probably
get away with simply reading that, and placing NODELMNG into
your nightly maintenance run. A more detailed explanation of
each phase follows.
There is also a short addendum at the end outlining a few
re-occuring problems that new users seem to have. If you are a
"wade in" type, you should at least read those paragraphs.
1 - Stage one of NODELMNG is to erase redundant NODELISTs from
your BBS files area. While this may seem a silly first step, it
is done first to ensure maximum room on your hard disk. You set
up the number of nodelists that you want to keep, and if that
number is exceeded, NODELMNG will delete the oldest. Note that
NODELMNG uses the DATE from the directory to choose the oldest.
2 - Stage two is to check NODELISTs against NODEDIFFs and see if
a nodelist merge is needed. If it is, NODELMNG will unarchive
the nodelist and nodediff into a work area, then do the merge.
If the merge is successfull, the new nodelist is re-archived and
put back into your BBS files area. The program then starts over
at stage one. Note that you can start with a nodelist that is
several weeks out of date, and half a dozen nodediffs. NODELMNG
will get everything up to date as soon as it is run.
It should be noted that NODELMNG uses directory dates to
match nodelists to nodediffs. When starting to use NODELMNG,
the most recent nodelist MUST be dated after the correct
nodediff and before any other nodediffs. Nodelists created by
NODELMNG will automatically be dated the same as the nodediff,
plus one minute to avoid this problem. The DOS date is not used
on the new archives. The distribution package includes a
utility (SAMEDATE.EXE) that will redate a nodelist if your
nodelist is dated incorrectly.
Stages one and two will repeat until the nodelist is
current, then NODELMNG will proceed to step three.
3 - Stage three of NODELMNG is to erase redundant NODEDIFFs from
your BBS files area. You set the number of nodediffs that you
want to keep, and NODELMNG will erase any extra ones starting
with the oldest calendar date.
4 - Stage four of NODELMNG is to update your FILES.BBS files to
reflect the above work. Any nodelist/nodediffs that were
unarchived during stage two will be added to the FILES.BBS file
along with the appropriate description. Note that only files
unarchived are added, as until they are unarchived, the
description is unavailable. Any nodelists or nodediffs that do
not exist in the file area are removed from the FILES.BBS file.
5 - Stage five of NODELMNG is to write out two batch files for
your nodelist compile. If stage two found no merge neded to be
done, the first batch file is a no-op ... that is it consists of
the single line "@ECHO OFF". If, however, one or more nodelist
merges was done, then the batch file will have the correct
archive name and day number in it.
6 - Lastly, NODELMNG will place a fido mail packet in you
inbound telling you what was done. The packet is placed into
the inbound as a standard Fido packet so that it will be
compatable with all BBS message formats. In effect, you tosser
will put it into your BBS for you.
Setting up NODELMNG.
NODELMNG is invoked as NODELMNG [filename][/S][/C]. The
filename is a data file containing your setup, and defaults to
NODELMNG.DAT. There is no need to name a different setup file,
unless you are a member of several nets. If that is the case,
you can invoke NODELMNG several times during your nightly
maintenance run, each time with a setup file for a different set
of nodelists.
The /C switch is used to create a new setup file, and the /S
switch is used to get into setup mode. To get started with
NODELMNG, place it in a directory on your path, then change
directories to the area you do your nightly BBS maintenance on.
Type NODELMNG/C, and the foillowing menu will appear.
╔═══<ESC> to exit══════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ F1 - Write setup file and exit ║
║ F2 - Scrap setup file and exit ║
║ F3 - Setup BBS messages ║
║ F4 - Nodelist purge parameters ║
║ F5 - Nodediff purge parameters ║
║ F6 - Nodelist/Nodediff merging ║
║ F7 - Batch file output parameters ║
║ ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝
The F1 and F2 keys are self explanitory. F2 will ask for
confirmation. The F3 key is used to setup messages for your
BBS. It is recogmended that you use this feature during initial
testing at least, although the default is not to post messages.
The F3 key results in the following screen.
╔═══<ESC> to exit══════════════════════════╗
║ ║
║ F1 - Write setup file and exit ║
║╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║║ ║
║║ Parameters for BBS messages ║
║║ ║
║║ F1 - Message type Verbose (tell everything) ║
║║ F2 - Inbound area C:\BINKLEY\INBOUND ║
║║ F3 - Sysop name Sysop ║
╚║ F4 - Zone:Net/Node 1:9999/9999.0 ║
║ ESC - Exit to main menu ║
║ ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
F1 allows you to choose when NODELMNG writes a message.
The choices are everytime it runs, never, and whenever an error
occurs. The last is the choice that I would recogmend once you
have everything set up. Verbose is the choice during testing.
F2 says where the message is to go, which is normally your
mailer's inbound directory. Note that if you name the mailer's
OUTBOUND directory, and name a different node than your own with
the node number, you can get NODELMNG to notify you of errors at
a remote site. (At least that is the theory, I have not
actually tried it).
F3 and F4 allow you to set up the name and node number for
the messages.
The nodelist purge parameters are setup via the main menu
F4 key. The following is the screen that will appear.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╔═══<ESC> to exit══════════════════════════╗ ║
║ ║ ║
║ F1 - Write setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F2 - Scrap setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F3 - Setup BBS messages ║ ║
║ F4 - Nodelist purge parameters ║════════════════════╝ ║
║ F5 - Nodediff purge parameters ║
║ F6 - Nodelist/Nodediff merging ║
║ F7╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║ ║
╚════║ Purge data for Nodelists ║
║ ║
║ F1 - Do the purge? No ║
║ F2 - Number to keep: 25 ║
║ F3 - Area: C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO ║
║ F4 - Filename: NODELIST ║
║ F5 - Update files.bbs? No ║
║ F6 - Files file name: C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO\FILES.BBS ║
║ F7 - FILES.BBS title: A Fidonet Nodelist for Day ║
║ ESC - Exit to main menu ║
║ ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
F1 allows you to enable/disable the nodelist purge. F2 sets
the number of nodelists you wish to keep on file. F3 and F4 are
used to tell NODELMNG where the nodelists are kept, and what
they are called. With the above setup, for example, NODELMNG
will assume that the files C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO\NODELIST.* are all
nodelists. They would be counted, and if the number exceeded
25, the oldest would be erased.
If your FILES.BBS is to be updated during this phase, then
you must enable it with the F5 key, and name the FILES.BBS file
with the F6 key. The F7 key allows you to decide the
description that will be added to the FILES.BBS line. Note that
the day number will be appended to the end of this line.
For example, lets say that NODELMNG found the file
C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO\NODELIST.A55, and unpacked it to find
NODELIST.255. If NODELIST.A55 were not found in the FILES.BBS
file, the line "NODELIST.A55 A Fido Nodelist for day 255" would
be appended to the end of the file.
The main menu F5 key is used to update the nodediff purge
parameters, and results in the following screen.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╔═══<ESC> to exit══════════════════════════╗ ║
║ ║ ║
║ F1 - Write setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F2 - Scrap setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F3 - Setup BBS messages ║ ║
║ F4 - Nodelist purge parameters ║════════════════════╝
║ F5 - Nodediff purge parameters ║
║ F6 - Nodelist/Nodediff merging ║
║ F7╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ║ ║
╚════║ Purge data for Nodediffs ║
║ ║
║ F1 - Do the purge? No ║
║ F2 - Number to keep: 25 ║
║ F3 - Area: C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO ║
║ F4 - Filename: NODEDIFF ║
║ F5 - Update files.bbs? No ║
║ F6 - Files file name: C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO\FILES.BBS ║
║ F7 - FILES.BBS title: The Fidonet nodediff for day ║
║ ESC - Exit to main menu ║
║ ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The fields are used in the same manner as for NODELISTs.
The main menu F6 key is used to set up nodelist/nodediff
merging. It results in the following screen.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╔═══<ESC> to exit══════════════════════════╗ ║
║ ║ ║
║ F1 - Write setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F2 - Scrap setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F3 - Setup BBS messages ║ ║
║ F4 - Nodelist purge parameters ║════════════════════╝ ║
║ F5 - Nodediff purge parameters ║
║ F6╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ F7║ ║
║ ║ Nodelist/Nodediff merge parameters ║
╚════║ ║
║ F1 - Do the merge? No ║
║ F2 - Nodelist area C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO ║
║ F3 - Nodelist filename NODELIST ║
║ F4 - Nodediff area C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO ║
║ F5 - Nodediff filename NODEDIFF ║
║ F6 - Unpacker for *.Ann C:\BBSPROG\PKUNPAK.EXE ║
║ F7 - Unpacker for *.Znn C:\BBSPROG\PKUNZIP.EXE ║
║ F8 - Packer for *.Ann C:\BBSPROG\PKPAK.EXE ║
║ F9 - Packer for *.Znn C:\BBSPROG\PKZIP.EXE ║
║ F10 - Update files.bbs? No ║
║ ALT F10- Files.bbs file C:\MAX\FILE\FIDO\FILES.BBS ║
║ ESC - Exit to main menu ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
F1 is used to enable/disable nodelist/nodediff merging.
The F2 through F5 keys are used to define the areas where
nodelists and nodediffs are stored. Note that if you have
already set up the areas for purging, you will not need to set
them up here. This screen and the purge screens reference the
same parameters, and changing the data in one place will
automatically change it in the other.
NODELMNG requires that archived files are named eithor
*.Ann or *.Znn, where nn is a two digit number. This, of
course, generally imfers that they are ARCED or ZIPPED. F6
through F9 are used to set the full patch names where NODELMNG
can find programs for unarchiving files, and re-archiving new
nodelists. NODELMNG will re-archive using the same format as
the NODELIST used for the merge. NODEDIFFs can be of eithor or
of both types.
The F10 and ALT F10 key allow updating of the files BBS
area, the same as in the nodelist purge screen. These fields
are duplicates of the ones in the purge screen, so will already
be set up if you set them up there.
Finally, the main menu F7 key is used to set up batch files
for nodelist compiles, and results in the following screen.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
╔═══<ESC> to exit══════════════════════════╗ ║
║ ║ ║
║ F1 - Write setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F2 - Scrap setup file and exit ║ ║
║ F3 - Setup BBS messages ║ ║
║ F4 - Nodelist purge parameters ║════════════════════╝
║ F5 - Nodediff purge parameters ║
║ F6╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ F7║ ║
║ ║ Parameters for BATCH file ║
╚════║ ║
║ F1 - Output batch files? No ║
║ F2 - Compile batch file C:\MAX\COMPILE ║
║ F3 - Output batch file one C:\MAX\NODEL1.BAT ║
║ F4 - Output batch file two C:\MAX\NODEL2.BAT ║
║ ESC - Exit to main menu ║
║ ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
The F1 key is used to enable/disable this feature. The F3
key and the F4 key are used to name two output files. This is
somewhat confusing, so please bear with me.
To do a batch compile, you need to know the day number, and
the file extension of the archived nodelist. You are going to
create a batch file that uses those that looks something like
the following:
COPY \MAX\FILE\NODELIST\NODELIST.%1
PKUNZIP NODELIST.%1
MYCOMPILER NODELIST.%2
Lets say that you set up a such a batch file, and called it
COMPILE.BAT. After NODELIST.235 is created and archived into
NODELIST.A35, you want to invoke the DOS command:
COMPILE A35 235
NODELMNG writes THAT line into its' batch file ... at least
it does after a nodelist merge. If NODELMNG finds that there is
no new nodelist, then it writes the line "@ECHO OFF" into the
first batch file, and the compile command to the second.
The F2 key names the batch file that NODELMNG is to write
to. That is the name that should be in your nightly maintenance
run immediately after NODELMNG. The F3 key is the name of the
batch file that you set up to do you compile, and the extension
and day of the new nodelist will be appended to that line and
written out.
With the above setup, there would be one of two results.
After NODELIST.A50 and NODEDIFF.A57 had been merged to create
NODELIST.A57, C:\NODEL1.BAT and C:\NODEL2.BAT would both contain
the line:
C:\MAX\COMPILE 057 A57
The following night, there would presumably be no work done.
C:\NODEL1.BAT would be changed to "@ECHO OFF", while
C:\NODEL2.BAT would be left unchanged.
The two batch files are used to accomodate those that want
to totally automate their compiles, and those that want to
maually compile the nodelist. For those running completely
automatically, just invoke the first batch file after NODELMNG
in your nightly batch run. For manual compiles, use the second
batch file.
PROBLEMS:
I have had three repeated problems with new users to
NODELMNG, and so am including a small addendum outlining them.
1. - NODELMNG uses DATES to manage the nodelists. If you have a
number of nodediffs that are dated incorrectly, NODELMNG will
not apply them in order. It will also not trigger a merge if
the NODELIST is dated after the NODEDIFF. Once running, that
situation should never occur. However, if you have unpacked
nodediffs and then repacked them, you MUST check that the dates
of the new nodediff files are correct. They need not be
accurate, but they MUST be in the correct order, with the
current nodelist dated between the apropriate nodediffs.
2. - NODELMNG uses wildcards to find nodelists and nodediffs.
That is, if you specify that your nodelists are
"C:\FRONTDOOR\NODELIST", then NODELMNG will look for and attempt
to manage "C:\FRONTDOOR\NODELIST.*".
THAT INCLUDES NODELIST.IDX !
If your compiled nodelist is the same name as your raw
nodelist, then put them on different areas. I have had a bunch
of users that keep bugging me about NODELMNG failing, then I
find out that they have a NODELIST.DOC and a NODEDIFF.HLP in
their nodelist library. NODELMNG is not bright enough to read
documentation ... it will try to unpack, merge, etc. and it will
fail. The same is true for compiled nodelists. NODELMNG is a
library manager, NOT a disk manager, and it will probably fail
if you ask it to manage an open disk area. Set up a library for
it to manage.
3. - NODELMNG uses the extension to determine archivers. There
are only three extensions that it will recognize:
*.Axx - archiver one
*.Znn - archiver two
*.nxx - unarchived
If you want NODELMNG to work, you must keep your nodelists
and nodediffs in one off those styles. The archivers and
de-archivers for archiver one and two must match. And, as
mentioned in item two, the file names for both must be
considered as reserved filenames for the library area.
I hope you enjoy using NODELMNG.
Donald L. Tees
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