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lynxartc.txt
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1990-02-12
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61 lines
╔N ╬OVEMBER OF 1985 ╫ILL ├ORLEY RELEASED VERSION 1.0 OF A PROGRAM HE HAD
WRITTEN CALLED ╠┘╬╪ AND THEREBY STARTED ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING
CONTROVERSIES AMONG MODEM USERS.
╠┘╬╪ IS A FILE LINKING UTILITY THAT WILL LINK A LARGE NUMBER OF FILES
TOGETHER FOR TELEPHONE TRANSMISSION. ╔T HAS MANY USES AND CAN BE USED TO
TRANSMIT A WHOLE DATABASE AS ONE TRANSMISSION. ╔T CAN BE USED TO LINK MANY
SMALL FILES TOGETHER SUCH AS ART OR MUSIC FILES OR THE MANY FILES OF A
PROGRAM WRITTEN IN MODULES.
╔T WAS RELEASED AS A SHAREWARE PROGRAM AND BECAME ONE OF THE MOST USED
PROGRAMS IN THE ├64 WORLD. ╔T WAS EASY TO USE AND WORKED FAST. ╠YNX WENT
THROUGH MANY REVISIONS DURING THE NEXT FEW YEARS. ╫ILL RELEASED VERSIONS
UP TO ╠┘╬╪ ╪╓╔╔ THAT ╔ KNOW OF. ╚E RECEIVED VERY FEW REGISTRATIONS IN
COMPARISON TO THE NUMBER OF COPIES IN USE. ┼VENTUALLY HE MIGRATED ON TO
PROGRAMMING FOR THE ═╙-─╧╙ COMPUTERS. ┴T THAT TIME HE TURNED HIS SOURCE
CODE OVER TO OTHERS AND NEWER VERSIONS CONTINUE TO COME OUT FROM AT LEAST
TWO SOURCES.
─URING THE TIME THAT ╫ILL WAS SUPPORTING NEW VERSIONS OF ╠┘╬╪ HIMSELF THERE
WERE MANY SMALL (AND A FEW LARGE) SOFTWARE HOUSES THAT TRIED TO REVISE THE
PROGRAM OR REMOVE HIS NAME FROM IT AND PUT THEIR OWN IN. ╧UT OF SELF DEFENSE
╫ILL INCLUDED A DESTRUCTIVE FORM OF CHECKSUM PROTECTION AND THEREBY STARTED
THE CONTROVERSY. ╔F THE CHECKSUM DOESN'T COME OUT PERFECTLY THE LINKED
FILES DISAPPEAR INTO NEVER-NEVER LAND.
╘HE PROBLEM WITH CHECKSUM PROTECTION IS THAT IN TELEPHONE TRANSMISSION OF
FILES THERE ARE MANY REASONS THAT THE CHECKSUM CAN COME OUT WRONG. ╘HOSE
REASONS ARE NOT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARTICLE.
╠AST YEAR ╔ DOWNLOADED A RATHER LARGE ╠┘╬╪ED FILE FROM AN ┼AST ├OAST BOARD
AND IT WOULD NOT UNLINK WITH ANY OF THE PROGRAMS ╔ HAD FROM ╫ILL. ╔ THEN
USED A UTILITY IN ONE VERSION OF ╫ILL'S PROGRAM TO READ THE FILE. ╔N THE
HEADER OF THE FILE IT HAD A STATEMENT THAT IT WAS LINKED BY A VERSION #
THAT ╔ CAN'T REMEMBER AND ATTRIBUTED THE PROGRAM AND THE VERSION TO SOMEONE
╔ HAD NEVER HEARD OF. ╔T NEVER DID UNLINK AND ╔ WASTED ABOUT AN HOUR OF MY
LONG DISTANCE TIME AND MANY MORE HOURS TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK. ╔ WAS OUT
A FEW DOLLARS, SEVERAL HOURS, AND A LOT OF PEACE OF MIND AT THE END.
╘HE WHOLE CONTROVERSY WAS BROUGHT UP AGAIN BY A RECENT EXCHANGE OF MESSAGES
ON AN INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER NETWORK BY MYSELF, ╫ILL ├ORLEY, AND MANY OTHERS.
╬OTHING WAS RESOLVED OR CAN EVER BE RESOLVED. ╔ MAY DISAGREE WITH ╫ILL ABOUT
THE FORM OF PROTECTION HE USED IN THE PROGRAM, BUT ╔ CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND WHY
HE DID IT.
╬O OTHER FILE LINKING UTILITY HAS BEEN AROUND AS LONG, BEEN AS WIDELY USED
OR GONE THROUGH AS MANY VERSIONS AS ╠┘╬╪.
╘HE TWO ╠┘╬╪ PROGRAMS THAT ╔ HAVE INCLUDED HERE ARE AN UNCOMPILED BASIC ╠┘╬╪
PROGRAM AND AN UNCOMPILED BASIC ─┼╠┘╬╪ PROGRAM. ╔ STUMBLED ACROSS THESE TWO
ON AN ┼ASTERN ┬ULLETIN ┬OARD RECENTLY. ╘HEY HAD BEEN UPLOADED TWO YEARS AGO
BY SOMEONE WHO IS AN OLD FRIEND OF MINE AND ALSO A FRIEND OF ╫ILLS WHO IS NO
LONGER AROUND.
╘HE UNCOMPILED BASIC PROGRAMS ARE INCLUDED FOR THOSE WHO WANT A LOOK AT ╫ILLS
PROGRAMMING. ╔F YOU PLAN TO USE THEM FOR ANY PROGRAMMING OR REVISION ╔
SUGGEST THAT YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH ╫ILL ├ORLEY AS THEY ARE STILL COPYRIGHTED
PROGRAMS.