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1992-04-01
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ListUpdt Version 1.4
Copyright (c) 1991,92 by:
Plain Jayne Software Jim McDaniel-Webb
Fidonet 1:151/112 2452 Milburnie Road
(919) 831-0674 Raleigh NC 27610
Purpose
=======
Originally, ListUpdt was written to make TPBoard sysops less
dependent on third-party utility authors for processing weekly
NodeDiff update files into a raw NodeList file. Because
ListUpdt itself is not dependent on any TPBoard configuration
files, it is also an alternative to other existing utilities
for non-TPB sysops.
Unlike comparable alternatives, ListUpdt will not
- require registration to run in batch mode.
- eat up your hard disk. ListUpdt requires less than 30k!
- take up your afternnon. ListUpdt runs in LESS than half
the time of other utilities.
On the other hand, ListUpdt WILL require that your NodeDiff files
be decompressed. Poor design (idiot-proofing) is one of the
factors that most contributes to my ever-increasing lack of hard
disk space. Every bbs utility I have seems to contain some
feature duplicated in another utility. For example, I use FrontDoor
and have FDNC; why would I want another utility containing the code
to create the FD index files that FD is quite capable of producing
for itself?
ListUpdt ASSUMES you are going to process your NodeList updates on
a regular basis and are capable of creating a batch file to decompress
your NodeDiff.A?? file followed by a call to ListUpdt. ListUpdt will
then delete the actual NodeDiff file following processing.
By making the basic asumption that YOU know what you are doing,
ListUpdt is freed of redundant tasks and redundant code.
Options
=======
The following are options recognized by ListUpdt:
/T TPBoard style Nodelist.TPB and Netlist.TPB
/F process a raw nodelist from a nodediff file
/E process a EggNet style nodelist
/A process an AlterNet style nodelist
/? displays this help screen
/S turns SAVING the old nodelist ON
/D creates a dBase file ALONG with TPBoard files
/F Update the local Nodelist file from the next (numerically the
next) Nodediff file. The original NodeList is deleted upon
completion unless you also use the /S option.
/T The option to create the TPBoard .tpb nodelist files.
The files are created in the local directory.
/E same as /F but uses the EggNet naming conventions
/A same as /F but uses the AlterNet naming conventions
/S instructs ListUpdt to SAVE the old NodeList file
/D Create a .DBF (dbaseIII compatible file) of the nodelist
according to the listupdt.ctl file. This .dbf has the
structure:
Field Type Name Length
----- ---- ---- ------
1 Char BBS_NAME 30
2 Char SYSOP 25
3 Char CITY 20
4 Char STATE 2
5 Char PHONE 15
6 Char SPEED 4
7 logical CSP_Y/N
8 logical V32_Y/N
9 logical HST_Y/N
10 logical UUCP_Y/N
11 logical SDS_Y/N
12 logical GSDS_Y/N
13 logical UGSDS_Y/N
A future version will allow YOU to specify which fields
to include.
ListUpdt.ctl
============
This file controls the creation of the TPBoard specific files
as well as the .dbf file by specifying which zones are to
be processed, what the costs are per local and international
calls, etc. The structure of this file is:
LABEL <space> VALUE
The labels currently recognized are:
COUNTRY 1
ZONE 1
REGIONS 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
COST 25 200
DBFDIR D:\NODELIST
DBFNAME NODELIST.DBF
DBFNODENAME MYNET.LST
For more on individual labels and settings, see the sample
Listupdt.Ctl file.
If you are using ListUpdt to generate TPB nodelist files, the first
portion of the ctl file establishes the costs fields and the zone(s)
to include in the TPB files.
All of the fields that begin with 'DBF' are used solely in the
creation of a .dbf file. If you use both the /T and the /D options
at the same time, the dbfxxxx options will affect the creation of
the TPB files as well.
Also, note the manner in which costs are specified by local and
international using region numbers to separate the two. This is
a far simpler method than entering every local exchange in your
dialing area.
Multiple databases/lists
========================
Some users have suggested the ability to create separate database
files from different nodelist files in order to have databases
per Nodelist, region, and net. This would make searching much
faster for callers browsing through online databases. In order
to achieve this, you would either have to have separate directories
for each of these NODELIST files or have the ability to tell ListUpdt
to use a nodelist file of a different name. Listupdt makes the
second option available by accepting the name of a ctl file on the
command line.
You can specify the name of a ctl file anywhere on the command line
providing that the extension remains .CTL. If you use any other
extension, ListUpdt will not use the file.
By specifying a different ctl file per execution, you can instruct
ListUpdt to:
- process a nodelist file named something other than nodelist.xxx
- output the dbf file to a different directory
- name the dbf something other than NODELIST.DBF