Usenet 1993 July/InfoMagic USENET CD-ROM July 1993.ISO/answers/usenet-software/diff1

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From: [e-mail] (Gene Spafford)
Newsgroups: news.admin.misc,news.misc,news.software.readers,news.software.b,news.answers
Subject: Changes to USENET Software: History and Sources
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 26 Apr 93 05:02:59 GMT
Expires: 25 Jun 93 17:02:58 GMT
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Archive-name: usenet-software/diff1
Original from: spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford)
Comment: edited until 5/93 by [e-mail] (Gene Spafford)
Last-change: 25 Apr 1993 by spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford)


*** old/software.n    Mon Feb  1 00:47:40 1993
--- ./src/software.n    Sun Apr 25 23:15:51 1993
***************
*** 5,7 ****
  Original from: spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford)
! Last-change: 31 Jan 1993 by spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford)

--- 5,8 ----
  Original from: spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford)
! Comment: edited until 5/93 by [e-mail] (Gene Spafford)
! Last-change: 25 Apr 1993 by spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford)

***************
*** 21,22 ****
--- 22,30 ----

+ The material contained in this post is probably not 100% up-to-date.
+ Many of the software packages described in this posting are undergoing
+ constant development, and it is not always possible to know when new
+ releases have been made.  Should you discover that information in this
+ post has been superseded by a new release, please send mail to the
+ poster of this article with the corrected information.
+
  History
***************
*** 60,65 ****
  by a number of people, including Rick Adams, and is unlikely to be
! upgraded further; most new UUCP sites are using C News (see next
! paragraph).

! A new version of news, known as C News, was developed at the
  University of Toronto by Geoff Collyer and Henry Spencer.  This
--- 68,98 ----
  by a number of people, including Rick Adams, and is unlikely to be
! upgraded further; most new UUCP sites are using C News or INN (see
! next paragraphs).

! In March 1986 a package was released implementing news transmission,
! posting, and reading using the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
! (as specified in RFC 977).  This protocol allows hosts to exchange
! articles via TCP/IP connections rather than using the traditional
! uucp.  It also permits users to read and post news (using a modified
! news user agent) from machines which cannot or choose not to install
! the USENET news software.  Reading and posting are done using TCP/IP
! messages to a server host which does run the USENET software.  Sites
! which have many workstations like the Sun and SGI, and HP products
! find this a convenient way to allow workstation users to read news
! without having to store articles on each system.  Many of the Usenet
! hosts that are also on the Internet exchange news articles using NNTP
! because the load impact of NNTP is much lower than uucp (and NNTP
! ensures much faster propagation).
!
! NNTP grew out of independent work in 1984-1985 by Brian Kantor at U.
! C.  San Diego and Phil Lapsley at U. C. Berkeley.  NNTP includes
! support for System V UNIX with Excelan Ethernet cards and DECNET under
! Ultrix.  NNTP was developed at U. C. Berkeley by Phil Lapsley with
! help from Erik Fair, Steven Grady, and Mike Meyer, among others.  The
! NNTP package was distributed on the 4.3BSD release tape (although that
! was version 1.2a and out-of-date) and is also available from the
! various authors, many major hosts, and by anonymous FTP from
! lib.tmc.edu, mthvax.cs.miami.edu and ftp.uu.net.
!
! One new version of news, known as C News, was developed at the
  University of Toronto by Geoff Collyer and Henry Spencer.  This
***************
*** 71,73 ****
  Winter 1987 Usenix Technical Conference proceedings.  The most recent
! version of C News is the 2 May 1992 "performance release."  C News can
  be obtained from its official archive site, cs.toronto.edu, using FTP.
--- 104,106 ----
  Winter 1987 Usenix Technical Conference proceedings.  The most recent
! version of C News is the 20 Feb 1993 "performance release."  C News can
  be obtained from its official archive site, cs.toronto.edu, using FTP.
***************
*** 87,89 ****
  ANU-NEWS is news package written by Geoff Huston of Australia for VMS
! systems.  ANU-NEWS is complete news system that allows reading,
  posting, direct replies, moderated newsgroups, etc.  in a fashion
--- 120,122 ----
  ANU-NEWS is news package written by Geoff Huston of Australia for VMS
! systems.  ANU-NEWS is a complete news system that allows reading,
  posting, direct replies, moderated newsgroups, etc. in a fashion
***************
*** 105,108 ****
  iraun1.ira.uka.de, info.rz.uni-ulm.de, and ftp.spc.edu (contact Bernd
! Onasch <[e-mail]> for details).

  A port of C News for the Commodore Amiga under AmigaDOS (NOT Unix), is
--- 138,148 ----
  iraun1.ira.uka.de, info.rz.uni-ulm.de, and ftp.spc.edu (contact Bernd
! Onasch <[e-mail]> for details).

+ Reader NNTP clients for VMS are also available, including VMS/VNEWS
+ (current release 1.4) and an upcoming reader only version of ANU-NEWS.
+ VMS/VNEWS is available via anonymous ftp from arizona.edu (contact
+ [e-mail] for more information) or at any site which archives
+ vmsnet.source.  Although the current release of ANU-NEWS is usable as
+ a reader it can be difficult when used with a UNIX server.
+
  A port of C News for the Commodore Amiga under AmigaDOS (NOT Unix), is
***************
*** 130,132 ****
  full-screen display with direct positioning, but it includes many
! other useful features and is very popular with many regular net
  readers.  The interface includes reading, discarding, and/or
--- 170,172 ----
  full-screen display with direct positioning, but it includes many
! other useful features and has been very popular with many regular net
  readers.  The interface includes reading, discarding, and/or
***************
*** 134,139 ****
  ability of the user to develop customized macros for display and
! keyboard interaction.  "rn" is currently at release 4.4.  It is being
! maintained by Stan Barber of the Baylor College of Medicine.  "rn" is
! not provided with the standard news software release, but is very
! widely available because of its popularity.  The software can be
  obtained from its official archive site, lib.tmc.edu, using FTP, and
--- 174,179 ----
  ability of the user to develop customized macros for display and
! keyboard interaction.  "rn" is currently at release 4.4.3.  It is
! being maintained by Stan Barber of the Baylor College of Medicine.
! "rn" is not provided with the standard news software release, but is
! very widely available because of its popularity.  The software can be
  obtained from its official archive site, lib.tmc.edu, using FTP, and
***************
*** 142,144 ****
  A variant of "rn" is "trn" by Wayne Davison. Trn adds the ability to
! follow "threads of discussions" in newsgroups; its latest version 2.2
  is based on rn 4.4. It uses a Reference-line database to allow the
--- 182,184 ----
  A variant of "rn" is "trn" by Wayne Davison. Trn adds the ability to
! follow "threads of discussions" in newsgroups; its latest version 2.5
  is based on rn 4.4. It uses a Reference-line database to allow the
***************
*** 181,183 ****
  So up to 110% of your news spool is the amount of space news and the
! nn database will take.)  The current version of nn is 6.4.16.  nn can
  be obtained via anonymous FTP from dkuug.dk, uop.uop.edu, or various
--- 221,223 ----
  So up to 110% of your news spool is the amount of space news and the
! nn database will take.)  The current version of nn is 6.4.18.  nn can
  be obtained via anonymous FTP from dkuug.dk, uop.uop.edu, or various
***************
*** 191,193 ****
  available from Iain Lea ([e-mail]). The current
! release of tin is 1.1 PL6.  Tin is based more on the Notes and tass
  systems than "rn".  There is an extensive list of features, including
--- 231,233 ----
  available from Iain Lea ([e-mail]). The current
! release of tin is 1.1 PL19.  Tin is based more on the Notes and tass
  systems than "rn".  There is an extensive list of features, including
***************
*** 195,229 ****

- In March 1986 a package was released implementing news transmission,
- posting, and reading using the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP)
- (as specified in RFC 977).  This protocol allows hosts to exchange
- articles via TCP/IP connections rather than using the traditional
- uucp.  It also permits users to read and post news (using a modified
- version of "rn" or other user agents) from machines which cannot or
- choose not to install the USENET news software.  Reading and posting
- are done using TCP/IP messages to a server host which does run the
- USENET software.  Sites which have many workstations like the Sun and
- Apollo products find this a convenient way to allow workstation users
- to read news without having to store articles on each system.  Many of
- the Usenet hosts that are also on the Internet exchange news articles
- using NNTP because the load impact of NNTP is much lower than uucp
- (and NNTP ensures much faster propagation).
-
- NNTP grew out of independent work in 1984-1985 by Brian Kantor at U.
- C.  San Diego and Phil Lapsley at U. C. Berkeley.  It is now in
- release 1.5.11 dated 11 february 1991, with the next planned release
- at 1.6.  NNTP includes support for System V UNIX with Excelan Ethernet
- cards and DECNET under Ultrix.  NNTP was developed at U. C. Berkeley
- by Phil Lapsley with help from Erik Fair, Steven Grady, and Mike
- Meyer, among others.  The NNTP package is distributed on the 4.3BSD
- release tape (although that is version 1.2a and out-of-date) and is
- also available from the various authors, many major hosts, and by
- anonymous FTP from lib.tmc.edu, mthvax.cs.miami.edu and ftp.uu.net.
-
- Reader NNTP clients for VMS are also available, including VMS/VNEWS
- (current release 1.4) and an upcoming reader only version of ANU-NEWS.
- VMS/VNEWS is available via anonymous ftp from arizona.edu (contact
- [e-mail] for more information) or at any site which archives
- vmsnet.source.  Although the current release of ANU-NEWS is usable as
- a reader it can be difficult when used with a UNIX server.
-
  An NNTP newsreader for Macintoshs is available called HyperNews.  It
--- 235,236 ----
***************
*** 231,233 ****
  available from many Mac archives, including ftp.apple.com and
! sumex-aim.stanford.edu

--- 238,243 ----
  available from many Mac archives, including ftp.apple.com and
! sumex-aim.stanford.edu.  A newsreader preferred by many Macintosh
! users is NewsWatcher, currently maintained by a group headed (defacto)
! by [e-mail] (John Norstad).  The current version is 1.3d6 and
! is available in ftp.acns.nwu.edu:/pub/newswatcher.

***************
*** 264,267 ****

! Details on RN, a newsreader for systems running "Waffle", may be
! obtained by sending mail to [e-mail].

--- 274,280 ----

! Details on several newsreaders for systems running "Waffle" may be
! found in the FAQ posted to the comp.bbs.waffle newsgroup on a regular
! basis.  At least 3 different readers are available, and all can be
! obtained via ftp and mailserver from halcyon.com (look in
! /pub/waffle/news).

***************
*** 300,302 ****
  [129.69.1.12] in the directory
! soft/kommunikation/news/beginner/software/vm-cms/*.

--- 313,315 ----
  [129.69.1.12] in the directory
! soft/comm/news/beginner/software/vm-cms/*.

***************
*** 307,309 ****
  ftp.uni-stuttgart.de under the directory
! /soft/kommunikation/news/beginner/software/nnmvs.  The current release
  is Version 2 Release 3 Modification Level 1 (in pseudo-IBM parlance).
--- 320,322 ----
  ftp.uni-stuttgart.de under the directory
! /soft/comm/news/beginner/software/nnmvs.  The current release
  is Version 2 Release 3 Modification Level 1 (in pseudo-IBM parlance).
***************
*** 313,353 ****
  ------------------------------------------------
! Users of these systems may note problems in their interactions with the
! Usenet.  In particular, postings may be made by "notes" users to
! moderated groups but they will not usually propagate throughout the
! entire Usenet.  The same may happen to users of old B news software.

! The "notes" software package uses a different internal organization of
! articles, and a different interchange format than that of the standard
! Usenet software.  It was inspired by the notesfiles available in the
! PLATO system and was developed independently from the Usenet news.
! Eventually, the "notes" network and Usenet were joined via gateways
! doing (sometimes imperfect) protocol translation.  The interface for
! "notes" is similar to "rn" but implements different features, many of
! which are dictated by its internal organization.  "notes" was written
! in 1980-1981 by Ray Essick and Rob Kolstad, (then) grad students at
! the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The first public
! release of "notes" was at the January 1982 Usenix conference.  The
! last release of notes was version 1.7; it is no longer being
! actively maintained.

- Users of "notes" or old B news software wishing to post to moderated
- groups should either mail their submissions to the moderator, as
- listed in the monthly posting of "List of Moderators" in the group
- "news.lists", or else they should post from a system running
- up-to-date news software (i.e., C news or INN).  "notes" users may
- obtain some patches from the comp.sources.unix archives which enable
- the most recent versions of "notes" to interact with moderated groups
- properly.

- Users of old B news and "notes" are also not able to take advantage of
- some other current B news features, such as the "checkgroups" message.
- "notes" continues to be a "foreign" system and B news versions are
- considered "obsolete."  The various maintainers of the Usenet software
- have never expressed any commitment to maintain backwards
- compatibility with "foreign" or obsolete news systems and are unlikely
- to do so; it is the responsibility of the users to maintain
- compatibility of such software if they wish to continue to interact
- with the Usenet.
-
-
  Software versions & availability
--- 326,348 ----
  ------------------------------------------------
! Many years ago, there was another distributed "news" system called
! "notes".  The "notes" software package used a different internal
! organization of articles, and a different interchange format than that
! of the standard Usenet software.  It was inspired by the notesfiles
! available in the PLATO system and was developed independently from the
! Usenet news.  Eventually, the "notes" network and Usenet were joined
! via gateways doing (sometimes imperfect) protocol translation.
! "notes" was written in 1980-1981 by Ray Essick and Rob Kolstad, (then)
! grad students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The
! first public release of "notes" was at the January 1982 Usenix
! conference.  The last release of notes was version 1.7; it is no
! longer being actively maintained.

! "B" news software is currently considered obsolete.  Unix sites
! joining the Usenet should install C news or INN to ensure proper
! behavior and good performance.  Most old B news software had
! compiled-in limits on the number of newsgroups and the number of
! articles per newsgroup; the increasing volume of news means that B
! news software cannot reliably cope with a moderately-full newsfeed.


  Software versions & availability
***************
*** 367,369 ****
          munnari        [e-mail]
!         osu-cis        [e-mail]
          philabs        [e-mail]
--- 362,364 ----
          munnari        [e-mail]
!         osu-cis        [e-mail]
          philabs        [e-mail]
***************
*** 373,374 ****
--- 368,370 ----
          watmath        [e-mail]
+         uunet        [e-mail]

***************
*** 378,379 ****
--- 374,379 ----
  from their nearest Eunet backbone site.
+
+ The "archie" service can be used to locate ftp archives containing
+ various news software packages.  There are regular postings in the
+ comp.answers newsgroup about how to use the "archie" service.

--
Gene Spafford
Software Engineering Research Center & Dept. of Computer Sciences
Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398
Internet:  [e-mail]    phone:  [phone]