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Path: uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!sun.com From: argv@sun.com (Dan Heller) Newsgroups: comp.sources.x Subject: v07INF1: Introduction to comp.sources.x, Part01/02 (README!!) Message-ID: <134938@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> Date: 27 Apr 90 19:47:41 GMT Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM Lines: 553 Approved: argv@sun.com Submitted-by: Dan Heller <argv@sun.com> Posting-number: Volume 7, Info 1 Archive-name: intro7/Part01 This is the first of two introductory messages about comp.sources.x. There are *many* things covered in this posting -- each new topic is preceded by a Subject: line. If you get bored reading a particular section, fast forward to the next Subject: line and read that one. Please don't submit sources without having read -everything- in this file (you'll be tested and graded later :-). Most of all, this posting describes how to submit sources to comp.sources.x, where the archive sites are, and how to contact them. The second lists the sources that have been published in this newsgroup. NOTE 1: Many people are submitting sources that do not have an Imakefile or a patchlevel.h. You *must* provide these! I no longer have the time to create them for you. Further submissions that do not have these files will be rejected. NOTE 2: Patches *must* contain an update to patchlevel.h and indicate which volume and issue numbers that precede this patch. This includes both the original posting and previous patches. -------------------- Subject: The structure of comp.sources.x articles Each posting in comp.sources.x is called an "issue"; there are roughly 100 issues to a volume. The division is arbitrary, and has varied greatly in the past. There are two types of articles in comp.sources.x; sources and "information postings." They can be distinguished by the subject line: Subject: v03INF1: Introduction to comp.sources.x This first word in the title identifies this as the first info posting of volume three. Similarly, the subject line shown below: Subject: v01i060: select: a selection widget, Part01/01 identifies this as the 60th source article in Volume 1. All sources are broken up into pieces. This is done so that there could be a proper storage directory when patches are issued. This is part 1 of a 1 part posting. Subject: v01i056: xphoon: Show phase of the Moon on root window, Part01/04 The first few lines of an article are auxiliary headers that look like this: Submitted-by: root@freeware.ATT.COM Posting-number: Volume 7, Issue 82 Archive-name: new-Xlogin/part01 The "Submitted-by" is the author of the program. IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SOURCES PUBLISHED IN COMP.SOURCES.X, THIS IS THE PERSON TO CONTACT. When possible, this address is in domain form, otherwise it is a UUCP bang path relative to some major site such as "uunet." The second line repeats the volume/issue information for the aide of NOTES sites and automatic archiving programs. The Archive-name is the "official" name of this source in the archive. Large postings will have names that look like this: Archive-name: xdvi/part01 Please try to use this name when requesting that sources be mailed to you. Also, note that the "part number" given in the title, and the archive name given in the auxiliary header need not be identical. ----------------- Subject: Patches Handling Patches will be handled as swiftly as possible. Authors of sources posted to c.s.x should send all patches to me so that I can post them back through the newsgroup in order that the patches can be archived. This has not been done in the past in other sources groups and has lead to lost patches. If the patches must get out *real* fast, post them to comp.sources.bugs and send me a copy at the same time so that they will be available when they are needed in the future. To support the tracking of patches, the Patch-To: line is used in c.s.x. The Patch-To: line exists for articles that are patches to previously posted software. The Patch-To: line only appears in articles that are posted, "Official", patches. The initial postings would not contain the Patch-To: auxiliary header line. Patch-To: syntax Patch-To: package-name: Volume X, Issue x[-y,z] Patch-To: examples. These are examples and do not reflect the accurate volume/issue numbering for rkive. In the first example, the article that contains the following line is a patch to a single part posting. Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122 This example shows that the 122-124 indicates the patch applies to a multi-part posting. The '-' is used to mean "article A through article B, inclusive.. Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122-124 If a patch applies to multiple part postings that are not consecutive, the ',' is used to separate the part issue numbers. It is possible to mix both ',' and '-' on a single Patch-To: line. Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122,125,126,127 Patch-To: rkive: Volume 22, Issue 122,125-127 -------------------- Subject: Reporting and tracking bugs. You should subscribe to comp.sources.bugs. Sometimes, when new versions of previously-published software is available, just patches are put out, usually in the form of shar files containing input for the "patch" program, new files, etc. Sometimes complete new versions are put out. Generally, minor updates should be in patch form and update the patchlevel.h file. Major updates usually indicate that there have been so many changes that the patches outweigh the size of the new source or that the number of patch levels grows so large that people are rarely up to date. If it's been a year since the last major posting, it is a candidate for being reposted. To report bugs, contact the person listed in the Submitted-by header. Often there is a contact address in a README file, too. I do not maintain the sources I moderate, so don't send your bug reports to me. Likewise, I normally do not post patches for a package from anyone except the author. If you have patches you would like to see included in the package, send them to the person listed in the Submitted-by header. -------------------- Subject: Submitting source for publication Items intended for posting or queries and problem notes should be sent to comp-sources-x@uunet.uu.net, *not* to the address of the newsgroup moderator. If you want verification of arrival, say so in a cover note, or at the beginning of your submission, if it is small. I try to verify that a program works, and if I can't get it to work, I may hold up posting it for a couple of days. Please note that, except in rare cases, source that doesn't meet the guidelines will not be published. The backlog from receipt to posting varies from one to four weeks depending mostly on the set of submissions currently in my queue and my current work load. ------------------- Subject: Guidelines To make life easier for both myself and the users of the comp.sources.x newsgroup, I request that all submissions follow the following guidelines. Initial Submissions: 1. Try to use #include <X11/Xos.h> instead of things like types.h, strings.h and time.h 2. Please use -display displayname and -geometry geomspec instead of the old style. 3. Source filenames need to be 12 or fewer characters in length. 4. Include an Imakefile. For more information on Imakefile's, read imake.man in util/imake on the X11 Release 4 distribution. 5. A Makefile is required. 6. A manual page is required. 7. A README file is required. This should contain a brief description of what the posting is and any special considerations in building it. The README should also contain a list of authors and the distribution and copying policy. 8. Postings should be in shar format of <= 75K. If it is necessary to split the posting into multiple parts, each shar file should be <= 75K. 9. Include a patchlevel.h -- This file is used to keep track of how many official patches have been applied. 10. If fonts are submitted, please assure they are in bdf format. 11. Any additional documentation (past the required man page) should be in PostScript format or some nroff/troff format so people can print it out nicely. Updates, patches, etc.: It is up to the author to determine if there have been major enough changes to warrant a complete reposting. This may be necessary if the size of the patches exceeds the size of the source but in most cases only patches are posted. Total repostings should be treated as an initial posting. What follows pertains to patches... 1. When patches are submitted, they should be in context diff format. 2. A patch to patchlevel.h should be done to reflect that the patch has been applied. You are -advised- to include a Prereq: line in your patch for this file so that if patchlevel.h fails to patch correctly (the user is out of sync), the rest of the patches will not be applied. 3. Include information about which previously posted issues the patch pertains to if they were initially posted to c.s.x. This information will be reflected in the Patch-To: header when your article is posted. For more information on patch see patch.man in util/patch/patch.man in the X11 Release 4 distribution or in volume7 of the comp.sources.unix archives. Patches can be made with diff -c on 4.XBSD based machines and with diffc on others. Diffc can be found in volume 1 of comp.sources.unix archives. GNU diff can also be used to create context diffs. ------------------------ Subject: Becoming an archive site If you collect comp.sources.x postings and are willing and able to make your collection available to other people, please let me know. Benefits include the undying gratitude of your colleagues, and a promise from me to try to make sure you never lose an article. -------------------- Subject: Accessing the archives The complete archives are fairly large; an average volume is three to four megabytes. There are several active archive sites around the net. Archive sites in the U.K., Canada, and Switzerland are set up, and it may be extended to provide full European coverage. If you are interested please contact me. Some sites below will send tapes through the mail. For those sites, send a 1/2" mag tape WITH RETURN POSTAGE and RETURN MAILER. Tapes without postage or mailer will not be returned. No other methods (COD, etc.) are available; please don't ask. At the present time, I do not have ready access to the archives, nor the support of my employer to do this. Please don't ask me for missing issues, unless you are sure you are reporting a net-wide problem of propagation. At the end are detailed instructions on how to access the archives. More sites will be listed there in the future. -------------------- Subject: Listing of archive sites in no particular order Here is what each field means: Site: The name of the site nice enough to act as an archive site. Contact: The name of the person to contact and their mail address Location: The general area of the world the site is located in. Modems: For providing UUCP access, what types of modems are available. UUCP: Type of UUCP access is available. FTP: Type of FTP access is available. Mail Server: Account address of the automated mail server if available. Additional: Additional information pertaining to accessing the archive. ************************ U S A - EASTERN ************************ Site: uunet.uu.net Contact: Rick Adams (postmaster@uunet.uu.net) Location: Fairfax, VA Modems: Telebit UUCP: uunet uucp customers only FTP: anonymous ftp Mail server: netlib@uunet Additional: contact the postmaster for more information Site: hhb Contact: Lee Daniels (lee@hhb) Location: New Jersey Modems: 1200/2400 UUCP: On Request FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: The East Coast Xarchive is now available. The purpose of this archive is to provide access to all publicly available X Window System based software through UUCP. The archive contains a complete comp.sources.x directory and a copy of what can be found on expo/contrib and expo/pub. The expo directories are updated roughly once a month. The archive can be accessed at 1200 and 2400 baud. UUCP connections are available on request The only requirements are that you submit the attached form requesting connection information. When you submit the form, your host becomes authorizes to call the archive. You will be sent a copy of the L.sys entry for accessing the archive. The archive administrator is using this approach in order to document the usage of the archive in order to help justify its existence to the system administrator and upper management. I am hoping to have enough information to help justify adding a Telebit Trailblazer. Lee Daniels princeton!hhb!lee@uunet.uu.net HHB Systems 1000 Wyckoff Avenue (201) 848-8000 Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 ---------------------------- c u t h e r e --------------------------------- Name: Email address: Phone number: UUCP system's hostname: Company: Company address: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site: dune Contact: pax@dune Location: Unknown Fidonet: 369/6 - The Eye of Osiris OPUS/UFGATE 305-973-1947 Modems: Unknown UUCP: Anonymous UUCP FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: Fidonet archive ************************ U S A - CENTRAL ************************ Site: ssbell Contact: Kent Landfield (kent@ssbell.uu.net) Location: Omaha/Bellevue, NE Modems: Telebit UUCP: On request FTP: No Mail server: netlib@ssbell Additional: Tapes made on request Site: j.cc.purdue.edu Contact: Jeff Smith (jsmith@j.cc.purdue.edu) Location: Indiana Modems: None UUCP: None FTP: Anonymous FTP Mail server: None Additional: None Site: mcdchg Contact: Ron Heiby (heiby@mcdchg) Location: Illinois Modems: 1200 Baud UUCP: Anonymous UUCP FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: In order to ensure that the archive service does not interfere with real work, the uucico for the archive login will be have its "x" permission bits turned off at 8 a.m. Chicago local time (CST6CDT) and on again at 6 p.m. on weekdays. Execute permission will be turned on throughout Saturday and Sunday. The phone number for "mcdch1" is (currently) 1-312-576-7902. There is a single line on that number. The modem will answer at 1200bps and will require a carriage return to get a "login:" prompt. In response to the login prompt, your system should send the login id, "pduucp". The password is "public". As I said above, all this is turned off between about 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Chicago time Monday through Friday, so we can get our real work done, so don't bother trying it during those periods. The Systems file entry for doing this looks something like: (For HoneyDanBer UUCP (BNU) users. Combine into a single line.) mcdch1 Wk1800-0730,Sa,Su ACU 1200 chicago5767902 "" \r\c in:--in: pduucp word: public Once you have your system set up to place an outgoing UUCP call to "mcdch1", you can retrieve material from the archives. There are two files that are excellent choices for testing your link. This file is file mcdch1!~/howto.snarf. The current directory of what is stored in the comp.sources.x archives is found in the file mcdch1!~/directory. To get either of these, execute a command like: uucp mcdch1!~/howto.snarf !~/MYNAME/ uucp mcdch1!~/directory !~/MYNAME/ The directory is simply the output from "ls -sRxF" on the comp.sources.x archive disk hierarchy. It is updated just before 6 p.m. every day. Be sure to look carefully to be sure you are getting the latest version available. Also, look for "index" files to help find what you want. NOTE: There are occasionally inconsistencies between the archive names we have on disk and those published in the index by the moderator of comp.sources.x. WARNING: These files are not stored under /usr/spool/uucppublic, so requests that specify an absolute pathname, rather than one under "~" will almost certainly fail. WARNING: Please be aware that uucp commands asking for file names containing wild cards will almost certainly not work. This is because all of the implementations I know of submit a uux job to the remote system asking it to run "uucp" on the wild card filename. Systems logging in with "pduucp" are prohibited from executing "uucp" or other commands via "uux". So, be sure to ask for each file separately. Site: e.ms.uky.edu Contact: David Herron (david@e.ms.uky.edu) Location: Kentucky Modems: Telebit UUCP: On Request FTP: Anonymous FTP Mail server: None Additional: None ************************ U S A - WESTERN ************************ Site: aeras Contact: Jason Winters (jason@aeras) Location: San Jose, CA Modems: 1200, 2400, Telebit UUCP: Anonymous FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: SnailMail tapes (Under duress) Systems/L.sys information: aeras Any 1200 4089439152 "" "" ogin:--ogin: uugarch word: freebee aeras Any 19200 4089439246 "" "" ogin:--ogin: uugarch word: freebee aeras Any 2400 4089439396 "" "" ogin:--ogin: uugarch word: freebee Suggested places to get additional information: /u3/archive/sources/LISTING LISTING contains the names of all the programs stored in the archives, and the sizes. Note: all archives have probably been stored in compressed form, with 12 bit compression (for machines that can't handle 16 bit). All multiple file programs have been stored in separate directories, then compressed. More information about the files stored in a particular volume are kept in files called LOGFILE. Such as: /u3/archive/sources/x/vol1/LOGFILE would be the one to get to examine the exact contents of volume 1 of the x section. Additional information from files: sample command to recover files: uucp aeras!/u3/archive/sources/games/vol1/LOGFILE /tmp/. Special note: wild cards have been proven to not be reliable, so to assure success they are not recommended tools. Site: zok Contact: mark@zok.uucp (Mark W. Snitily) Location: Cupertino, CA Modems: Telebit (connections established in PEP, 2400, 1200 order) UUCP: +1 408-996-8285: login: UXarch Password: Xgoodies FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: SnailMail tapes A new west-coast UUCP X11 Archive is administered by Mark Snitily (mark@zok.uucp) and contains the full X11R4 distribution, the XTEST distribution, an entire archive of comp.sources.x and other goodies. A sample Systems (or L.sys) entry might be: zok Any ACU 19200 4089968285 in:--in: UXarch word: Xgoodies To get a current listing of the files that are available, download the file "/usrX/ls-lR.Z". A full subject index of the comp.sources.x files is available in the file "/usrX/comp.sources.x/INDEX". When downloading files with uucp, wildcards (i.e. "*") won't work. Be sure to specify the full pathname starting with "/usrX/". For example, uucp zok\!/usrX/ls-lR.Z \!~ (The above "\"'s are csh escapes, ignore them if you're using sh.) The machine currently has just the one modem, so please do not fetch large amounts of data at one sitting. Site: gatekeeper.dec.com Contact: Paul Vixie (vixie@gatekeeper.dec.com) Location: Palo Alto, California Modems: N/A UUCP UUCP to existing neighbors FTP: Anonymous FTP Mail server: None Additional: None Site: tekcsc.mkt.tek.com Contact: Jeff Beadles (jeff@tekcsc.mkt.tek.com) Location: Wilsonville, Oregon Modems: Telebit UUCP: On Request FTP: None Mail server: netlib@tekcsc.mkt.tek.com Additional: Tapes ************************ Canada ************************ Site: geac Contact: David Haynes (x-depot@geac) Location: Markham, Ontario CANADA Modems: Telebits (X.25 soon) UUCP: Anonymous UUCP FTP: None Mail server: netlib@geac Additional: Tarmail, Tape Duplication ************************ Great Britain ************************ Site: doc.ic.ac.uk Contact: Lee McLoughlin (lmjm@doc.ic.ac.uk) Location: Imperial College, London, United Kingdom Modems: Indirectly thru' modems onto Janet 300/1200/2400 UUCP: None FTP: Janet/PSS NIFTP Mail server: info-server Additional: None ************************ Switzerland ************************ Site: pan Contact: Jamie Watson (mcvax!cernvax!pan!jw) Location: Solothurn, Switzerland Modems: Multitech 1200/2400 UUCP: Anonymous UUCP FTP: None Mail server: None Additional: SnailMail tapes/diskettes --------------------------------------- Subject: Editorial comments Altho I don't make it a rule, postings which require uuencoded files be included are accepted, but I much prefer btoa format. In fact, source code submissions (especially large ones) are more easily transferred in mail and more easily stored for me if you use tarmail rather than shar. But this in in my own opinion and I am not making any requirements that people use tarmail/btoa at all. Why btoa instead of uuencode? First and foremost, uuencode doesn't travel well over certain mail transport agents because it uses a "space" as a possible conversion character. There are some MTAs that remove trailing spaces from the ends of lines and it would result in a file that you could not "decode". Secondly, the amount of ascii characters actually generated by "btoa" is far fewer than uuencode, saving on net traffic. Finally, it's just so much easier to deal with -- you don't have to worry about setuid, creating files automatically, chmod 666, and you can use btoa in a pipe. "Top 10 pet peeves of the comp.sources.x moderator." 10. Submissions that do not contain a README or Imakefile file. 9. Submissions that do not contain a man page. 8. People who ask me if there are any postscript previewers available. 7. People who send me sources using uuencode (use "shar" files < 75K each). 6. Programs that don't compile right the first time. 5. That guy who sends me those digitized frames from the Rob Lowe video. 4. Shell scripts that post the wrong subject line. 3. Patches that don't apply correctly. 2. No, I don't know when R4 is going to be released. And the #1 pet peeve by the comp.sources.x moderator... 1. Requests for previous postings to be resent to them. dan ---------------------------------------------------- O'Reilly && Associates argv@sun.com / argv@ora.com Opinions expressed reflect those of the author only.