Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/BBS_UTIL/DOLD102.ZIP/DELOLD.DOC

Text File | 1994-02-20 | 12KB | 256 lines

                              --=[ DELOLD ]=--
                                     by
                                Lyn Borchert
                    Copyright (c), 1994 by Lyn Borchert
                            All rights reserved





WHY WRITE SUCH A PROGRAM
    Like most of the programs I have written, this was written for my
    personal use.  Sometimes a program I write works so nicely that I
    decide to share it with the rest of my fellow BBS sysops.  DELOLD is
    one of those programs.  Since the use of the File_id.diz file started
    becoming popular, I wanted to make use of it on my BBS.  While it was
    easy enough to import the contents of a file_id.diz file into my
    FILES.BBS description files, doing so lead to some other maintenance
    related problems.  As yet, I haven't found a good utility to doing
    maintenance (mainly moving and sorting) on my file system that includes
    support for extended descriptions.  I also was to the place where drive
    space was becoming scarce and at the rate users were uploading I was
    having to manually hunt for old files to delete so as not to run out of
    drive space.

    Back in the days when a BBS running on 80 to 100 meg was considered a
    good sized BBS, manually maintaining the file section wasn't too tough.
    Now a days with 800 plus meg systems are the norm, it has become a
    chore to maintain a files section.  On my system I have 60 different
    directories with several screens of descriptions. To hunt through
    each and every one looking for old files plus moving the new uploads
    into their proper areas has become a full time job and frankly was
    taking away from the fun of running a BBS.  So, not finding anything to
    help me automate things, I sat down one night and wrote this little
    utility.

HOW IT WORKS
    I wanted something that would scan through all my file directories
    looking for files over so many days old.  I like to not have files that
    are much over one year old on my system.  It scans the file dates and
    determines which files need deleting.  It then deletes them, and starts
    removing the deleted files descriptions from the FILES.BBS file located
    in the same directory.

    The first version worked on only one directory at a time and was
    command line driven.  Meaning you entered on the commandline the
    directory you wanted it to work on and how many days old a file had to
    be to get deleted.  This worked well, but seemed silly since there
    would likely be several directories that the sysop would want to
    process.  So, in the next release, I moved the command line parameters
    into a config file.  The program works exactly the same except it now
    reads the area to work on from the config file.

INSTALLATION
    I have the exe file (DELOLD.EXE) placed in my \TOOLS directory.  The
    tools directory is in my path, so no matter where I run the program
    from, DOS can find it.  I keep the config file in my BBS home directory
    which is the directory I run my nightly maintenance from.  This way I
    don't have to have a long command line pointing to the config file and
    the DELOLD.LOG file is created in the same directory as the rest of my
    logs so when I archive them they are all right there.

    So, the first thing you need is a config file.  There is a sample
    config file that comes with DELOLD.  This is actually the config file
    that I use on my system.  Either change this one to match your system
    or create a new one.  Place it anywhere you like on your hard drive.


    Now, simply run DELOLD with the full path and filename to your config
    file.  Like this:

    DELOLD c:\tools\delold.cfg

    If your config file is located in the current directory, you only need
    the filename on the command line. Like this:

    DELOLD delold.cfg

    The log file is created in whatever directory is the current directory
    when you run the program.  If a log file already exists, DELOLD will
    append this runs activity to the end of the existing log file.

    If you like, you can do like I have done and have DELOLD run
    automatically in a weekly event.  Every Tuesday in the wee hours of the
    morning my system is purged of old files and I archive all my log files
    at this time also.  Or, you could just run it whenever you need some
    more hard drive space.

REGISTRATION
    It's important to register.  If this version of the program suites your
    needs and you don't care to have any further enhancements then all you
    need to do to register is send me a netmail or postcard saying you like
    it and are using it.

    If you would like to see more features added to the program, then send
    in $5.00.  The money received will be incentive for me to do more work
    on this program so that some day the enhancements listed below may be
    added and a new version released.

    If you don't send a netmail or a postcard or the $5.00, then please
    don't use my program for more than the evaluation period.

    I will happily answer any questions sent to me about this program, but
    I don't guarantee that I'll ever release another version.  It just
    depends on how much response I receive and/or whether I need further
    enhancements for my own use.  Even if I do make enhancements for my own
    use, I won't release another version unless this one was well received.
    That's why it's important for you to register. <grin>

    Maybe I should call this ego-ware.

    Send your Netmail to 1:300/[e-mail]

    Fax a note to [phone]

    Send your postcard and/or $5.00 to:
         Lyn Borchert
         4956 E. 3rd Street
         Tucson, Az.  85711

    Call The Hour Glass BBS for other programs I've written or just to
    check out the BBS if you like.  [phone]


DISTRIBUTION
    Please make sure that all files are included when you pass it one.
    Changing the archive format is fine so long as all the files of the
    original distribution are kept in the archive.

    You are encouraged to distribute DELOLD provided that all files
    contained in the archive are distributed in their original and
    unmodified state and the root filename remains as "DOLD<version
    number>", I.E. "DOLD102" for version 1.02 of DELOLD.

    This program is full  functioning  and  has  no "ShareWare Screens"
    that are used  to  annoy  you  to  death. Feel free to thank me for
    that by sending in your postcard or netmail registration.

    If you are compiling a CD-ROM or you sell Diskettes containing
    Shareware products, you have my permission to include this copy of
    DELOLD provided you make it clear to your customers that they are not
    paying for the software when they send you money.  It is your
    responsibility to insure that your customers realize they still have to
    register this program with the author if they intend to use it.

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS
    I'm already thinking up ways to improve DELOLD.  In the future releases
    I may include some of the following ideas.  If you have an idea, please
    include it with your registration.

    SORTing of the FILES.BBS file.  I prefer my files to display in a
    sorted order rather than oldest first like so many BBS programs cause
    to happen.

    LIST generation.  It would seem a perfect marriage for DELOLD to also
    generate an ALLFILES kind of listing while it did it's current job.
    Since I don't have a utility to do that currently, it's pretty likely
    that I will add this feature in the very near future.

    MOVING as an option to deleting.  I realize that some people may prefer
    to move files to a different drive so they can decide what old files
    they would like to keep for themselves or you could have an "About to
    Be Deleted" file area so users know ahead of time that these files are
    going away soon.

    DUPLICATE / VERSION control.  Since most BBS systems only check for
    duplicate filenames that match exactly it's possible to get duplicate
    files online.  I could create a better method for checking for
    duplicate files.  It's also possible to check for files that are have
    newer versions since more filenames only change by their version
    numbers.

    STRIPPING punctuation characters from filenames.  It's become a common
    practice for shareware game companies to put exclamation points and
    other such characters in the filenames of their distribution files.
    This often makes their files float to the top of a sorted file listing
    and makes the file unusable on a CD-ROM.  Users also tend to strip off
    these characters thus bypassing your BBSes ability to detect them as
    duplicate uploads.

    AUTO CONVERTing archive formats.  This one is a little beyond the scope
    if have envisioned for my utility, but is a possible function to be
    added later.


    TOUCHing file dates.  Most BBSes stamp an upload with the date it was
    uploaded to the system.  This can cause a 1988 program to reside in a
    1994 dated archive.  I currently re-archive all uploads to my system
    making the archive file date the same as the newest file inside the
    archive.  This gives a more accurate accounting of the files age in my
    opinion even though it defeats the NEW FILE SEARCH of my BBS.  It would
    be easy to have this program stamp the archive date to match the date
    of the new file inside the archive.

    That's just a few of the ideas I've had for enhancements to DELOLD.
    Whether or not they become available to the rest of the world depends
    on how many of you register this version.

    I'm open to additional ideas also.

COMPATIBILITY
    DELOLD should be compatible with any system using the FILES.BBS file
    system.  There are some BBSes that use a slightly different format for
    the files.bbs file and some allow the system to alter the name of the
    file.  TRIBBS is one such BBS program.  DELOLD will work with a TRIBBS
    file system provided you are using the name of FILES.BBS instead of
    FILES.LST which I think TriBBS defaults to.  The format is slightly
    different also in that it contains the files date and size in the
    description file.  DELOLD won't care about that and should work
    properly with this additional information in the file.

    Extended descriptions must begin to the left of column 3 of the
    FILES.BBS file. Any valid character in column one is treated as the
    first line of a file description by DELOLD so if your extended
    descriptions start at column one, two, or three, DELOLD will probably
    not work properly.  Otherwise you should be safe.  DELOLD does take
    into consideration that you may have a few lines at the beginning of
    your FILES.BBS for describing the current area.  Here again, so long as
    none of these lines begins in the first three columns of the file you
    should be OK.

WARRANTY
    This product is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. The entire
    risk as to the results and  performance of the program is assumed by you.
    Futhermore, the  author does  not warrant, guarantee, or  make any  other
    representations regarding  the use of,  or the  results of the use of the
    program,  and you  rely on the  program and  results  solely at  your own
    risk.  The author  cannot and  will not accept  responsibility for system
    damage, loss of profit, or any other special, consequential or incidental
    damages  resulting  from  the  use  or  inability  to  use this  product.

COPYRIGHT / LICENSE
    DELOLD Copyright (c) 1993-94 by Lyn Borchert is being distributed
    as Shareware. Under this concept you may use the SHAREWARE  (unregistered)
    version for a reasonable period of  time for evaluation  after which you
    must either register your copy or discontinue usage. For the purposes
    of this document, "a reasonable period of time" is considered to not be
    longer than 30 days.