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1994-06-12
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From: mbn@greyskul.intel.com (Mike Northam)
Newsgroups: alt.usenet.offline-reader
Subject: YAF (Yet Another FAQ)
Date: 25 May 94 10:22:45
Organization: Shorter Software Solutions
Lines: 416
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <MBN.94May25102245@greyskul.intel.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: greyskul.intel.com
X-Status: R
Note: I have attempted to contact the original author of this document,
Zhahai Stewart, about ongoing maintenance and posting of it. I have not
been successful, so have taken the liberty of making some minor updates
and corrections. I wouldn't have bothered except that I found this
document particularly helpful when I was getting started in offline
reading and thought it was worth a little work. I invite any further
suggested changes.
Mike Northam (mbn@greyskul.intel.com)
-----------
The following is growing into an FAQ-like document for Unix Offline Readers.
Please, email me corrections and additional information (not flames) at
zstewart@nyx.cs.du.edu
Additions by Mike Northam mbn@greyskul.intel.com
After I posted the first version of this, Steve Belczyk sent me a copy of a
similar document and I considered abandoning this effort, but others have
apparently been unaware of it, and this document has additional information,
so I will for now continue.
=====================================
Unix host to DOS offline-reader systems
for reading, replying, and posting email and news.
Zhahai Stewart
12/06/93 Version
05/25/94 updates by Mike Northam
=============== Intro ===============
Many people read their internet mail and usenet newsgroups via direct login
to a Unix based host, using a terminal (like a VT-100/200/300 series), or
a computer emulating a terminal. They may do this via a wired connection
(say, at a university computer lab), or via a modem and telephone connection.
On the Unix end, they may run a news reader program such as rn, trn, nn, tin,
etc. for news, and a mail reader such as mail, elm, etc. for email.
(Of course, lucky ones have a high powered graphical workstation on a high
speed network gated to the internet, but that's another thing...).
For those who are connecting via modem and a computer emulating a terminal,
it becomes obvious that they could reduce their connect time (which may cost
money, or may tie up a phone line, or ...) if they could download new email
and news, read and respond "offline" (while not connected to the Unix host),
and then upload their mail and news responses. This is the idea behind
offline readers. A very similar process is used by many BBS users, but the
typical BBS oriented formats and offline readers (eg: QWK and Bluewave
formats and offline readers) were not designed for Internet mail and Usenet
news.
However there are now several options for offline reading of internet email
and usenet newsgroups. First off, there are "sorta" 4 packet formats:
SOUP - designed for just this purpose, open standard, has the most support;
used to be called "HellDiver Packet Format" or HDPF.
ZipNews - also designed for this, proprietary, one $20 shareware reader
QWK plain - actually BBS std, doesn't handle email and news well,
especially bad for replies; but can be read by any QWK reader.
QWK with header in body - includes internet/usenet header in the QWK body;
theoretically a reader could use this, but so far none do; one can
at least read (verbosely) the header info, and an expert can manually
create appropriate response headers (dangerous).
Basically, all of these consist of a group of files (one or two per newsgroup,
plus a few extra) enclosed in a compressed archive file (like *.zip).
On the Unix side, there are two packages which can create these packets for
download, and accept uploaded responses.
UQWK - can create/accept all four (SOUP, Zipnews, QWK plain and QWK header)
getnews/postreply - can create/accept SOUP (in slnr package)
Both of these are distributed in C source code, and may need to be compiled
on your Unix machine host (somebody else may already have done this, or you
may have to).
On the nearby (to you) end, on your machine, there are several offline
readers. There are two basic dynamics: either they read the downloaded
packet directly, or you run one program to import each packet into a local
messagebase and another to read/respond from the messagebase. A "threaded"
reader can group related messages together (eg: same subject); unthreaded
ones display them in the order received.
slnr - SOUP only; MSDOS; packet reader; distributed in C source; colored
screens supported; also runs under Unix or Atari or OS/2
yarn - SOUP only; MSDOS; messagebase reader; threaded
unor - SOUP only; MSWindows; packet reader; unthreaded (sorted by
'Subject:' header)
hpv - SOUP only; MSDOS; packet reader?
ZipNews Reader - ZipNews only; MSDOS; packet reader; threaded; shareware
$20; unregistered version can read netnews only, cannot read email or
respond to either
any QWK reader - can read QWK plain or QWK header, but cannot handle all
of the internet/usenet fields, or good responses. Not reccommended
except as a last resort. MANY available, for many machines and OS's.
Note that all of these formats, host programs, and offline readers can handle
both email and newsgroups; unlike the typical Unix software division of labor,
the same program usually does both.
There is more information on the formats, readers, and host software later in
this document, including file names, authors, and ftp locations.
========= Setting up and configuring the software =========
This can be complicated, and very much depends on the software you are using.
You may have to create configuration files (on the DOS and/or Unix end), or
set environment variables (likewise, on either or both ends), or use the
right set of command line parameters. You may want to create "shell scripts"
(on the Unix End) or "batch files" (on the DOS end) to aid you in getting
everything set up or called correctly. You will have to read the documents
for the software you plan to use. Ask specific questions in the newsgroup
if you get confused. This document would be many times longer if I tried
to explain all the background and details (well, even that portion thereof
which I more or less understand <grin>).
You may even need to compile some C program(s) to get started. Some systems
are simple (like getnews/postreply/slnr) and fairly obvious to anybody used
to the compiler; others like uqwk include a makefile to handle the complexity.
Get local help if you cannot figure out how to compile. [See note at end.]
========== Operating Procedure (after set up) ===========
Typical usage:
Use your terminal program and modem to log in to the Unix host as usual.
Run UWQK or getnews with proper parameters to extract news and email and
create a 'download' packet.
Download the 'download' packet using a modem file transfer protocol like
ZMODEM.
Log off.
For packet reader, run the reader software on the new packet; read & reply
For messagebase reader, run the import software on the new packet; then
run the reader to read from the messagebase.
The reader should create a reply ('upload') packet if you have any responses.
Use the terminal program to log in again (or do this next time you download).
Upload the reply packet via a modem file transfer protocol like Zmodem.
Run UQWK or postnews with the proper parameters to process the reply packet
and send email and/or news to the appropriate destinations.
Log off.
One part not specifically addressed here is the process of moving individual
files in the packet into and out of compressed archives. Some aspects may be
done automatically, others you may have to do manually (or via batch files).
For example, getnews will invoke a configurable archivers (by default, zip),
but you have to manually unarchive (unzip, pkunzip) this file on your PC before
handing the enclosed files to slnr. Read the docs.
Logging in, running the host programs, and downloading/uploading are still your
responsibility, so you need to already know how to log on to the host system,
and how to download and upload binary files using a protocol like Zmodem. The
UQWK and getnews/postreply software must also exist on the Unix host, and be
properly configured (these come with doc files). You should understand the
idea of compressed archive formats, like .zip files.
========== Basic Questions and Answers ============
Q: What is "subscribing" to a newsgroup?
A: This just means that you have it on a list to be read; the list is
maintained as a file on the host, and it has both the name of the newsgroup
and the list of messages (by number) which you have already read. This
file is typically named ".newsrc" and is kept in your host directory. Files
beginning with a period are by default not shown, so this is a semi-hidden
file; see a book on Unix for more details. Subscribing means the newsgroup
names go into this file (one per line), unsubscribing means the name is
removed. (Detail: actually, it's subscribed only if the newsgroup name
is followed by a colon; if followed by an exclamation point, it is
unsubscribed even if listed in the file). Offline reader host programs
(getnews and uqwk) also use a file like this for the same purpose (to
know which groups are subscribed, and which messages have already been
marked as read); they may use the same file, or separate ones.
Note that most online newsreaders allow you to subscribe or unsubscribe to
newsgroups, and change your .newsrc accordingly (as they also do to show
which messages you read). You can also do so with a text editor, as the
".newsrc" file is simple text., and there exist special programs for
maintaining this file. Offline host programs may require that you use some
online method to maintain your .newsrc (or equivalent)--the online reader,
or an editor, or a maintenance program; or they may allow you to subscribe
and unsuscribe remotely. For example, the SOUP protocol has explicit
options (which may or may not be implemented) for subscribing and
unsubscribing, as well as listing newsgroups. Or, the uqwk program can
read commands mailed to it as messages. See the documentation.
Q: Can I read my mail/news both online (connected to the Unix host via a
terminal or terminal emulator and using elm/nn/trn/etc.), and offline (via
a packet format and offline reader as described here)?
A: Yes, but you need to think out what you are trying to do. Both the online
reading programs and the host end of the offline system keep track of which
messages you have read or not read. Do you want them to use the same info
about this? Or each keep separate pointers?
Same info: For news, use the same .newsrc file for both the online news
readers (like rn/trn/nn/tin/etc.) and for the host end of the offline system
(like uqwk/getnews). Once either of these has read a message, it will be
marked not to be presented to you again by either one (unless you take
special actions). For mail, have uqwk/getnews delete your incoming mailbox
after collecting the messages therein. In this case, each mail message will
go to the online or offline reader, whichever gets it first (actually, this
is only true if you delete it from the incoming mailbox with the online mail
program; if you leave it around, the offline host program will snarf it up
when it next runs).
Different info: For news, use a different .newrc type file for each; uqwk
can be configured to use another one, getnews can be edited and recompiled.
You can decide to put some newsgroups into each, allowing some to be read
online and some offline. Of you a newsgroup in both such files, in which
case the online and offline readers will maintain separate pointers. For
mail, configure the offline host program to not delete your mailbox; you
will get all mail both offline and online.
You can answer this question (using the same or different info about
what has been read for online and offline) independently for mail and news.
The difference between them is that for news, you only have info about
which messages you have already read (in your .newsrc or equivalent file),
but the messages (whicha are shared by everybody) stay around for a while
and you can still refetch ones you are marked as having read with some
minor effort; but for mail, once the messages are deleted from your incoming
mailbox (by an online mail program or an offline host program), they are
gone, period.
Q: I cannot compile getnews.c on my Unix host; it gives two errors, one near
"recompile" and another near the "I" command description.
A: Version 1.9 of getnews.c is mostly "old" C, but has one ANSI extension which
confuses some older C compilers: concentanation of two adjacent quoted
strings. This is used for multiline strings in two places. You have to
change the second and following strings into separate print statements,
matching the first one. Maybe this will be changed in a later version. The
problem is your compiler being too old, not bad coding on the author's part.
Luckily, this is easy to compensate for.
Q: On the PC, "slnr" blows up in strange ways with some newsgroups.
A: If the newsgroup name plus description is too long, the stack gets trashed,
with unpredictable but unpleasant results. In the function "show_header()",
increase the length of the desc[80] array, maybe to 160. Recompile.
=============== Formats =============
Format: QWK (plain; message body = Usenet message body)
Origin: mark.herring@nashville.com (Mark "Sparky" Herring), extended by others
Version: 1.7
Ftp: (various) qwklay16.zip QWK format spec
Files Dnloaded:CONTROL.DAT,MESSAGES.DAT,*.NDX
Files Uploaded:<bbsid>.MSG
Unix Host End: uqwk (optional mode)
DOS Reader End: any standard QWK reader
Advantages:
Widely supported standard, many readers available for many machines
Compatible with QWK packets from many BBSs and doors
Uqwk source freely available
Disadvantages:
QWK format truncates some important fields, is missing others
* This is a major problem for posts and replies *
***
Format: QWK (w/header; message body = Usenet message header and body)
Origin: (see above for basic QWK)
Version: (see above for basic QWK)
Ftp: (see above for basic QWK) No spec for QWK with usenet headers
Files Dnloaded:CONTROL.DAT,MESSAGES.DAT,*.NDX
Files Uploaded:<bbsid>.MSG
Unix Host End: uqwk (default mode)
DOS Reader End: [?]
Advantages:
Piggybacks on std QWK, can fallback to previous case
With full headers, it's possible to write USENET aware reader
Uqwk source freely available
Disadvantages:
No known QWK readers yet make correct use of Usenet headers embedded
in the QWK message body, for replies, display, threading, etc.
***
Format: SOUP (formerly Helldiver Packet Format, HDPF or HPF)
Origin: rhys@cs.uq.oz.au (Rhys Weatherley)
Version: 1.2
Ftp: (various) soup12.doc SOUP format spec
Files Dnloaded: AREAS, *.MSG, *.IDX (typ in INFONEWS.ZIP)
Files Uploaded: REPLIES, RMAIL.MSG (typ in REPLY.ZIP) for slnr
REPLIES, MAIL.MSG (typ in IOXR.ZIP) for yarn
Unix Host End: getnews/postreply from slnr pkg; uqwk
DOS Reader End: slnr; yarn; unor; hpv (Helldiver Packet Viewer)
Advantages:
Format designed for Usenet news/mail, powerful and expandable
Full header fields, no truncation
Source code freely available for getnews,postreply,slnr,uqwk
Largest number of readers for any full-header usenet offline format
Disadvantages:
New standard, limited number of readers
***
Format: ZipNews format
Origin: jkilday@nlbbs.com (Jack Kilday)
Version: 0.92y
Ftp: (format not publicly documented)
Files Dnloaded: Archived file <bbsname>.ZNS contains:
<user>.JN, <user>.NWS, <user>.MAI, <user>.GPS
Files Uploaded: <bbsname>.pst contains:
<user>.id, <user>.* (one for each article or reply)
Unix Host End: uqwk
Dos Reader End: ZipNews Reader
Advantages:
Designed to handle usenet messages without omissions or truncations
For DOS BBSs, there is a compatible "ZipNews Door" host end
Disadvantages:
Supported only by ZipNews Reader on DOS, and uqwk on unix hosts
Beta only at this time; registration is $19.95 during Beta phase
(with free upgrades to later versions)
ZipNews unregistered shareware will not post news, read email, or
send email, only read news (and send subscribe/unsubscribe cmds)
but a 10-day evaluation key can be obtained via email to try out
these functions
============= Readers ============
***
Name: hpv 1.01b Helldiver Packet Viewer
Author: rhys@cs.uq.oz.au (Rhys Weatherley)
Ftp: halcyon.com:/pub/incoming/hpv101b.zip
Notes: DOS reader. SOUP format. Reads archived SOUP packet (does its own
unarchiving to a temporary and deletes temps on exit). Multiple archiver
formats accepted (ZIP/LHA/etc.) Text/Graphical interface (Borland lib).
"The Original" SOUP reader.
***
Name: helldiver 1.07? Helldiver windows Packet Viewer
Author: rhyx@cs.uq.oz.au (Rhyx Weatherley) ??
Ftp: ? helld107.zip
Notes: MS Windows viewer. SOUP format. (Is this just a Borland lib port?)
Not much known to the author of this document.
***
Name: slnr 1.3a Simple Local News Reader
Author: Philippe Goujard (addr?)
Ftp: oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/offline/slnr13a.zip
Notes: DOS reader. SOUP format. Reads directly from unarchived SOUP packet,
directly produces replies. Freely available in source. Packaged along
with getnews 1.9 and postreply, which can provide Unix SOUP host functions,
also in source format. Has compile options for Unix, OS/2 and Atari based
reader. Currently limited to 500 msgs and 100 groups per packet in DOS
version, but easy to expand. Can colorize display via ANSI.SYS escape
sequences.
***
Name: yarn 0.65 (Yet Another RN)
Author: cthuang@io.org (Chin Huang)
Ftp: oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/offline/yarn-050.zip
Notes: DOS reader. SOUP format. Imports SOUP packets into its own
messagebase format, date expires old messages; reader operates on messagebase
rather than SOUP packet. No source.
***
Name: unor 0.23 Usenet Offline Reader
Author: rrusbasa@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Bob Rusbasan)
Ftp: ftp.gte.com:/pub/unor/unor0023.zip
Notes: MS Windows Reader. SOUP format.
***
Name: znr 0.92y ZipNews Reader
Author: jkilday@nlbbs.com (Jack Kilday)
Ftp: oak.oakland.edu: /pub/msdos/offline/znr092y.zip
ftp.halcyon: /pub/waffle/news/znr092y.zip
ftp.gte.com: /pub/zipnews/znr092y.zip
Notes: DOS reader. ZipNews format, or local Waffle BBS messagebase.
Proprietary format; DOS based host also available (ZipNews Door).
***
Name: pboy 1.01? PaperBoy
Author: vart@seas.upenn.edu (Michael H. Vartanian)
Ftp: ? pboy101.zip
Notes: MS Windows based. SOUP Reader. Not much known to document author.
============ Unix based Host Software for Offline Readers ==========
Name: uqwk 1.8 Unix QWK host
Author: steve1@world.std.com (Steve Belczyk)
Ftp: ftp.gte.com:/pub/uqwk/uqwk1.8.tar.Z
Notes: Unix host. SOUP, ZipNews, QWK and QWK/header in body formats.
***
Name: getnews, postreply
Ftp: oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/readers/slnr13a.zip
Notes: Unix host. SOUP format. Source freely available. Packaged with
slnr reader.
=====================================================================
The author of this document is Zhahai Stewart (zstewart@nyx.cs.du.edu),
with helpful contributions from:
steve1@world.std.com (Steve Belczyk)
jkilday@nlbbs.com (Jack Kilday)
mbn@greyskul.intel.com (Mike Northam)
---------------
--
Mike Northam, Shorter Software Solutions, on contract to Intel Corp.
(h) (503) 324-1831 (o) (503) 696-2356
mbn@greyskul.intel.com
"Every now and then things become clear." Jane Siberry, "The Walking"