GETMAP

Section: Misc. Reference Manual Pages (X_MAN8_EXT_X)
Updated: 31 January 1988
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NAME

getmap - unshar USENET map articles into a map directory

SYNOPSIS

X_UTIL_BIN_DIR_X/getmap [ -m mapdir ] [ -w workdir ] [ -b batch ] [ -u address ] [ -n newsgroups ]
[ -s newsspooldir ]
X_UTIL_BIN_DIR_X/unsharmap [ -d dir ] [ -n newsgroups ] [ -s newsspooldir ]

DESCRIPTION

The getmap command reads the file batch to obtain a list of article files formatted in the style of USENET comp.mail.maps. It then uses unsharmap to extract maps from these articles into the directory mapdir. These maps are intended to be used as input data to pathalias(X_MAN8_EXT_X). The program uuwho(X_MAN1_EXT_X) prints individual map entries from the extracted map files.

OPTIONS

The following options are recognized by getmap:

-m mapdir: Extracted map files will be placed in the directory mapdir, rather than the default directory X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X.
-w workdir: The directory workdir will be used for working storage for getmap . The log and error log files getmap.log and getmap.err will also be placed in this directory.
-b batch: Use batch, rather than X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X/work/batch, as the name of the file containing the list of new mail message files. A batch file of - implies that the list of articles is to be read from standard input. If batch is not - then batch.work is used as both the lock file and the work file.
-u address: If getmap encounters an error, then the contents of the error log file will be mailed to address rather than the default address of Postmaster. If address is - then the error log is written to standard error rather than mailed to some user.
-n newsgroups: Specifiy the list of allowed newsgroups for articles. Multiple newsgroups can be specified, separated by single colons. The default list is ``comp.mail.maps.''
-s newsspooldir: Specify the top-level directory of the news article hierarchy. Batch files created by C News contain pathnames that are relative to this directory. The default news spool directory is X_NEWS_SPOOL_DIR_X.

Even though the default values for mapdir , workdir and batch are found in the same directory tree, the options -m, -w and -b set locations independent of each other. E.g., -m does not change workdir .

The following options are recognized by unsharmap:

-d dir: Map files are extracted into dir rather than the current directory.
-n newsgroups: Specifiy the list of allowed newsgroups for articles. Multiple newsgroups can be specified, separated by single colons. The default list is ``comp.mail.maps.''
-s newsspooldir: Specify the top-level directory of the news article hierarchy. Batch files created by C News contain pathnames that are relative to this directory. If this option is not specified, the batch file must contain pathnames that begin with /. However, if invoked from getmap, this defaults to X_NEWS_SPOOL_DIR_X.

GETMAP OPERATION

The batch file contains a list of article filenames, one per line. Article files are files formatted in the style of articles received by the USENET news service in the newsgroup comp.mail.maps. The getmap program uses unsharmap to extact a map file from each artcile named in the batch file. All extacted map articles are placed in the directory mapdir. A log of each article file is obtained from the standard output of unsharmap and appended to the file getmap.log located in the workdir directory.

At invocation, getmap attemps to move batch to a file with a .work suffix. (i.e., batch is moved to batch.work .) If batch.work already exists, getmap will abort. In this way, the batch.work serves as a lock file. If batch is - then article file names are obtained form standard input. In this case, the batch.work file is not formed.

The file getmap.log in the directory workdir contains a history of getmap processing and errors. At the start of a given getmap run, the error log file getmap.err in the directory workdir is cleared. During getmap execution, each line written to the log file is also written to the error log file. If any error conditions are encountered, the error log is mailed to address. If address is - then the error log is written to standard error. If no errors are encountered, the error log is removed, otherwise it is left behind until a future getmap run clears it.

UNSHARMAP OPERATION

The unsharmap program is used by getmap to extract maps out of article files.

Article file names are read from standard input, one file per line. The map file name is obtained form the article file and the map contents are written into the dir directory. Old map files are overwritten.

For each map file, unsharmap writes the following information to standard output:

name of the article file
name of the extracted map file
Subject line
Message-ID line
article Date
Approved line

Each article file contains a news header, a blank line, and an article body. The header, which starts on the first line and continues until a blank line is encountered, which separates the header from the body. The header is expected to contain at least the following header fields:

Newsgroups: comp.mail.maps
Subject: UUCP ...
Message-ID: ...
Date: ...
Approved: ...

For any line above, containing `...', the `...' string can match any sequence of characters within a field, where other characters in the field must match exactly, independently of case.

The body for each article file is expected to begin with zero or more lines beginning with the character `:', followed by the two lines:

echo shar: extracting map-name
cat << 'SHAR_EOF' > map-name

where map-name is the map to be extracted. What follows are the file contents to be placed in the map file, followed by the three lines:

SHAR_EOF
:    End of shell archive
exit 0

INTERFACING GETMAP WITH NETNEWS

To interface getmap with the netnews software, version 2.10 or 2.11, add a line to your sys file (see news(5)) containing:

maps:comp.mailmaps,world:F:batch

where batch is the full pathname to getmap's batch file. Normally batch is X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X/work/batch.

The getmap program should be run on a periodic basis under a user and group ID that can write to the map directory. See smailcron(X_MAN8_EXT_X) for details.

FILES

X_NEWS_SPOOL_DIR_X: The default top-level directory used for obtaining news articles.
X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X: The default directory for maps extraction. Map files broadcast in comp.mail.maps begin with either ``u.'' or ``d.'' and have a name indicating which region of the world they represent.
X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X/work/batch: The default work file used containing artcile filenames.
X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X/work/batch.work: The default work file copy created while processing the input pathnames. This file also serves as a lock file for similar getmap executions.
X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X/work/getmap.log: The default history log of getmap activity and errors.
X_UNSHAR_MAP_DIR_X/work/getmap.err: The default error log of the previous getmap execution. This is mailed to Postmaster if an error occured, otherwise it is removed.
X_UTIL_BIN_DIR_X/unsharmap: The program that does the real work of extracting map files from netnews articles.
X_SMAIL_NAME_X: The program used in mailing the getmap.err error log.

BUGS

The format of USENET articles is subject to change at the whim of a few USENET map people.

some articles may not be processed. Most netnews software does an open, write and close for each filename written to the batch file. In rare cases, the batch file may be left opened when getmap moved it to batch.work. In this case, the last article may be ignored.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright(C)1987, 1988 Ronald S. Karr and Landon Curt Noll
Copyright(C)1992 Ronald S. Karr
See a file COPYING, distributed with the source code, or type smail -bc for distribution rights and restrictions associated with this software.

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