Arachne system files description

The Configuraton File:

Expected in: .\ARACHNE.CFG
when not found there: [arachne directory]\ARACHNE.CFG
written always to: [already existing file]

The configuration file can be changed using user friendly setup pages, but for experienced MS-DOS user it must be self-explaining ;-)

Following information is only for The Inner Circle ;-)

MIME.CFG:

Expected in: .\MIME.CFG
when not found there: [arachne directory]\MIME.CFG
this file is never overwritten by Arachne

You must manualy update MIME.CFG each time when you need to add some plugin to ARACHNE (for example Java interpreter, VRML browser, or so ;-). If you want to write your own DGI application, your installation program should ask for path to MIME.CFG and update it automaticaly (like other programs are updating for example AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS).

...and following lines can be understood only by the Very Highest Council of the secret C geeks and adepts of free masonry ;-)

Cache index file:

User definable filename and location, usually: [arachne directory]\TOHLEUZ.MAM

Cache Index is binary file with following structure:

BinaryRecord
BinaryRecord
BinaryRecord
...
BinaryRecord

BinaryRecord has following structure:

int itemlength;//in this file, always 0x01A8
struct HTTPrecord cacheitem;

And this is prototype of HTTPrecord:

#define URLSIZE 256

struct HTTPrecord
{
 char URL[URLSIZE];// "" - zaznam neni platny
 unsigned x;
 long y;           // odkud byl naposled zobrazeny
 long size;        // v bajtech
 char knowsize;    // znam vubec velikost ?
 char mime[40];    // mime typ
 char locname[80]; // full local file name
 char httpresponse[30]; //nakonec vyuziju asi jinak
 int handle;       // file handle
 long lastseen;    // last seen time
 char postflag;    // slo o vysledek operace POST
};

The Other *.CFG files

usually: [arachne directory]\*.CFG

These are the other configuration files. Their usage usually depends on ARACHNE.CFG. Don't change them if you don't know what you are doing.

History file:

User definable filename and location, usually: [arachne directory]\TADYJSEM.BYL

Plain text file - each line contains one URL. First line must be for some reasons (mysterious even to the author) empty. Index of current URL is located in ARACHNE.PCK file.

The "hard disk poluting" runtime configuration file:

Expected in: .\ARACHNE.PCK
when not found there: [arachne directory]\ARACHNE.PCK
written always to: .\ARACHNE.PCK

Run SETUP.BAT if you want to ignore this file and reset Arachne. This file contains hardware dependent information about your video card !

struct ArachnePick
{
 char graphics[16];//last video mode
 char GUIstyle;    //0-menu vpravo, 1-menu nahore
 char language[9]; //*.MSG File name
 long cachesize;   //velikost HTTP cache
 int history;      //ukazatel do souboru TADYJSEM.BYL
};

The Other Hard Disk Polluting Files:

Expected always in: [arachne directory]\

FONTINFO.BIN, SVGA.SET, *.FNT and *.IKN are private files of Arachne or of X_LOPIF graphics library.

You can ask me to send you my collection of various *.IKN files, which can be useful for different file extensions on your hard disk. This format was originaly used in IBASE image databes. It's advantage against Windows *.ICO is, that it contains colour pallette. All 60x60 *.IKN files were created by me sometimes between 1991 and 1996 for IBASE "Command Center". I included some of them to Arachne because I had no other idea how to use them ;-) I don't recomend to publish them on WWW. It's dead file format.

I can send the utility for converting Windows *.TTF fonts to *.FNT to those, who will agree to send the copies of the converted TTF files back to me. See also details about distribution X_LOPIF graphics library for C language, which includes this utility.

The Waste

Can be found on diffent places

Files like *._$b, *.TMP or $roura$.bat are temporary and can be deleted when they stay on your hard disk (it can happen when Arachne crashes).

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