Simtel MSDOS - Coast to Coast/simteldosarchivecoasttocoast2.iso/modem/cvtfon2a.zip/CVTFON.HST

Text File | 1988-08-02 | 19KB | 426 lines

_R_e_v_i_s_i_o_n _H_i_s_t_o_i_r_e

CvtFon 2.0a (02 Aug 88) -

There was a major bug in reading comma-separated directories that
caused CvtFon to report "More than one output file given".  This
bug tended to manifest on a comma-separated BBS list distributed
by Mike Focke.  I added some sanity checks for string length and
it went away.

I was surprised that anyone had any stake in the comma-separated
format staying the same.  I'll try to add new fields on the end
from now on.  The protocol letters used in comma-separated files
by pre-2.0 versions will now be read properly, also.

CvtFon 2.0 (13 Jul 88) -

Well, I finally managed to get this one out, and on my birthday,
yet.  It's been months of sporadic fits of programming but,
predictably, it's during the summer that I actually turn out any
releases.

Major rewrite; converted to Turbo Pascal 4.0.  The overlay is
GONE, CvtFon is now an .EXE file.  New error trap revising
ERRORLEVELs somewhat, if you only test ERRORLEVEL 1 you'll be
fine.  Sweeping changes in memory allocation, sure hope no bugs
were introduced, but be on the lookout...

ProComm Plus, GT Power 14.00, and Telix 3.0 phone directory formats
supported.

Mike Focke asked (frequently) that GT Power's Hours field be
included in the comma-separated format for maintaining his BBS
list. You got it, Mike.  Also, the terminal type field is now
output.  Protocol and terminal type fields are now represented by
2- or 3- character codes for uniqueness.  Default protocols and
terminal types can be given with these codes.

The current DOS switch character (SWITCHAR) is used for
parameters now.  Fixed passing of paths so that drive identifiers
(like B:) and paths with '/' (if the switchar is not '/') are
accepted.  Miscellaneous bug fixes.  Revised internal protocol
handling to PibTerm 4.0-style two-letter abbreviations.

Manual revised, with a special section on just getting CvtFon
going, if you don't care about the options and shortcuts and
everything.  The shortcuts are in their own section, indented and
set aside for easy skipping over.  I hope the manual is more
accessible now (you're the judge... tell me!).

I'm so glad that Turbo Pascal now has an unsigned integer
type (word).  It simplifes dealing with 38400 bps rates
considerably.  However, internally I now use a long integer
(longint) to support speeds of 115200 bps (for Telix 3.0).

Source Code Now Available Separately:

Starting now, I'm making the source code public.  Before,
I was too lazy to comment it and I'd worried someone would use
it to make a trojan horse, but:

* I doubt anyone would want to pick on my program.  I don't
  cripple it or ask for money or have an annoying opening
  screen soliciting donations.  Sure, I can be slow about
  fixing bugs, but if you have the code you don't have
  to wait anyway.  Just send me the fix if you do, so I can
  put it the next release.

* Several of these formats are undocumented, so the code
  may help those of you writing your own utilities.

* Programs compiled by the IBM version of Turbo Pascal don't
  always work on less than 100% compatibles.  Previous
  versions had a problem with heap space detection on some
  compatibles.  (MemAvail kept reporting that there was no
  memory left.  I hope Turbo 4.0's MemAvail doesn't have the
  same problem.)  If you have the Generic MS-DOS Turbo
  Pascal (I don't), you can recompile the code under that.

I just ask that if you modify the program, don't post
another version of CvtFon, post the patch (and send me a
copy).  I'd rather not see 20 CvtFonlets bouncing around
the country (or be asked for help with a local variant I
don't know about).

CvtFon 1.9 (13 Nov 87) -

The PibTerm 4.0 directory format is now supported.  It's still
a fixed line-length text file, with the interesting feature of
using a two-letter field for the protocol.

A count of entries written is now given.  This should make it
easier to see if /INCLUDEs are too restrictive.

Baud rate arguments are multiplied by 100 and checked again
before they are rejected.  So, /MAX:24 does the same as
/MAX:2400.

CvtFon 1.8a (21 Oct 87) -

Oops.  I missed some obsolete code I should have removed.  Minor
fix: script files were not written from comma-separated files to
several formats.

CvtFon 1.8 (29 Aug 87) -

"...[CvtFon's] interface is something less than hospitable.
There are no pull-down menus or magic windows with this package.
Rather, the user enters a cryptic command line instruction..."
  -- Denver PC Boardwatch, August 1987, review of CvtFon 1.5

...so I've tried to make CvtFon easier to use by revising the
interface, renaming some parameters, and clarifying and updating
the documentation.  The documentation now emphasizes the easier
ways of doing things, instead of trying to show you all the
shortcuts at once.  Still no pull-down menus or magic windows,
though.  Sorry.

Parameters are now parsed by matching against a keyword.  You can
still abbreviate them by using just enough letters to be
unambiguous.  For example, you can abbreviate /PREFIX to /PRE,
but /P would be interpreted as /PARAMETERS (Now rampant
featuritis can continue to run its course without running out of
first letters!).  Also, parameters in the form -PREFIX=string are
not allowed anymore.

The comma-separated definition now includes time of last call and
number of calls.  You may have to reorganize your databases
slightly.

Sort and Wipe were extended to almost all of the major fields
to handle your more unique needs.  Wiped fields are considered
not read in the first place, so comma-separated output will not
write them if it doesn't have to.

38400 baud is now supported for those programs that can handle
it.

/MAX and /PARAMETERS now tries multiplying speeds by 100 before
rejecting them, so /MAX:24 will be accepted as 2400.

Renamed the /* parameter to /HOME, as in home board.

K9X 6.1 output did work in CvtFon 1.7b, but a pre-release copy
accidentally got archived.  The version on The Cork Board was
incorrect for a week or so before I caught it (Oops!).  It still
works O.K. in this version.

CvtFon 1.7b (25 Jul 87) -

Sal Manaro sent me the structure of the K9X 6.1 phone directory,
setting an example for authors of communications programs
everywhere.

CvtFon 1.7a (11 Jul 87) -

I finally found a copy of Boyan D2 that I didn't have to call out
of Jersey for.  CvtFon now supports the new file transfer
protocol field in Boyan directories.  Improved speed a little by
using speedy case statements instead of slow set containment if
statements.

CvtFon 1.7 (25 Jun 87) -

When I rearranged the messy command line parser for efficiency,
some bugs crept into the file when I left it open.  Here's what I
exterminated:

Directory types longer than one letter didn't parse correctly.
Choosing comma-separated output was passing on the "=", causing a
"Directory full" error (Hey, I only trap the errors...).
ProComm's script field is often not null-terminated as it should
be, so CvtFon put trailing spaces in front of the script
extension.  /KEEP only worked if you placed it BEFORE the input
file name.  Didn't always check the current directory for the
overlay.

Redesigned the parser a bit more to store the input files into an
array, then read them later.  Yes, this means there's a limit.
If you hit it and think it's too low, complain and it may be
raised.

Added /WIPE parameter to blank out fields, particularly
passwords.  =P now assumes ProComm, but it's still better to use
=PROCOMM to be unambiguous.  Some flavors of PC-Talk allow more
than 60 entries.  CvtFon will now read as many as it finds, but
will only write the standard 60.  Protocol and password fields
are now written to comma-separated and DIF output files now, but
CvtFon won't write unused fields if it doesn't need to.

Revised help screen and documentation to be clearer.  All along
the parameters would accept more than one letter after the /, why
not document them that way!  Silly me.

NOTE TO PROCOMM 3.0 USERS:
Version 3.0 is an unsupported beta-test copy of version 2.4.2,
with an incompatible phone directory.  Just get the completed
version, 2.4.2, and warn anyone you've given copies to.

CvtFon 1.6 (17 Jun 87) -

1 hectic senior year + 999-entry pointer array = 5 months since
1.5.  Despite all the bytes I shaved off, I still had to resort
to a (mostly painless) overlay.  If it can't find it, CvtFon
checks for a CVTFON environment variable, then looks down the
PATH.  CvtFon can handle a reasonable number of directory
entries again- up to 999, memory limiting.  Since PibTerm and
Telix will ignore more than the maximum number of entries in
their directories, CvtFon won't truncate their directories to the
number they can handle anymore, for text editing and future
versions.

Qmodem 3.0 and GT PowerComm 12.20 required a timely revision,
anyway.  The directories are the same, but both have new
protocols and accept 19200 baud.  So CvtFon supports a
password field and any alphanumeric protocol identifier for
Qmodem, and two new protocols, SEAlink and MEGAlink, for GT
PowerComm.

Since it's been on all your wish lists, I give.  You can keep
blank entries with /K.  I haven't done any fancy conversions,
just let them go straight through, so it won't mess up your
carefully arranged directory pages now.

Increased speed by reading the fixed size directories as arrays
of records rather than one at a time, and increasing the buffer
size for holding text file data to 4K.

Bug fixes department:  Scripts will be written to ProComm, with
the extension truncated off.

As you can read, the revision histoire has moved to a separate
file so that you can easily find out what changes were made
without skipping through the full documentation.

CvtFon 1.5 (01 Jan 87) -

I tested this release more thoroughly than I have in previous
releases, because I've come to appreciate the value of full
testing before shoving another version off the presses.  Several
bug fixes, including a sorting bug that could hang the system.
More include & exclude strings allowed.  Support for ALL SEVEN GT
PowerComm formats (to date), including new 11.00, with
appropriate changes to /F and the version number handler.  All
affixes (+, -, @, #, !) can be set from the command line.
Minimal phone number editing is available with /ADD Prefix and
/DELETE Prefix.  Added a /* parameter to insert the phone number
of my BBS, The Cork Board.  This useful feature is only
documented in a brief explanation buried in an obscure, out-of-
the-way place and an uninformative passing reference, in hopes
that by emulating best-selling programs, this one may become more
successful.

CvtFon 1.4 (27 Nov 86) -

This version fixes some minor bugs.  Comma-separated output will
place a comma after the last field if it is empty.  No longer
purges blank entries read from each input file; it just skips
over blank entries while reading the input file.  It reads all 36
characters of a PC-Talk III phone number.   Doesn't null out all
spare fields, but preserves them in case future versions using
the space are used with CvtFon.  Improved error-checking on array
space left for more entries.

But on to the major stuff.  CvtFon supports the Boyan phone
directory format.  Boyan is a fairly new program with great
potential, I recommend it.  You can also specify a field name to
sort on.  I combined the /B, /P, /D, and /S parameters into
/PARAMS=baud[-parity[-data bits[-stop bits]]]. Now that /S is
free, I renamed /O (Order) to /S (Sort), which is what I wanted
to call it in the first place.  Finally, comma-separated files
read and write an additional field, the last call date.

CvtFon 1.3 (19 Oct 86) -

Two phone directory formats were added, Telix and GT PowerComm
9.20.  Directory type "T" refers to Telix, since Termulator
is very old, and you can still write Termulator directories with
ProComm format, anyway.  Several bug fixes, including scrambling
the order of telephone numbers when purging blank entries, errors
arising from reading more numbers than the program can keep track
of, and reading a blank ProComm script file field as a file name.

Increasing memory demands have reduced the amount of phone
numbers it can convert to 425.  Only GT PowerComm (which can use
up to 999 numbers) can handle THAT many, so I doubt anyone will
be inconvenienced.

CvtFon 1.2 (12 Oct 86) -

Lots of goodies users asked for were added- CvtFon can read
several input files and combine the entries, convert ProComm
script fields to Qmodem and back (but only when a .CMD extension
is used), read PibTerm 3.x files with any number of records (not
fixed at 200), and sort during conversion.  Also, it allows
records to be included/excluded if they contain a search string
in addition to manual selection and paths to be given with
guessed file names (=type).  Some error messages were clarified.
Purges blanks after reading each file to forestall reaching of
425-entry limit.  Finally reads mail merge (generically called
"comma-separated").  Removes path from assumed comma-separated file
names.  Shortened Echo comma-separated output from "Yes"/"No" to
"Y"/"N".

CvtFon 1.11 (11 Sep 86) -

This is a bug fix release to correct a bug that wrote Qmodem 1.x
directories with a blank phone number, and a bug that returned a
String Length error when =P was given as a type.  It also
broadens the specification of Qmodem version numbers.

CvtFon 1.1 (09 Sep 86) -

Support Qmodem 2.1+ phone directories.  Added default /ECHO and
default /FILE protocol switches.  Smooth error recovery with
English error messages.  Files can no longer be left open when
CvtFon aborts, reducing the number of available file handles
(FILES=xx in CONFIG.SYS).  ERRORLEVEL returns the reason CvtFon
aborts.  Choose mode displays communications parameters (baud,
parity, data and stop bits) on one line.  An abort option on the
choose record menu terminates the program so that you can start
over.  Searches are case-insensitive on both the name and phone
fields.  Fixed bug that emptied certain directory fields when
converting a file to a file of the same format, particularly
ProComm's scripts and PC-Talk's pacing, and strip/convert
strings.  Assumes the default speed when it encounters a non-
numeric speed in a phone directory, instead of aborting with an
error message.  Minor bugs exterminated and internal
restructuring, creating some new ones to take their place.
Revised and clarified documentation.

CvtFon 1.0 (1 Jun 86)

Writes PC-Talk III files, since many enhanced versions are still
being used, like Exec-PC-Talk and NochTalk.  One user recommended
that I let the user select which entries to copy from a large
directory to a small one, so /C allows 'freedom of choice' on
what entries are written to the output file.  Substring searching
on the name field seemed like a useful expansion of this idea, so
I made that an /C option.  As I added the switch, I slipped '/?'
in the case statement as a synonym for /H since some programs use
that as a help switch (I much prefer CVTFON ?, so that's what the
help screen reads).  CvtFon will no longer write an empty
output directory if the input file is empty or no records are
chosen with /C.  Blank names are no longer written as "".

CvtFon 0.9 (21 May 86)

This program has proved more popular than I expected.  I revised
the documentation more thoroughly than with 0.8 and put my
address in the help spiel.  Minor corrections made to mail merge
output.  Last but not least, while running ProComm I found I had
let a bug creep into the ProComm output that truncated name
fields to 25 characters long instead of 24.  I was quite
surprised that such a long time passed without anyone informing
me of this; perhaps ProComm users blamed ProComm, since it would
dial the number once but then refuse to read the directory again.

CvtFon 0.8 (28 Apr 86)

Mail merge file output added for exportation to a databases and
word processors.  Writes PibTerm output file as a text file
rather than as a fixed-length data file, increasing the speed and
simplifying the program.  Trailing spaces were carried over into
the mail merge files, so CvtFon strips them off.  Corrected the
parity/data/stop combinations CvtFon can write to Qmodem files.

CvtFon 0.7 (15 Apr 86)

Bug causing any speeds beyond 255 with /B or /M parameters to
register 'Invalid speed' fixed.  Strips leading spaces from phone
numbers.  Parameter names may have more than one letter (for
example, /PARITY=7 is the same as /P=7).  Unknown speeds are
converted to valid speeds.  Non-numeric speeds (A00, for example)
cause a 'Bad speed data' error.

CvtFon 0.6 (14 Apr 86)

Conversion of modem dialing and long distance strings for ProComm
and PC-Talk directories.  Strips out all blank records in the
conversion process.  Centralized error message output,
simplifying program and saving space.

CvtFon 0.5 (11 Apr 86)

Finally got ProComm working smoothly, thanks to the PRCMDDIR.DOC
file detailing the irregular format of the dialing directory.
New /MAX baud rate feature.  Clarified error messages with
"type" by changing text to "directory type".  Simplified syntax
so that /I and /O are no longer needed.  Minor bug fixes.
Changed the debugging /F first entry display to a more useful /T
test mode, laying the foundations for selective output.

CvtFon 0.4 (19 Mar 86)

Fixed error that only let 1 or 2 data bits be used as default
instead of 7 or 8.  Writes only speeds that the output program
recognizes.  New error message for zero-length files (usually the
result of file damage) to differentiate them from "unknown file
type" files.  Recognizes and rejects PC-Talk 2.0 (an earlier
version of PC-Talk III) files, which only had 15 directory
entries to retype anyway.

CvtFon 0.3 (17 Mar 86)

More polished now.  Restored input/output filespec's.
ProComm/Termulator input.  Missing default parity option added.
Some bugs fixed.  Command line parsing improved.  More and
clearer error messages.  Re-added undocumented debugging /F
parameter to display first record of a file being read, then
confirm continuing.  I didn't re-delete it for the release
version this time so I can use it to debug future versions.

CvtFon 0.2 (16 Mar 86)

Still primitive.  Reads PC-Talk III files.  Parameters for extra
record defaults at end of file (PC-Talk has 60 directory entries
and Qmodem and PibTerm have 200, making 140 blanks to write).
Temporarily removed input/output filespec's in making simpler
command syntax and parsing.

CvtFon 0.1 (14 Mar 86)

The original release.  Very primitive, but it gets the job done.