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FDSYNC.DOC
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1993-07-13
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■ FDSync, your hoopy Frontdoor log time synchroniser gubbins type program.
Version 1.03, 15 July 1993
By Mark Billinge
(C) MDB Softworks 1993
- Introduction
FDSync will synchronise your PC's internal clock to the internal clock of
a remote computer (the remote doesn't have to be a PC) using your
FrontDoor log file.
The program was developed after seeing another program that did exactly the
same thing. Unfortunately that program was very clumsy to set up, and had
a wierd very specific bug that made it unsuitable for use when synchronisng
to a wide number of mailers. I'll leave you to guess what that bug is (no
chance!).
FDSync is designed to be very easy to use, and will not interfere with log
use on multitasking systems. If it finds the log to be already in use,
it will exit to DOS, telling you what's wrong.
- Installation
The contents of the FDSync.ZIP should be as follows:
Length Method Size Ratio Date Time CRC-32 Attr Name
------ ------ ----- ----- ---- ---- -------- ---- ----
11357 DeflatX 11223 2% 07-07-93 11:28 6f190bbb --w- FDSYNC.EXE
---- DeflatX ---- --- 05-07-93 ----- -------- --w- FDSYNC.DOC
------ ------ --- -------
----- ----- --- 2
As you can see, I have wiped out lots of information about FDSYNC.DOC. That
is simply because I cannot tell you the CRC and subsequent compressed length
of a text file I have not yet written... Just check FDSYNC has the same
CRC-32 though.
Put FDSync.EXE in any directory, and that's installation. All you need
to do now is to decide on your command line options.
The command line is as follows:
FDSync <FrontDoor log file> <node number> [<time difference>]
FrontDoor log file is obvious, node number is the node number that you
want to synchronise with (don't use point zero - i.e. 2:251/24.0 - in
normal use, but there may be times when you need to. Keep that in mind
if things go wrong) and time difference is the number of seconds different
that your clock should be to the remote PC.
Time difference is there for use in the event that you are setting you PC
by the clock of a PC in a different timezone, and also to compensate for
FrontDoor's silly bug (see 'Accuracy'). It can be either positive or
negative. This number is added on to your PC's clock, so use positive
numbers to put your clock FORWARD and negative to but it BACK. Remember
that one hour is 3600 seconds.
- How to set your clock accurately from the remote PC
FrontDoor v2.02 (the only version I have used) has a small bug that usually
prevents you from being able to set your clock exactly to within a second
of the remote PC. This bug is that it calculates the `Tranx' numbers at
the time the two systems connect, NOT at the time the Tranx numbers are
printed into the log file.
However, with FDSync v1.01 I believe I have overcome this small bug, by
calculating from the log file the number of seconds that elapse between
the modems connecting and FrontDoor connecting with EMSI. Hurrah, this
now means in theory that you clock should be accurate to ±0.5 seconds of
the remote clock. In practice, recon on accuracy of ±2 seconds maximum.
One point to remember is that for your clock to be synchronised, you need
to have called the remote system since it was last synchronised. FDSync
is clever enough to not synchronise your clock twice to the same log entry,
so no harm will come of executing it every time your mailer is exited (I
do). However, if your clock goes wrong after a few weeks and you want to
resynchronise it, you must call the remote system again. Simply trying to
resynchronise your clock based on the old log is not wise!
FDSync stores a log file of its own, called FDSync.LOG, in the directory
that the executable resides in. It also writes a very small file called
FDSync.CFG. Feel free to delete FDSync.LOG, but leave FDSync.CFG alone
unless you want to mess up your internal clock....
Another point to remember is that you don't need to have FrontDoor set up
to send and receive files. In fact, you could if you wished set up
FrontDoor simply so you can have an accurate clock thanks to FDSync!
- Distribution
Copy freely, just don't change anything. In fact, upload this to every
BBS you know.
FDSync is released as Noteware. If you use it, send me a note saying how
much you love it. :-)
- Revision history:
v1.00 - Didn't work. Synchronised time completely wrong!
v1.01 - Does work, very well too. First public release.
v1.02 - Found one or two bugs when using on some PCs.
v1.03 - Public release, no known bugs as such.
- Known problems
You cannot use FDSync if the log is in use by another program that prevents
access to the log. Such a program is, unfortunately, FrontDoor. The best
way to have FDSync set up is to install it in your mailer batch file, just
before FD.EXE is executed. This is how I have it set up and it works
perfectly.
Since FDSync is fast, you shouldn't have much of a time delay when it runs
unless you have a slow PC (16 Mhz or less) or an excessively large log
( > 800Kb). It's a good idea to purge your logs often anyway. Remember
that FDSync also creates its own log that needs purging.
- Contacting the Author
I'm currently not sure where I'll be by the time you read this, so the
following addresses are not certain. However, you can be sure to be able
to contact me at the paper mailing address shown, since mail can be
forwarded to me wherever I happen to be.
Paper mail: Mark Billinge
15 Manor Road
Selsey
West Sussex
PO20 0SB
ENGLAND
Electronic (.ftn) mail (Limited hours, so only call at ZMH or send routed):
2:251/26@Fidonet.org, 213:1020/2@Pafownet.FTN, 64:7000/11@worldnet.ftn
Voice phone: +44-243-602492 (International) or (0243) 602492 (UK)