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1995-01-19
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Ex -- the External transfer protocol CD-ROM download driver.
Program and documentation (C) Copyright 1994 MSG Resources
*******************************************************************************
Ex is released as shareware. User is granted a 14 day evaluation period.
Usage after 14 days requires registration. Registration for Ex and all future
versions of Ex is (in US funds) a one-time $15 fee.
The standard registered version of Ex supports up to 25 CD-ROM Volumes and
copies up to 25 files per run; custom versions are available on request for
additional cost. Send registrations to:
MSG Resources
PO Box 52183
Shreveport, LA 71135-2183
(We are working towards credit card and online registrations at our BBS site)
Purpose
*******************************************************************************
Ex was designed to transparently copy files off of CD-ROM drives before the
files are downloaded. It works with all BBSes that use external file
transfer protocol drivers via a redirection file for the download list, such
as Maximus, RBBS, and many others. Ex was developed on a Maximus BBS system.
Operation
*******************************************************************************
Ex tracks and sorts by drive up to 50 files per download session, copies up
to 25 files as needed, loads the transfer driver, and deletes the copied
files before returning to the BBS program. Unregistered versions will only
copy up to 5 files per session. The errorlevel returned from Ex is whatever
the transfer program exited with, making it completely transparent. If the
file transfer module didn't load, then 255 is returned. Running Ex with no
parameters brings up an info screen and exits with errorlevel 0. Ex needs a
config file to determine your system setup; default is Ex.Cfg but can be
overridden by the -c command line option.
OS/2 or DOS
*******************************************************************************
Ex comes in both native OS/2 32-bit and DOS 16-bit versions. Both versions
use the same config file and utilize a temporary file named Ex.Tmp that is
created in the same directory as the redirection file. The temporary file
exists for only a short time.
Command line
*******************************************************************************
Ex reads the command line for an alternate config file and the redirection
file. Everything after the config file entry is expected to be a transfer
driver program and it's associated parameters. Ex reads and, if needed,
rewrites the redirection file.
Config file
*******************************************************************************
The default config file is Ex.Cfg located in the current directory. An
alternate config file can be specified with the -c command line switch.
Cut and paste config file:
; Sample Ex config file
;
; All verbs MUST begin in left column!
;
; Time, in seconds, to display error messages (optional)
WaitTime 5
;
; Target directory for copying files from CD-ROMs into
; before downloading (max 1, required)
CopyDir C:\Work
;
; Semaphor file to restrict only 1 copy of Ex to run at
; a time (optional)
Semaphor F:\Mailers\Semaphor\Ex.Flg
;
; list of CD-ROM drives (min 1, max 5 or 25 if registered)
; Volume \\server2\cd1
; Volume \\server2\cd2
Volume P:\
Volume Q:\
Volume R:\
Volume S:\
Volume T:\
Volume U:\
;
; Filespec to use for logging if desired, registered
; version only (optional)
LogFile Ex.Log
;
; Task # to be recorded in log file (optional)
Task 1
;
; END CONFIG FILE
Detailed description of verbs:
*******************************************************************************
WaitTime takes a numeric parameter and specifies how long to display an error
message should one occur. Typical errors are 'cannot read redirection file',
'error creating temporary redirection work file', and 'transfer program did
not load'.
CopyDir is the directory where Ex will copy CD-ROM based files to before
they are downloaded. After the transfer is complete, the files Ex copied
into this directory will be erased. (If you can spare the memory, use a
ramdisk!)
Semaphor requires a full drive, path, and filename and is created when the
program starts processing the redirection file and is deleted before calling
the file transfer program. Information written to this file is either a 0 or
the task number (described later) for registered versions, 'Unregistered' for
the unregistered versions. If this file exists when Ex runs, Ex will wait 30
seconds and continue, or you can force Ex to abotr the semaphor lock-out and
run by banging on the ESC key. This semaphor flag, if implemented, is used
to allow only one copy of Ex to run at a time. If you run multiple Ex config
files and wish only one copy of Ex to access your CD-ROMs, this should be the
same for all copies.
Volume is a CD-ROM drive. Both single drive CD-ROM mappings and CD-ROM
server names are supported. IE: P:\ and \\CD_SRVR\P:
LogFile, like Semaphor, takes a full drive, path, and filename and if
implemented Ex will record all it's transactions here.
Task is simply a number to be written into the log and semaphor files and is
used when running Ex with multiple config files. At this time it doesn't do
or mean anything else.
Multi-Node
*******************************************************************************
Ex will run multi-node with either a single config file or a config file for
each node. Each session of Ex will only delete the files it copied, so all
nodes can share the same CopyDir directory. Should the same file be
downloaded from multiple nodes simultaneously, Ex will only copy the file
once for the first node that exits to download, the others will still
download off of CD-ROM. This is a safety feature: if EX can't copy a file it
leaves the redirection file unchanged and downloads from CD-ROM will be
downloaded from CD-ROM.
BBS Installation
*******************************************************************************
To run Ex with your BBS program, simply add 'Ex' into the command line that
calls the driver module. A typical command line to send a list of files
Zmodem might be:
Zmodem sz -rr @D:\BBS\Node5.Lst
and the Ex version would be:
Ex [-cConfig.Fil] Zmodem sz -rr @D:\BBS\Node5.Lst
This would tell Ex to read configuration file 'Config.Fil' in the current
directory, then to run Zmodem to transfer files listed in D:\BBS\Node5.Lst.
Example PROTOCOL.CTL entry for Maximus BBS and DSZ:
Protocol Zmodem
[...]
Download Ex Dsz port %P speed %W estimate 0 %b ha rts -Z sz @dsz%k.ctl
[...]
End Protocol
Or, for multi node systems:
Protocol Zmodem
[...]
Download Ex -cEx%k.Cfg Dsz port %P speed %W estimate 0 %b ha rts -Z
(cont) sz @dsz%k.ctl
[...]
End Protocol
Example PROT.DEF for RBBS and DSZ
[...]
"Z)modem (batch)
",1,S,8,,B,1024,,0.95,,1=E,"C:\RBBS\XFER\EX.EXE DSZ port [PORT#] speed
[BAUD] estimate 0 [CBAUD] ha on sz -r [FILE]","C:\RBBS\XFER\DSZ.COM port
[PORT] speed [BAUD] estimate 0 [CBAUD] ha on rz -p [FILE]"
(Please send download parameters for BBS systems not listed here)
Warranty
*******************************************************************************
No warranties, expressed nor implied. User determines usability of program
and assumes all responsibilities for the usage and consequences of use of
this program.
Feedback is welcomed via the above US Mail address or email to FidoNet
1:380/25, or internet remus@secret.com Support via BBS is available from MSG
Resources at 318-865-4503. You can also telnet and ftp into secret.com
(199.190.72.11). The latest version of Ex can be found in the STRANGE
download directory or file requested as 'EX'.
*******************************************************************************
(Maximus (C)Copyright Scott Dudley, DSZ (C)Copyright Omen Technologies)