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FIDOSOUP.DOC
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1997-03-03
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<fidosoup.doc V 0.50 04/03/97>
History-what does it do ?
*************************
I've been in Fidonet for a long time, and I am used to the fidonet tools.
There are many of them, and I believe you really can find anything you want.
I personnally love Golded (Hej Odinn!) which is a brilliant fidonet editor.
My first internet account was time based, so I quickly looked for the
possibility to have fidonet-like session on internet. I was lucky to find
SOUPER, a pop/smtp client (hello Chin :-) and it's companion, the YARN editor.
Using both of them, I could come close enough to a fido session on the
internet. I didn't like too much the look and feel of yarn, but it's damn
good, and it had several features which I really loved, like the listserver
filter. Moreover all convertors I could find were UUCP convertor made for
industrial size gating, way too big for what I wanted. Most wanted that you
have your own domain also.
The only thing to come close to what I needed was Soup2Sq by Steven Van Loef
but for some reason it wouldn't work on my system.
After some time with 2 editors, I decided to take the jump and create my own
gating system. I had toyed with the idea before and produced a soup unit. I
produced a PKT unit as well, and bolted the 2 together. The rest is history
:-)
So here it is. the only thing I can tell you is that it works for ME on MY
system. I have no idea what it will do (if anything else than occupy disk
space) on your system. Any use, abuse, storage or direct contemplation of this
program is to your own risk. You've been warned.
I use Warp (what else!). I know there is a yarn for Dos, so I assume there is
a SOUPER equivalent under dos. This is why I release a Dos version as well as
an os/2 version. However, I have never seen such a product and both versions
have been tested with soup packet created by Souper for os/2 since version
1.2 -> 1.5. It has also been tested with Vsoup, a souper clone for os/2 using
threads for faster download (0.9 beta to 1.2.7).
Dos version will detect dv, os/2, windows, etc and yield timeslices
accordingly.
The default configuration is FidoSoup.cfg, but you can give another name as
argument, which allows for several configurations in the same directory.
Note: the usenet format is the same as the BAG format used by UUCP (rnews
format). So it is possible to use FidoSoup for uucp news as well. You have to
provide an AREAS file according to the format
<name of file> name.of.newsgroup un
the .MSG extention is implied for the name of the file, so rename if
necessary. Pkt2UUCP will export to rmail and rnews format, so you can actually
use this package with a uucp system.
IMPORTANT:
**********
CrossPost issue: xposts are frequent in usenet (this is my entry for the
understatement of the year award). I don't CARE. when I find a message in a
newsgroup which is xposted, I generate a message for every single copy. Just
configure your tosser to get rid of the extra junk. Proceding otherwise would
mean that I should read a list of the areas you intend to keep and then sort
it out. Too much trouble for what it's worth :-) I'll xpost up to 30 times a
message by default, less if so configurated. But be carefull: I have no idea
what area YOU want. If a message is crossposted in area a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,
and i and that you are interested in area i but have limited xpost to 5, only
areas a,b,c,d and e will be generated, which means that you'll get 5 badmail
and not the one you are interested in. There is no way I can avoid this.
For the same reason, ALL copies of netmail are created unless the C toggle is
in the config. And even when it is, I still generate all copies if the program
can't figure out for whom the mail comes.
Similarly, all echomail tags are in uppercase in fidonet, whereas most usenet
newsgroups are in lowercase. ALL TAGS ARE CONVERTED TO LOWER CASE. If you
happen to have a usenet group which is named ThIs.is.JUST.to.BOTHER.YoU, just
make a fido/usenet name change from THIS.IS.JUST.TO.BOTHER.YOU to
ThIs.is.JUST.to.BOTHER.YoU. There is no check on the newsgroup rename.
Pkt Size issue:
some all-in-one point packages have reported problems when the PKT was bigger
than 100k. You can configure the size of the pkt if that is a problem. default
is 300k. This can also be usefull if for some reason you get a garble mail
packet. Making smaller pkt will save whatever can be. Watch out: the check on
the pkt size is done every message, but I won't start a new package for a
single message. It means that in certain cases, the maximum size will exceed
slightly the one you mentionned. So if your tosser really can't handle more
than 100k pkt, specify 90k as a maximum.
As far as messages are concerned: many fidonet message reader break if you
give them a msg > 64k. I'm not taking any chances, i'm splitting messages at
60k. I use temp files in the soup dir. Make sure I have room available there
just in case. The maximum size of a message is 1560k and it will be split in
26 messages of 60 k each.
Speed issue:
Soup2Pkt is not blazingly fast. A 1 mega Soup package takes about 2-3 minutes
to process. OS/2 version is significantly faster since I can use bigger
buffers.
Limitations:
************
For those who understand:
All exe will only read usenet, unixbox, mmdf, Binary mail, and Binary
news. The indexed format is not supported, and mmdf not tested.
The software will write in binary mail /binary news formats only, simply
because my souper doesn't support anything else for replies. Alternately,
you can use the uucp format to send, but then you need rmail/rnews.
for the others: that shouldn't bother you.
DOS ONLY:
Due to data segment restrictions under dos, there are limitations to
soup2pkt. Chances are that you'll run out of memory on big packets.
It will not be able to handle more than 500 newsgroups at a time (was 50 <
0.45), and will not be able to handle more than 2000 (was 450 <0.45) msg per
package (DPMI). Since 0.45 the size of those messages no longer matters.
=>YOU MUST HAVE A 386
=>You need the Borland DPMI interface ie RTM.EXE and DPMI16BI.OVL
See SOUPER/VSoup documentation on how to limit the number of msg, size,
etc., and just swap newsrc, get 50-100 newsgroup, store them somewhere
else and get the next load of newsgroups, etc. It is not as bad as it
sounds since you probably rarely have more than 50-100 newsgroups
anyway. I have tossed successfully with the DPMI version a 2.2 megas
soup packet (Souper's default) containing 977 messages (the daily bread
in some programming echoes) for a total of 45098 lines, so you *do* have
a margin, even under Dos/DPMI.
Suggested parameters for the dos box:
SET DOS_HIGH=1;
SET DOS_UMB=1;
SET DPMI_DOS_API=ENABLED;
SET DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT=32550;
SET VIDEO_MODE_RESTRICTION=CGA;
SET XMS_HANDLES=64;
SET XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT=6000;
this will create a dos box with 720k of memory and 6 megas of xms.
I haven't reached the limits of the OS/2 version yet :-), but it
won't process more than 15000 messages per packet. Seemed like
high enough a limit :-)
Known Bugs
**********
Pkt2Soup:
- sometimes souper complains about a null message to send. if it
happens, it's usually at the end of a news packet. I have no
idea why, since this is not consistent at all. It usually does
not affect operation at all. fix/workaround: use pkt2uucp.
Soup2pkt:
- sometimes some transfert indication somehow find their way into the
the message. (Long path lines not properly truncated, usually
binary msg). those are generally right after the header or at
the end of the message. It doesn't really hinder the reading.
Note:
*****
If you want to report a bug please be as explicit as possible. If
you can send me the offensive package and your configuration,
that will help a lot. (I do not promise to correct anything,
specially if it is in the dos version). I have some other ideas /
improvements in the pipeline (amongst those is a more intelligent
character mapping, a version that will work without rmail/rnews,
etc), but I want to get this version out first and get some more
feedback. If I don't get any, chances are that the next versions
(if any) will not be released. If they are, they will be released
on Hobbes and Leo.
Technical stuff
****************
This is written using qedit and compiled with Borland Pascal 7.01 (Tm of
Borland) for the Dos version and Speed Pascal 1.51 for the
os/2 version (and the ae editor on Os/2).
I used the FTS-0001 rev 015 for the PKT specs (Copyright Randy Bush -
randy@psg.com) and the Soup 1.2 rev aug 93 specs (Copyright (c) 1992-1993 Rhys
Weatherley- rhys@cs.uq.oz.au). Internet messages comply with RFC822 and
RFC1036. I have also used the FAQ posted in comp.mail.uucp for the Uucp header
structure.
Main : 2924 lines / 85k
soup units: read: 985 lines / 26k write: 853 lines / 25k
pkt units : read: 300 lines / 8k write: 757 lines / 22k
uucp unit : write: 617 lines / 18k
ulti unit : write: 467 lines / 12k
Total : 6436 lines/184k
I only have 1 source file to produce the 6 different executables, and it's
full of ifdef :-)
Source code availability
*************************
source code is not available: it is dull, long and unecessarily
complicated. Get High: write your own !
Disclaimer
**********
The only thing I can guarantee is that this program will take up space on
your hard disk. The rest is beyond my control. Use it at your own risks,
i don't wanna hear about it.
Registration
************
This is not free software and it is copyrighted Thunus F. (C) 1996-97.
However, you can use it and distribute it free of charge (see below)
providing that all the files are distributed together. You are allowed to
change the archive type to whatever you like best and to add your bbs's
tag in the archive.
YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS PROGRAM ON A SHAREWARE/FREEWARE CD-ROM
WITHOUT PREVIOUS WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR.
REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY FOR ANY USE OTHER THAN PERSONNAL.
Installation
************
This archive should contain the following files:
Pkt2uucp.Dos Executable file for Dos.
Pkt2Soup.Dos Executable file for Dos.
Soup2Pkt.Dpm Executable file for Dos Protected Mode (DPMI).
Pkt2uucp.OS2 Executable for OS/2.
Soup2Pkt.OS2 Executable for OS/2.
Pkt2Soup.OS2 Executable for OS/2.
FidoSoup.DOC This file
History.fs The long and winding road
FidoSoup.CFG sample config file
Charset.Map sample mapping file
PRODUCTS.LST other software by the same author
just tailor the config to your need, i tried to keep it simple:
; Cfg File for FidoSoup 0.50 and up - also valid for dos counterpart
; pkt2soup and soup2pkt
; ---------------------
; mandatory section
;----------------------
; YOUR fido adresse when soup=>pkt, this goes in "to" field
F 1:234/56.7
; THE GATE fido adresse when soup=>pkt, this goes in "from" field
G 1:234/56.999
; default internet adresse :
; when pkt => soup/uucp I use this to pick up the domain
I bloke@some.kindof.net
; outbound PKT directory
O c:\fd\out
; inbound PKT directory
P C:\FD\IN
; Soup directory
S D:\tcpip\souper
; if you use pkt2uucp here is your outbound spool directory:
A c:\spool\myfeed
; --------------------------------------------------------------------
; Optional section - can be safely ignored if running a home system
; --------------------------------------------------------------------
; ---------------------
; Keep only MY CC
; (default is produce all copies. if nothing found for me, back to default)
; ---------------------
C
; ---------------------
; Block mail to
; ---------------------
B listserv
B archie
; ---------------------
; EchoLine
; ---------------------
E Francois' Gate: 2:270/25.2 <> Club.TeleMatique.org
; ---------------------
; log file name - log level
; ---------------------
;log level is email redirected : 1
; listserver redirect: 2
; echo rename : 4
; normal mail : 8
; newsgroup : 16
; Block : 32
; and combination thereof, ie email+ echo rename=5, etc.
; for automatic treatment with perl:
; ! is error
; M is mail redirected
; L is Listserver
; R is echo rename
; E is Email not redirected
; N is Newsgroup not renamed
; B is Block
; C is carbon copy (blind or not)
; D is debug
D fidosoup.log 61
; ---------------------
; Maximum size of PKT (in Ko default is 300):
; ---------------------
K 150
; ---------------------
; Listserver redirection:
; ---------------------
;L FidoName NameInFromField
;L Karate.lst karate@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
;L Magazine announce@webster.ibmlink.ibm.com
; ---------------------
; Mapping file
; ---------------------
M Charset.map
; ---------------------
; Newsgroup rename :
; ---------------------
N FidoEchoName InternetNewsgroupName
;N douglas alt.fan.douglas-adams
; ---------------------
; User allowed to use the gate
; ---------------------
; internet name FidoAdress
U User.Name 1:123/45.6
; ---------------------
; Maximum # of crosspost allowed
; ---------------------
X 3
; set word wrap on (70 is the length it will start to look for a way to wrap.)
W 70
Charset.map: this is a simple ascii file which contains 2 lines of
maximum 254 char. On the first line is the char expected, and on the second,
at the same position is the remapped char. for example I have
éèêàùûôç
eeeauuoc
that is enough for me.
Kudos / ACK
************
- Turbo Pascal is a trademark of Borland International.
- Speed Pascal is (C) SpeedSoft
- IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
(this line is intentionally left blank)
Just in case I left anyone out, here is a global acknowledgement of
copyright:
*.* is a copyright / trademark / service mark / trade name / pet
project / patent of *.*, All rights reserved.
Support
********
No real support for this file but if really necessary,
Support and registration :
on FidoNet 2:270/25.2
on Internet Francois@Club.TeleMatique.org
If ((comment > 0) or (happiness > 0)) then
begin
NetMail:=NetMail+1;
Inc(Happiness_programmer);
end;
while ((Happiness > 0) && !NMI)
{
programming+=;
shareware++;
}
Drop also a line to give feedback.