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1990-07-15
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Bulletin Board List v1.1 (c)
by Wayne Robinson
The Quantum Zone
(201) 307-1452
FIDO 1:269/309
Just what the world needed, another BBS List, huh? Well this
little program will make keeping a local list pretty easy. It
supports quite a few different BBS systems, thanks to Scott Baker
and Derrick Parkhurst and their excellent DoorDriver. This door
was written in Turbo Pascal 5.5 with DoorDriver 3.0. It supports
ANSI color and monochrome as well as non-ANSI. It will run with a
locked port up to 38400 and will utilize a fossil if one is
found. If not, well it has its own routines to handle the comm,
though if you are running an HST or other 9600 baud modem, you
really should use a fossil.
This package contains:
BBLIST.EXE <--- The main executable door program
BBLIST.DOC <--- This documentation
BBLIST.CTL <--- A sample control file
BBMERGE.EXE <--- BBLIST.DAT merging utility
The door will create:
BBLIST.DAT <--- A text file containing the data input by the
users or yourself. You may edit this with any
ASCII text producing word processor.
Setup is easy. Just put BBLIST.EXE, BBMERGE.EXE, and BBLIST.CTL
in a directory. Edit BBLIST.CTL to match your system. It contains
instructions in itself. Make certain that your archival utility
and DSZ are where you tell BBLIST they are supposed to be. You
may use any archival utility you like, but you are stuck with DSZ
as protocol driver. The BBList door will utilize it to send with
X-Modem, Y-Modem, and Z-Modem. That should meet everyone's needs,
really, and no other protocol driver supports the number of
options as DSZ.
Running the door will involve providing BBList with the
appropriate exit file. It currently supports, QBBS, RBBS-PC,
Wildcat, Phoenix, PCBoard 12, WWIV, Mach-10, Opus, and RBBS 16.x
types of exit files. You must copy this exit file (ie:
pcboard.sys) to the BBLIST directory before BBLIST.EXE is run.
Since Doordriver has recorded, in BBLIST.CTL, the type of system
you are running or emulating it will know what file to expect.
With QBBS and RBBS 16.x you must provide the node number to
BBLIST.EXE so that it will know which exit file to look for.
Example: 'BBLIST 1' will look for dorinfo1.def. If you are
running on Searchlight you can use the pcboard.sys version 14
file, (ie: 10;0;0;10;BBList 1.1;c:\doors;bblist.bat). PCBoard 12
does not supply the node number in pcboard.sys so you will have
to use 'BBLIST 1' for node 1, etc. if you run that version.
Operation of the Door is very simple. After the opening screen,
your user is presented with a menu in the middle of the screen.
BBList Main Menu
<A> View the BBS list
[B] Enter a new BBS
[C] Search for key text
[D] Download the list
[Q] Quit to BBS
Enter your choice
You can either use the cursor keys (with numlock on) or you can
press a 'hot-key' letter to activate a function. [D]ownload will
get another menu that offers the 3 types of protocols. The list
is automatically packed with your preference of archivers. And
the user informed of the filename.
The BBS list file is a text file with a header created by the
program which explains the notations in the file. You may edit
it, but I warn you if you change the number of lines in the
header it will seriously change the sorting and searching
routines. When a BBS is entered via a series of menus, it is
inserted into the list according to area code order. When you try
to add a BBS with the same phone number it will ask you if you
wish to replace the original entry. If you say no, then the
present entry will be cancelled. There is at present no way to
delete a BBS whose number has been changed. When you enter it
anew the old one will still exist. I will put this feature into a
sysop utility at a later date. You may of course edit the BBS
entries with a word processor and delete an entry that way. Just
don't change the length of the file header and for Pete's sake
don't use some non ASCII editor.
The search routine is quite simple. It will find the first
occurance of any string and begin the display of the list at that
line. It was not intended to be a major data-base like search
routine. It is just a quick way to look for a certain area code
or sysop's name, or BBS name. Searching for CD will only get the
first occurance so it is not a way to find all of the BBS's with
CD-ROMS. The routine is not case sensitive.
The display routine is a straight file dump with a routine 'more,
stop, non-stop' type of interface. If you choose non-stop it will
not prompt you again until the end of the file. Hitting Enter
will default to the 'more' prompt and send one more page.
The status line at the bottom of the screen contains the user's
name, the program name and the amount of time left for this user
online. If the user runs out of time while in the door he will be
tossed out to the BBS. Carrier is constanty monitored and the
door will terminate if the user drops carrier.
The utility BBMerge, is run with no parameters in the BBList
directory. It will prompt you for the path and name of another
list file, which you want to merge with your own. This file MUST
be on made by BBList and in unaltered state. It can have any
filename you like. BBMerge will merge the two files and sort them
into phone number order. BBMerge will replace all duplicate
entries in BBLIST.DAT with the entries found in the new merge
file. This can be done automatically or you can choose to be
prompted for a decision on each individual duplicate. In the
prompted mode, you may elect not to replace the original in
BBLIST.DAT with the merge file's duplicate entry.
If you would like to be included in the national BBLIST.DAT file
you can either file attach your BBLIST.DAT to my board or call
and upload it. New callers may upload on the first call. If you
do either please leave me a note telling me, so I can merge the
file soonest. The program BBList can be obtained via freq with
the magic name BBLIST at HST speeds 24 hours a day. It should
also be obtainable via any DDS node.
The author of this program makes no warrantee of useability,
function, or application. No liability will be assumed for any
damage caused by BBLIST either directly or indirectly because of
its use. If you use BBLIST you agree to this. Some states do not
permit this type of exclusion. If you live in one of these
places, you are not permitted to use BBLIST. This program is the
sole property of Wayne Robinson and may not be sold by anyone at
any price. It was intended for distribution via electronic means
on a BBS system and you may not distribute it in any other way if
there is a cost to the end receiver involved, including cost of
transfer media and shipping. This package may not be distributed
in any altered form. It must contain this documentation, the 2
programs, BBLIST.EXE and BBMERGE.EXE, and BBLIST.CTL the example
control file in an unaltered state. You may, at your discretion,
repack it with your choice of archival utility. It may be
included with another program if no additional cost is made for
BBLIST and if the packager of the other program gives me credit
for my work and informs the end user that he is not charging for
BBLIST. Whew, I'm a picky guy huh? To the sysops out there. This
is not a registerable program. It is, as it is, free. There is no
secret version. If you like it, use it and the next time you go
out for a beer, toss one for me (Beerware). That is all the
thanks I want or need.
The future will bring some enhancements. If you have an idea let
me know on my BBS or via net-mail. I always like to discuss ideas
for my programs.
I would like to thank the authors of the Darwin US BBS list for
their file format, which I sort of borrowed and altered a little.
It was their ideas which showed me the way I wanted to go. This
is not a competition with them, since they do not publish a list
utility to my knowlege. What they do is keep the best BBS list that
I know of.
Wayne Robinson
History:
1.1 Added BBMerge
Converted to DoorDriver 3.0 and dropped BBCNFG.EXE
Fixed bug that allowed partial phone number
1.0 First public release