BBS Toolkit/BBS Toolkit.iso/doors_2/ubbsdiz.zip/UBBSDIZ.DOC

Text File | 1992-03-01 | 6KB | 117 lines

UBBS DIZ v1.0
Copyright 1992 - Robert Neal

The authors of PCBoard have created a file format for authors to include
a text listing of their program within a ZIP file. The file FILE_ID.DIZ
is the standard file name used which gives the authors a chance to give
a brief description of their file. This file is then capable of being
directly imported into PCBoard file descriptions.

I thought, why can't Ultra BBS make use of this standard as well. My
first hope was to make this part of a file upload post procedure. I saw
that Ultra provided a hook for me to use with the filename and file
description being saved in a file which could be easily read, but this
worked ONLY if the user entered the filename and description before he
uploaded. Ultra allows the user to simply upload files in batch, and
then enter file descriptions. Because there was no "hook" available for
this type of activity (if someone else knows of one, please let me
know), I went back and re-thought the process.

What you have here is my second attempt. UBBSDIZ is operated in a batch
operation, scanning your files for new uploads on or after the date that
UBBSDIZ was last run. UBSBDIZ then scans your new uploads to see if any
of them include the file FILE_ID.DIZ, and if so, it will process this
file and import it into your UBBS Filebase data. If FILE_ID.DIZ is not
found, it will simply skip the file and continue processing subsequent
records.

Here's an example of what a user entered for a upload description:

   Cipher word game for Windows 3

And here's what the description read after being processed by UBBSDIZ:

   ■ Cipher for Windows v1.0: Word puzzle game
   A true Microsoft Windows crypto-quotes type
   word game with all Windows features includ-
   ing complete help. Many hint options, saved
   games, high score hall of fame, etc.  Works


As you can see, the description, imported is much more informative.
Comments imported by UBBSDIZ will be indicated by the char "■" as
the first character of the comment line (see example above).

One problem with Ultra and importing the FILE_ID.DIZ file is that the
FILE_ID.DIZ file has been standardized at 10 lines in length.
Fortunately every author doesn't use all 10 lines available, but since
Ultra can only handle 5 lines of comments, it's likely that the full
file comment file will NOT be able to fit within Ultra's 5 line limit.
In this case, UBBSDIZ will only import 5 lines into the filebase file.
UBBSDIZ attempts to reformat the text from FILE_ID.DIZ in hopes of
squeezing as much information into the 5 line restriction as possible.
Even with this limitation, I think you'll find that the comments
imported will be much more informative than that which a user supplies
at the time of the upload. Maybe with the next release Ultra will offer
up to 10 lines of file comments to accomodate this file.

UBBSDIZ will ONLY process *.ZIP files. Files with .ARC, .ARJ, etc. file
extensions will not be processed by UBBSDIZ.

The first thing that needs to be done is to create a file named
UBBSDIZ.CFG (or edit the file that came with this program):

Corporate Headquarters BBS <-BBS Name
D:\UBBS\FILES\FILEBASE.DAT <-Path/Filename of your FILEBASE.DAT file
D:\UBBS\WORK\              <-Directory you want UBBSDIZ to use for it's
                             temporary directory while it processes
                             it's information. I suggest using the same
                             directory that you use for UBBS's work
                             directory.
03-01-92                   <-Date UBBSDIZ has last processed. When first
                             installing UBBSDIZ, you can set this to "0"
                             and all files will be scanned, or you can
                             set this to any date you so choose. Files
                             which have been uploaded after this date
                             will be scanned for DIZ comments.
 0                         <-Your registration number



The only other requirement is that you have PKUNZIP.EXE available in
your DOS path as the program will make a call to this file to extract
the FILE_ID.DIZ file.

UBBSDIZ will produce a file name UBBSDIZ.LOG which is a log file of all
files which have had files imported from their FILE_ID.DIZ file.

If you are operating under a multi-node system, you will need to ensure
that all nodes are down prior to running UBBSDIZ.

While I have tested this program, no warrantees are expressed or
implied. You assume all risk in using this program in the event that it
does not perform as expected. Please notify me of any problems which you
may encounter using this program.

This program is released as SHAREWARE. If you use it, you are expected
to make a payment to the author. The registration fee for the program is
$10.00. Your registration will encourage me to continue to write and
release additional utilities for Ultra BBS. Discounts are available
for those who wish to register copies of my other utilities at the same
time. See MAILER.TXT for pricing.

I may be contacted on my BBS, Node #1 v.32 9600 [phone]
                              Node #2 2400 [phone]

I may also be reached on Prodigy (PNSP01A) or on RIME in the SYSOP and
Ultra BBS Support conferences (User Name: Bob Neal) and messages on
RIME may be sent R/O ->CHQBBS.




Version History:

03/01/92   First official release.