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Squish Automatic Echo Manager (C) 1992 Copyright Merlin Systems
SQAEM All rights reserved
Version 1.21 July 7, 1992
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
INTRODUCTION:
SQAEM (pronounced "scream" without the R) is a utility used with Squish Echo
Processor. It allows the nodes you distribute echoes to to make changes in the
echoes that they receive. It allows them to add or delete echoes all
automatically without your manual intervention.
SQAEM uses the Squish configuration file to store all of its data, so you will
not need another configuration file. It also expects to find information on
echoes inside this file and no where else. Thus you can not run SQAEM with
Squish if you are using an AREAS.BBS file. SQAEM eliminates the need for a
separate AREAS.BBS file.
SQAEM will look for any message in the netmail area that is addressed to your
node or aka's, and has a name of AREAFIX or SQAEM (this can be changed, keep
reading). SQAEM expects to see the node's password in the subject line and a
list of echoes to add and/or delete in the body of the text. There can also be
commands after the subject that request different reports. This follows the
AREAFIX standard started by George Peace and his original version of AREAFIX.
Commands can also be placed inside the text on their own line. This ensures
compatibility with Tosscan's AreaMgr.
Subject Text
command command Description
------- ------- --------------------------------------------------
-L %LIST The list command will generate a separate message to be with
a list of areas available and their multi-line description.
-Q %QUERY The query command will cause a list of areas with a one-line
description to be appended to the returning message. An
astericks will be placed in front of the area name if that
area is linked with that node.
-R %RESCAN The rescan command will cause Sqaem to spawn Squish to rescan
the specified areas for that node. There is no area additions
when using the rescan command.
-H %HELP Sends a copy of a help file.
-U %UNLINKED Sends a unlinked area list formated exactly like the LIST
command.
-LI %LINKED Sends a linked area list formated exactly like the LIST
command.
-F %REQ Sends a list of forwarded requests formated exactly like
the LIST command.
%CHANGE Allows a system to change either their password and/or their
language.
The syntax is:
%CHANGE PASSWORD <new_password>
<new_password> is an unbroken word.
%CHANGE LANGUAGE <new_language>
<new_language> is the three letter abbreviation found in the
;SqaemLang keyword.
You can shorten the PASSWORD and LANGUAGE to four characters.
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SYNTAX:
SQAEM [options] <Squish CFG file>
Options:
-a<zone:net/node.point>
AKA node number(s) <optional>
-c<fname>
Extra Squish/Sqaem configuration file <optional>
-f Temporary disallows area forwarding. If you wish to
always disable area forwarding, then do not include
the ;FwrdQue keyword in the squish.cfg file.
@ADD <area> <node>
Links the node to the specified area without validation.
@DROP <area> <node>
Unlinks the node from the specified area.
@LIST <filename> <groups>
Creates a text file containing a list of areas and their
descriptions.
-? This help page
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
KEYWORDS:
The following are the keywords that SQAEM looks for in the Squish configuration
file and their meaning:
NetArea <location> [-$]
The directory where NetMail is kept (*)
If you include the -$ option, Sqaem will read in the
netmail area as a Squish-style message base. You can
have multiple netArea keywords.
Address <node> [node [node..]]
Your node address (4D) and akas (*)
LogFile <filename>
The location and name of the Squish Log file (*)
Origin <string>
The origin line without the fidonet address (*)
;Rescan <string>
The location and name of squish followed by the word
RESCAN, followed by the name of a temporary file.
eg. c:\squish\squish RESCAN c:\squish\echotoss.log
This will enable the rescan feature.
;FwrdQue <filename>
The location and name of the area forward queue list.
;Sysop <Name>
The name of the sysop. Used when area forwarding
a request to an uplink. If no ;Sysop keyword is
present, "Sysop of <zone>:<net>/<node>.<point>" is
used.
;SqaemHelp <filename>
The location and name of the Sqaem help file to be
sent out to requesting nodes.
;SqaemLang <filename> [Language Abbreviation]
The location and name of the Sqaem language file.
This file is ASCII file containing the prompts for the
returning message. A semi-colon (;) is used to specify
a comment. Each line contains one prompt. Please list
the sample SQEAM.ENG english file. This keyword is
optional, if not present the default hard-coded English
prompts are used. If there is no Language
Abbreviation, then it is used as a default. The
language abbreviation must be less than four letters.
;SqaemFooter <filename> | @ORIGIN
The location and name of a ASCII text file that you
wish to be placed at the bottom of every areafix
return message sent out from your system.
If the you place @ORIGIN after this keyword, then
an origin line will be added.
;SqaemName <name>
Look for <name> instead of AREAFIX and along with
SQAEM. You can have multiple ;SqaemName keywords.
;LDescMax <MaxChars>
Maximum number of characters to allocate for the
area's long description. Default is 4096.
;SqaemLog <filename>
An optional file that will be used instead of the
Squish Logfile.
;NoZone Don't compare Zone values.
;ListNoAkas Do not list any aka's in returning messages.
;HideAreas Hides non-available echoes from area lists.
;SortNodes Sorts nodes when rewriting a changed EchoArea entry.
;SortAreas Sorts areas alphabetically.
;WordGroups Represent groups as words instead of characters.
Groups will be words of 4 or less characters and be
separated by spaces.
;AreaMax <length>
Sets the maximum length for area names.
Defaults to 20.
EchoArea <name> <location> [options] <node> [node..]
The name, options, and nodes that subscribe to an
echo (*)
;EchoSDesc <string>
A one line description of the echo. This keyword is
used for the Query command and should be more than 60
characters.
;EchoLDesc <string>
Multi line (more than one ;EchoLDesc statement)
description of the echo. This keyword is used for the
List command. Each line should not be more than 60
characters.
;EchoGrp <group>
The group letter of the echo (A to Z or 0 to 9)
There can also be a dash '-' to enable auto-unlinking
for this area.
If the WordGroups feature is enabled, groups are words
instead of letters and are separated with spaces.
;EchoLevel <level>
The Level (0 to 65525) of the echo
;Node <node>
The node number (4D) of a node that subscribes to some
of your echoes.
If you place an astericks (*) here, this node entry
will be a general entry and good for any node.
;NodeAka <node> [group]
The aka for this node. You can have up to 6 aka's for
each node. This address is only used for comparison.
The node's real address is still used when linking it
to an area. The optional group parameter is for
indicating that this aka will be added to an area that
has that group.
;NodeLang <Language>
This keyword is the three-letter abreviation as
specified by the ;SqaemLang keyword.
;NodeGrps <group>[group..] | <group> [group [group[...]]]
The groups that this node has access to (A to Z or 0
to 9). There should be no spaces inbetween the
letters.
Two special groups can also be used:
! Disallow addition of areas
* Disallow of area forwarding
@ Add node to area as read-only
% Disable remote changes to password and language
If the WordGroups feature is enabled, groups are words
instead of letters and are separated with spaces.
;NodeLevel <level>
The level of this node (0 to 65525)
;NodePass <password>
The case-insensitive password for this node
;NodeFlag <flag> [flag [flag..]]
The Fido attributes for this node. This consists
of any combination of the following words:
Crash, Hold, Kill, Local, RRQ (Return Request),
Direct, IMM (Immedeate)
;NodeFwrd <filename> <password> [-n<node>] [-a<areafix name>]
[-l<Linked/Added string>] [-v<new area level>]
[-g<new area group>] [-d]
The file contains a list of area names with their
descriptions in the format <TAG> <Description>.
The password is your areafix password for that node.
The node is the node number to use as the originating
node. This defaults to your primary node number.
The -l option is for comparison with the return
message from this uplink about the area forwarded.
The -d option enables auto-unlinking for this area.
;NodeFwrdOpt <string>
This keyword MUST come after the ;NodeFwrd keyword!
Here you will have the new area location and options.
eg. c:\max\newarea -0 -p78:14/3
If your new areas are going to be in *.MSG style, then
a new directory will be created with a name of the area
and a path of the NodeFwrdOpt.
;NodeFwrd fidonet.na password
;NodeFwrdOpt c:\max\newarea -0
-->EchoArea TUB c:\max\newarea\TUB -0 <z:n/n.p>
Note: (*) Check with the Squish manual for more information about these
keywords.
Legend: <string> Words inside of less-than and greater-than signs are
variables that must be present.
[string] Parameters inside square brackets are optional.
| The vertical bar represents an OR situation.
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SQUISH.CFG ENTRIES:
A node record has to start with the ;Node keyword. All other node related
keywords after it and before the next ;Node keyword are part of it.
An echo record has to start with the EchoArea keyword. All other echo related
keywords after it and before the next EchoArea keyword are part of it.
All fields are optional, except for the ;Node and EchoArea fields.
The groups and levels are used for security purposes. You can screen out some
of your echoes by adjusting the security level or the group. Echoes that
a node does not have access to, will not appear in the query or list report.
Here is an example of an incomplete Squish configuration file:
;Node 1:163/508
;NodeGrps BNA
;NodePass passWord
;NodeFlag Crash Local Kill
;NodeLevel 10
EchoArea ASIA L:\PCB\CONF88\ -s 278/607 163/520
;EchoSDesc News on China,Tibet,Indonesia,Cambodia(Source 1:278/607)
;EchoLDesc News on events in China, Tibet, Indonesia, Cambodia.
;EchoLDesc Moderator: William Bowles (1:278/607)
;EchoLDesc
;EchoGrp N
;EchoLevel 10
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
HOW SQAEM WORKS:
Sqaem will first read the information contained in your squish.cfg file and
optionally sqaem.cfg file. It dynamically stores all relevant information.
This can take alot of memory space depending on how many echoes/nodes you have.
It then checks your netmail area for messages addressed to your node(s) and to
Areafix/Sqaem. It thens checks the security of the requesting node,and if
everything is allright, processes the request. Requests are stored in memory
until all requests have been processed.
Next, it checks for empty areas that have the auto-unlink feature enabled. It
then renames your old squish.cfg to squish.old and processes all of the stored
requests to the squish.cfg file.
How the Auto-Forwarding feature works:
If an area that is being requested does not exist on your system and is found
in one of your uplinks' echolist, then an areafix request is sent out to that
uplink. Information is then stored in you FwrdQue file about the area, who
requested it and who we requested it from.
When Sqaem looks at the netmail area, and finds a message to you from an
areafix and sees that there is something queued up in the FwrdQue file, it will
check to see if the area and node match any in the FwrdQue file. It then
checks to see if the area was added by your uplink. If so, the area is added
and a message to the original requesting node is sent.
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
MAXIMUMS:
Words per line in Squish.cfg..................49
AreaFix aliases (including AreaFix)...........10
Characters per line in Squish.cfg............511
Node records in Squish.cfg.............Unlimited (memory permitting)
Area records in Squish.cfg.............Unlimited (memory permitting)
Nodes per area record in Squish.cfg...........64
Characters in Squish Log File location/name...59
Characters in Netmail locataion...............59
Characters in Rescan command line............126
Characters in Rescan temporary filename.......59
Number of a.k.a's (including primary node)....16
Characters in Area short description..........69
Characters in Area name.......................31
Characters in Area long description....Unlimited (memory permitting)
Groups in Node record.........................36
Characters in Node's password.................31
Characters in node number string..............31
Characters in the language specific prompts...18-38
Number of aka's for a node....................5
Number of netmail areas.......................6
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ERRORLEVELS:
0..Everything went fine, but no changes were recorded
1..Sqaem aborted due to a memory problem
2..Everything went fine and there were changes to the squish.cfg file
3..Sqaem could not process the command-line commands (@ADD,@DROP,@LIST)
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SQAEM.QUE FILE FORMAT:
struct sqaem_que_t
{
char deleted,
name[48], /* Area name */
desc[80]; /* Area short description */
struct fidonode uplink, /* The uplink that you requested the are
from */
mynode, /* Your aka/node that requested the area from
your uplink */
downlink; /* The node that made the request */
char user[36]; /* The user who made the request */
struct fidonode callednode; /* Your aka/node that was originally called */
char areafixname[16]; /* The original areafix name requested*/
char fluff[43];
};
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS:
- Better documentation. (I never said I was a poet, just a programmer)
- AREAS.BBS support
- Hudson-style netmail support
- Sysop-defined commands
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SHAREWARE:
This piece of software is being distributed as ShareWare. If you use it
regularly or within a commercial environment, please register it with a $25.00
(CAN$) 'donation', or the equivalent in another currency.
As with any ShareWare program, Merlin Systems and Roy Pereira do not take any
responsibility for this program's behaviour. Any bug reports should be sent to
the author.
Squish, Fido, Tosscan AreaMgr and AreaFix are trademarks of their respective
manufacturers. SQAEM is copyrighten by Roy Pereira and Merlin Systems.
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
GATENET:
Watch out for Merlin System's new revolutionary new email gateway system.
'GateNet' will support the following email systems:
PCBoard ccMail FidoNet (Msg) FidoNet (Pkt)
UUCP NetWare MHS Comterm Fax
You will be able to seamlessly exchange email to and from any of the above
systems.
Future modules include:
Microsoft Mail CE Software's QuickMail
X.400 3Com + Email
QWK format Squish
Hudson generic format
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ADDRESES:
Author: Roy Pereira
Postal: Merlin Systems
P.O. Box 3043, Station "C"
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
K1Y 4J3
BBS & Fax: 613-722-7801 (v.32bis & G3)
Voice: 613-722-0829
InterNet: Roy.Pereira@merlin-systems.on.ca
UUCP: uunet.ca!mersys!Roy.Pereira
FidoNet: Roy Pereira at 1:163/509
[ FREQ SQAEM for the latest version of Sqaem ]
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
SUPPORT:
Every good piece of software needs support by the author. Support is provided
as follows:
- FidoNet backbone conference, TUB (SquishMail support), addressed to
Roy Pereira
- At any of the addresses as stated in the "Addresses" section above.
If you have a bug report, please include the MEMCHECK.LOG file that is
created when you set the environment variable MEMCHECK to yes. You should
also include your squish.cfg.
You may also send in your Sqaem language files in a language other
than English, so I can make it available.
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
REGISTRATION FORM:
Product: Sqaem
Name :____________________________________________
Mailing Address :____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
FidoNet ID :____________________________________________
InterNet ID :____________________________________________
UUCP ID :____________________________________________
X.400 ID :____________________________________________
Other :____________________________________________
What software do you use?
Mailer :_____________________________________________
Tosser/Scanner :_____________________________________________
BBS :_____________________________________________
Other :_____________________________________________
What Email software do you use at work/school ?
:______________________________________________________________
:______________________________________________________________
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Description Quantity Price │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Squish Automatic Echo Manager (Sqaem) _________ @ 25.00 __________ │
│ │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Net Total __________ │
│ │
│ Canadian residents please add 7% GST. (GST No. 129636346) __________ │
│ │
│ Ontario residents please add 8% PST __________ │
│ │
│ Total __________ │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Important: Please make checks payable to "Merlin Systems"