BBS Toolkit/BBS Toolkit.iso/pc_board/csver116.zip/HISTORY.CSV

Text File | 1992-07-25 | 14KB | 276 lines

History of Changes or Fixes to CSVerify.
Entries are made in reverse order, Newest first;


July 24, 1992 Ver 1.16 **** Change to Configuration File ****

■  Added the ability for CSVERIFY to call long distance. The change to
the configuration file is this;

On line 13 where it previously had the allowable area code, we now place
a new file, which contains valid area codes that the program can dial.
If you want the program to be able to dial any long distance number,
just create the file with 1 blank line. If you only want the program to
call long distance in certain area codes, then list those area codes in
the new area code.csv file (or whatever you choose to call it), and the
program will only dial numbers in those area codes. If you want to
program to continue as it was prior to this release, simply place your
area code that you allow dialing in, in the first line of the
area code.csv file. The program will then check the valid exchange file
as it always did.

If you allow long distance call backs, you can use the LOGOFF feature to
immediately log the user off after they are verifed, and display a
message telling them to call the BBS back on their quarter!

■ I have rewritten the CSVERIFY door in Turbo C++ using the PCBtool Kit.
If you are interested in helping test this door, please contact my board
and leave me a note.

■ I have not updated the documentation with the recent changes. Please
use this history file as an addendum to the docs... in other words, read
it through so you can see what has changed.

May 16, 1992 Ver 1.15

■  Corrected a problem that was causing a lock-up of the program just
before exiting CSVerify or prior to returning to PCBoard. The program
should be working smoothly now.... (I hope!).

May 8, 1992    Ver 1.14 **** Change to Configuration File ****

■  Added another display file to the program which can be displayed to a
long distance user. You can use the file to give the caller additional
instructions, or tell him what to do next to obtain a higher level or
whatever.

I also corrected some logic where the user once verified was
still able to enter the door with a security level that was too high.
The program will now look at the users security level as soon as the
welcome screen is displayed. If the security level is too high, or the
user was previously verified successfully, it will display the security
file, then return the caller to Pcboard.

April 28, 1992 Ver 1.13

■  Still working on the redial routine, and it looks like I got it this
time. Instead of sending the modem the ATH0 command, I am lowering DTR
then raising it again before I dial the number. It looks like this was
the fix I was looking for. FINALLY FIXED!!!

April 19, 1992 Ver 1.12

■  My battle appears to be consistent with the redial routines. I am
trying different combinations of code for the routine that calls back
the user. Since the program has always worked on my system, I need your
input to let me know whether it's working or not. I have two modems... A
Intel 9600EX and an HST Courier attached to a PS/2 model 60(286),
connected to a Token Ring Lan (Novell 3.11), and I am not using any
fossil drivers or strange TSR's, an the software is working here with no
indication of failure. I am changing version numbers so I can track
which versions have been tried and failed.

April 18, 1992 Ver 1.11

■  Still trying to locate the problem with forcing the modem off hook
during the dial attempt. I made a modification to the program to flush
the com port after the command is sent to it, which will perhaps
facilitate the correct dialing sequence. This program has of course
always worked on my system without a hitch... The trouble may be a slow
response from the modems. I put the code back in to directly send
commands to the com port, as it did not seem to work the other way!
We'll see.

April 10, 1992 Ver 1.10 **** Change to Configuration File ****

■  Added the ability for the SysOp to decide if the user should be
logged off after the callback has been completed. This will help those
users that have calling zones that we would not consider to be long
distance, and even dialed as a local call, but they are charged a fee
for the call. The program will look for the word LOGOFF at line 20 of
the configuration file. If this word *specifically* is found, it will go
through the callback procedure, display the users information, then log
him off with a note to call right back for normal access. In the
meantime PCBoard will update his user record with the updated security
level, and recycle. If the word is anything other than LOGOFF it will be
ignored.

April 10, 1992 Ver 1.09

■  I forgot to add C/R's after the commands sent to the modem, and some
folks had already downloaded the program before I could fix it..
Sorry!

April 9, 1992 Ver 1.08a

■  Trying to tackle a problem with the door locking up on exit with some
systems, I am trying a different approach to closing the door down, and
returning the user back to the BBS. Hopefully this will solve the
problem.

I also got some help on the write fault error that I could not
find, and hopefully got it beat this time!

April 3, 1992 Ver 1.08  **** Change to Configuration File ****

■  In response the John Carroll University's request I added the ability
to be able to call back a caller thru a switch board or PBX. There is a
new parameter in the configuration file called "PBX". If the program
finds PBX=<whatever> it will include that along with the dialing string
sent to the modem during call back. If there is nothing after the equals
sign, it will assume no prefix. The prefix can be 4 characters wide for
special cases.


April 2, 1992  Ver 1.07

■  Still trying to resolve a problem with the dial back routine, a user
is receiving DOS error #5 which is file access denied. In the Lantastic
(or any other network) environment if a file is locked, and you try to
open it again, you get this message. Looking at the dial back routine, I
noticed a couple of logic errors. First, I was assigning the comport,
then resetting it for output, then during the loop, resetting it again
and again. I corrected the problem by closing the comport before
reopening it... hopefully that will clear that problem.

The second error was during the re-dial, after the first attempt.
I was looping back to dial the user again, but the modem was not getting
hung up first, so trying to dial again was for not. Correction was made
by forcing a hang up again before trying to re-dial.

The phones.dat file does not have any record locking on the file, so on
multi-node systems that share the door, you need to create a dummy file
in you batch file, and if another node shows up to use the door, have it
check for the existence of the dummy file, and exit if it's there. I am
trying to find some network file locking routines to prevent conflicts,
but in the mean time, you should work with it this way...

Hey! What do you want for free <g>!

March 28, 1992   Ver 1.06

■  I made a change to the information written back to the users record.
Instead of saying "Bus/Data Number Verified", it now says "### ###-####
was verified, or in the other case NOT verified. This was done so you
would have a record of what number they used, but not alter what was
entered into the User record phone number slots if you choose not to.. I
still provide the verified number in the Bus/Data field of the users
record if you desire..

There was a change made to the name of the $$$DUMMY.$$$ file that is
created if the caller is a long distance number.. I changed the
extension of the file to reflect the node that generated the file. This
way, in multi node operations, one user wont step on another in the door,
and delete his flag file. the file for node 1 as an example would be
$$$DUMMY.$$1  < Thank you Earl Boone for this information!>

You can now pass a pcboard command line parameter to the program called
TEST. If the program receives this parameter, it will not save any
information you type in the trashno.csv or phones.dat files. This
was done so you could test the door, and not have to keep erasing the
datafile or trashno.csv lists every time you try it. If your PCBoard
automatically throws your user into the door, for testing purposes you
can edit the batch file with PCBDOOR=TEST at the top, and PCBDOOR= at
the bottom to reset it.

I corrected some logic errors in the dialback routines, so hopefully
they are working as advertised now.

Please call my board with any requests or problems.... That includes you
Butch 
.

March 27, 1992     **** Change to Configuration File ***

■  Looking over the logic of the code I made some changes internally
that allow me to better track each step the program takes. I did make
one change externally to the data file, in that I added another field to
the beginning of the record so I could flag a record for deletion. I am
working on this part, so you can edit the user records, and optionally
pack it, removing deleted records. The phones.dat file is a random
access file. I created it this was so look ups and reading and writing
records would be quick... If you have a 1000 records in your data file
sequentially, it could take a while to look at them. The trashno.csv
sample file is still ok, and the numbers contained in it will still get
a hit if you have users records in the data file. Sorry, but I did not
write a conversion program for it. The door has not been out long enough
to warrant this yet. I also filled the remainder of the data record with
filler for future use, so this should be the last time you have to kill
your datafile.

Because a phone number can be in the same area code, and the exchange is
long distance from the BBS, I saw a need to include a file, text in
nature, which includes the various exchanges in your local calling area.
If the program determines that the phone number entered does not meet
the local exchange criteria, it will assume a long distance number has
been entered, and follow accordingly. You can determine you local
calling exchanges by looking in the front few pages of you local
telephone book. It should show the cities that are local calls, and the
exchanges.

March 25, 1992 8:15pm   **** Change to Configuration File ***

■  Shortly after putting the code up for download, I installed it just
to test it. Guess what! Murphy's Law struck again. I discovered that the
timing routine that I had just worked on was lacking a line that would
make it act as expected once carrier was detected.  I fixed this in this
version... Sorry Butch!

I added another line to the configuration file, and if fact changed the
order that a couple of items were read in. I added a file which you can
call anything you wish, but basically its a trash can file in which
verified phone numbers are placed. It will also allow you the SysOp to
edit this file and put in your own phone numbers which you want
rejected. This time I tested the code before posting it! <g>.

March 25, 1992      **** Change to Configuration File ***

■  Had a report of the program not making a connection to another HST. I
tested this several times without any problem.. is anyone else having
this problem?

The code released on the 23rd was counting down on the re-dial too fast
all the sudden... I don't know what I changed, but it screwed up the
countdown. I reworked the logic on the countdown for dial/re-dial
attempts, and added another line to the configuration file so the SysOp
can define what the timeout should be instead of hard coding it. If the
line is missing from the configuration file, the timeout should default
to 30 seconds. I put the countdown on the screen to watch.


March 23, 1992      **** Change to Configuration File ***

■  Since I added the SYSOP COMMENT on or off, I figured that I should
also make the Bus/Data phone optional too. This way, you can have
written to the users record what you want instead of hard coding it.

I turned off the debug code to see how it goes. Please report any
errors.

March  21, 1992     **** Change to Configuration File ***

■  Made two modifications to the program..

First, you now have the option of turning off the SYSOP COMMENT
from being placed in the users file. Check the Configuration file
for this addition.

Second, For those that want it, if a user answers YES to the long
distance question, the program will now create a dummy file in the
current directory, which allow you to test for existence, and optionally
call another door, like a script door, or whatever. This file
$$DUMMY.$$$ is only created at this time. Your batch file should delete
this file before starting the program with a line that says basically;
if exist $$$DUMMY.$$$ del $$$DUMMY.$$$, then start the door as you
normally would.

March 20, 1992

■  I discovered an error right after I posted the program where the
program would not allow more than one record in the datafile. That was
because I assigned the record number in the wrong place. Fixed...

I have another door that I wrote called Register, which generates the
key files needed for my programs, so I decided that I would make a name
change to this program since no one has downloaded it yet! This program
is now called CSVERIFY (Computer Store Verify).