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1989-08-06
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377 lines
Supplemental Documentation for RBBS-PC 17.2B/0806
By Ken Goosens, Fairfax, Virginia, September 6, 1989
Contents
1.0 What's New in 17.2B/0806
2.0 Acknowledgments
3.0 What Does "Maintenance Release" Mean?
4.0 How to Upgrade from 17.2A
5.0 How to Get Help with RBBS
6.0 The RBBS Committment
1.0 What's New in 17.2B/0806
Version 17.2B/0806 is a "maintenance release" for 17.2A, with over
60 changes to 17.2A. A summary, plus details with code fragments,
are found in RBBS-MRG.ZIP. Most of the fixes are minor, but the
major ones are
o time remaining when back from a door is now always right
o the command to execute a macro inside a questionnaire now works
o occasional constant recycling has been eliminated
o diverse bugs on macro processing have been fixed, and macros
can now be limited to a section or particular command
o questionnaire chaining now works right.
The files that are different in 17.2B are:
RBBS-EXE.ZIP - Executables programs CONFIG.EXE and RBBS-PC.EXE
RBBSSEXE.ZIP - Smaller and faster version of RBBS-PC.EXE
RBBS-BAS.ZIP - Basic source code
RBBS-LIT.ZIP - Merges to produce to code with smallest size, by
giving sysop option to remove unused features.
RBBS-MRG.ZIP - Merges to 17.2A to produce 17.2B source code, as well
as details on changes.
RBBS-TXT.ZIP - System text files. Only HELP0x files changed.
Note: 17.2B/0806 fixes some problems in 17.2B. The changes from 17.2B
are: correction to SMARTEXT.LIT, the batch file UPGRADE.BAT to upgrade
from 17.2A, LINKLST4.DAT in recompiling with QB 4.5, plus all changes
after 07-30 in code.
2.0 Acknowledgments
People who contributed code fixes to 17.2B include:
Randy Sun
Mike Zakharoff
Robert McAdams
Blaine Korcel
Ezra Conger
Carl Slaughter
Kevin Patz
Ray Horton
Without their help, fixing the problems in 17.2A would have been a
much longer and more difficult process. The fact that people worked
on fixing the code, with no remuneration, and shared the results with
others, attests both to their generosity and to the wisdom of the policy
of releasing the source code. RBBS is one of the few products that
accepts no money for the software, releases the source code, and is
"user supported" by volunteers.
Many people helped by reporting bugs and beta testing the new version,
and I thank them all collectively.
3.0 What Does "Maintenance Release" Mean?
A maintenance release means that the changes were made mainly to address
problems in operating RBBS and to eliminate bugs, while minimizing the
probability of introducing new problems. Maintenance releases
include "merges" to allow upgrading the code from the prior version.
Many excellent enhancements were contributed which were not included
in this release, which can be frustrating to their authors. However,
when the current version has problems, it is generally more important
to make it work properly than to add new features. Enhancements may be
much more difficult to test and run a significant risk of introducing
new problems, and so their addition was deferred to the next release
(17.3). For the last 2 and a half years, beta testing of the next
release has begun almost immediately after each new release, and this
pace of development continues unabated with 17.3, with 3 to 4
releases per year.
However, the policy of deferring enhancements does not mean that no
enhancements may be added or that only bugs are fixed. Other types
of changes that may occur in a "maintenance" release are:
o minor changes that affect only a few lines and one type
of processing, that have a very low probability of introducing
new problems.
Past examples have included shortening strings, make prompts clearer
or more consistent, speeding the code, making a variable name clearer,
consolidating code to reduce the size of the executable program, and
adding "last (backwards)" as a named constant in message selection.
Changes in 17.2B included clarification of prompts, shortening strings,
removal of inoperative options, allignment of text, and enhancing the
update of the last message read to include attempts to read private
or password protected messages. In all cases, the design is frozen
some time before the actual release.
In some cases, even bug fixes are deferred because the changes necessary
to fix the problem are just too extensive or involve a critical a portion
of the code used for many purposes -- especially when there are other fixes
important to get out more quickly.
o enhancements necessary to fix a problem.
17.2A generalized macros to apply anywhere inside RBBS rather than just
at the main command prompt. This caused significant problems for
people using macros with short, simple names likely to be typed in
multiple contexts, such as single digits (e.g. for doors), which
therefore got invoked in contexts never intended. Macros
worked exactly as designed in this regard, but made something no
longer work right that worked fine in earlier versions.
The solution was to add an enhancement to macros that was 100%
compatible with existing ones, but added a new capability never before
in RBBS - the ability to limit a macro to a specific section or specific
command in a specific section.
4.0 How to Upgrade from 17.2A
Sysops with no customized changes need only replace CONFIG.EXE and
RBBS-PC.EXE. There are no changes to any system files. Be sure
to keep a backup of the old version, in case you run into any new
problems.
If you are using macros, you may want to add restraints on where the
macro can be invoked by editing the first line in the macro. The
format is "<SecLevel>/<where use>", where SecLevel is the minimum
security level to use the macro, and <where use> is the section letter
(M, F, U, or @) optionally followed by a command letter. For example,
"4/M" means to let callers use the macro who have security level 4 or
higher, and to invoke the macro only when in the main section.
"8/FD" means to limit it to callers with security 8 or more and to only
the File Download command.
Persons who have the QuickBasic compiler can download the much smaller
file 172B-MRG.ZIP, apply the merges to produce 17.2B code, and compile
their own version. Details on this process are inside 172B-MRG.
Persons who have customized modifications to RBBS have the most problem
upgrading. You will probably want to start with the 17.2B code, and
rework you modifications into it. A good way to do this is to start
with the merges in 172B-MRG so that you can see exactly what has been
changed and mark any changes you want to those same lines, then work
in the changes to the other lines. The lines modified in 17.2B are
all marked in column 70 or later with a signed and dated change. The
utility BLED has a file compare function that outputs only the
changes between different versions, which is very useful in comparing
a customized version to a new one.
5.0 How to Get Help with RBBS
RBBS is as committed to providing full support as well as any commerical
product -- though in a different way. Rather than a single number
in a single location, RBBS distributes its help in a network of
volunteers.
The help available includes
o Written documentation with RBBS. This is more a reference
than a guide for novices, however.
o A book, "The Complete Electronic Bulletin Board Starter Kit",
published by Bantam Books and available at least in Dalton
Bookstores, which does expertly and patiently explain how to
set up RBBS, though the version covered is 15.1C. RBBS remains
upward compatible with 15.1C and virtually everything in the
book still applies.
o A commercial product, "RBBS-PC in a Box", which on a CD-Rom disk
has 7000 shareware and public domain programs stored in compressed
format and has RBBS virtually pre-installed. Up 5 minutes after
you put in the CD-Rom. For information and ordering contact
Loren Jones (number below).
o Network mail. Both RBBS-Net and RelayNet have RBBS support
conferences. For RBBS-Net, contract Rod Bowman (number
below). For RelayNet contact Greg Snyder (703-323-1782 data
number).
o Voice support from the authors of RBBS.
The authors of RBBS do not get paid for their work and therefore have
other jobs and lives, so time for direct voice support is limited.
But the authors do accepts calls and are willing to help, and can
often give leads to other persons.
o Support Boards
Support boards are BBS's where the sysop
o commits to running RBBS for the foreseeable future
o has an at least one free, public line
o is regularly available for helping others
o makes the latest version of RBBS available, either
electronically or by mail.
Realize that BBS's may cease to exist or no longer have the same
number, and that other commitments may make people unavailable.
But stable boards likely to be running, that have callers
knowledgable about RBBS, and that can link you into a network of
other sysops, include:
Arizona.
Tucson. Gene Lowry. Bigfoot RBBS. 602-886-7943.
California.
Alta Loma. Rod Bowman. The PC Spectrum. 714-945-2612. 2 lines.
Concord. Jon Martin. Aircomm. 415-689-2090.
Connecticut.
Trumbull. The Second Ring. Tom Mack. 203-268-5315.
Florida.
Tampa. Dave Hacquebord. The Sunshine Board. 813-887-3984 and
813-885-4659.
Kentucky.
Lexington. Ronald Nutter. Bluegrass RBBS. 606-272-0499. Fill
out sysop questionnaire.
Illinois.
LaGrange. Loren Jones. RBBS-PC of Chicago. 312-352-1035. After
November 11, 1989, area code 312 will become 704.
Maryland.
Rockville. Roger Fajman. CPCUG Member's Information Exchange
(Capital PC Users Group). 301-738-9060. 9 lines. Join
Sysop conference.
Michigan.
Clinton Towship. Rick Wadowski. Clinton MicroLink BBS. 313-263-4680.
Pennsylvania.
Sharon Hill (Philadelphia). Mark Horninger. Electric Playground.
215-534-1466.
Virgina.
Arlington. Lee Pollard. Death Star. 301-839-0705.
Fairfax. Ken Goosens. Your Place. 703-978-6360. 3 lines.
o Help by Topic
Ken Goosens maintains an interactive, on-line data base of people who
volunteer to help with RBBS on particular topics. Again, though,
not every volunteer will always be available. The list includes:
Topic Data Number Last Name First Name
Basic 618-465-0808 SLAUGHTER CARL
Batch Files 407-627-6969 AZZARITO DOUG
Communication 301-839-0705 POLLARD LEE
Compiling 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
Conference 417-862-9824 MIDDLETON WILLIAM
Conferences 407-627-6969 AZZARITO DOUG
Conferences 703-255-1275 DORER FRANCIS
Desktop Publish 313-995-2100 MOORE CORWIN
Desqview 202/265-4496 MONDALE ALEX
Desqview 703-256-4777 KORCEL BLAINE
Desqview 703-756-6109 CROCKFORD MARIANNE
Desqview 912-432-2440 MULDROW WARREN
Doors 201-580-0486 CONGER EZRA
Doors 214-790-0754 COLLINS DARWIN
Doors 416-783-7094 CASSIDY JOE
Doors 503-664-3756 ANSTINE MITCHELL
FMS 201-580-0486 CONGER EZRA
FMS 301-384-9302 MCGOLDRICK LARRY
FMS 407-627-6969 AZZARITO DOUG
FMS 416-783-7094 CASSIDY JOE
FMS 703-255-1275 DORER FRANCIS
FMS 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
FMS 912-432-2440 MULDROW WARREN
File maint. 703-256-4777 KORCEL BLAINE
HST 912-432-2440 MULDROW WARREN
MACROS 503-664-3756 ANSTINE MITCHELL
Macros 416-783-7094 CASSIDY JOE
Macros 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
Marcos 202/265-4496 MONDALE ALEX
Modems 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
Network 301-839-0705 POLLARD LEE
Novell Netware 503-664-3756 ANSTINE MITCHELL
Novell Netware 703-256-4777 KORCEL BLAINE
PC-Slaves 407-627-6969 AZZARITO DOUG
PC-Slaves 703-756-6109 CROCKFORD MARIANNE
PC-Slaves 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
PUI 416-783-7094 CASSIDY JOE
PUI 912-432-2440 MULDROW WARREN
Pers downloads 703-255-1275 DORER FRANCIS
Personal Radio 313-995-2100 MOORE CORWIN
Protocols 201-580-0486 CONGER EZRA
Protocols 301-839-0705 POLLARD LEE
Protocols 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
Protocols 912-432-2440 MULDROW WARREN
Questionnaires 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
Setup 301-384-9302 MCGOLDRICK LARRY
Setup 301-870-5963 ISAAC MICHAEL
Setup 417-862-9824 MIDDLETON WILLIAM
Setup 703-255-1275 DORER FRANCIS
Setup 703-756-6109 CROCKFORD MARIANNE
Smart Text 407-627-6969 AZZARITO DOUG
Subboard 417-862-9824 MIDDLETON WILLIAM
Submenus 703-978-6360 GOOSENS KEN
Time Lock 407-627-6969 AZZARITO DOUG
User Interface 313-995-2100 MOORE CORWIN
Utilities 214-790-0754 COLLINS DARWIN
6.0 The RBBS Committment
Most Bulletin Board Software is dedicated to making money for its
authors. No matter how much the authors love the work, it endures
only so long as the hope of income continues.
RBBS is given away for free, and depends not on the flow of money,
but on the continuing dedication and generosity of people who volunteer
to help support and enhance it as a public service, and share their labor
of love with others for the benefit of all.
My committment, as a coordinating author of RBBS, is to
o fix any problems, on a priority basis
o steadily refine and enhance RBBS to better serve the needs
of its users
o help support and coordinate contributions, testing, and releases.
RBBS should be bug free, period. If there is any possible problem with
it, I want to know. And I want people to use RBBS not because it is free,
but because it is the best. I am proud of the fact that independent
evaluations of bulletin board software continue to rate RBBS as equal to
or better than packages costing up to $1350, and that RBBS pioneers
innovations which are widely copied in other packages, such as free
downloads, macros, turning the pause when the screen is full into a
rich list of natural options with a resumable listing, and built-in
data base capabilities.
Contributions people make to RBBS include improving the documentation,
helping other sysops, sharing menus, macros, and questionnaires, fixing
bugs in the code, developing new enhancements, helping to beta test, and
writing utilities. The roster of people who have contributed to
RBBS reads like a who's who in microcomputers, nearly all of whom
got started with the help of someone else. Many of them have gone
on to other things, but their contribution lives on in RBBS though
the support of volunteers, like you, passing on the help they got in
turn to others.
-Ken Goosens