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1992-04-17
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PROFILER v.1.00
for
all versions of RemoteAccess,
all versions of QuickBBS,
and
all Bulletin Board Programs which use
DORINFO1.DEF files that are compatible
with those mentioned above!
Written By Armando Caceres
Copyright (C) 1992 by Armando Caceres.
All Rights Reserved.
1:3812/30 FIDONet
*** April 17, 1992 ***
What is PROFILER?
─────────────────
PROFILER is a database door that can be run as a shell from a BBS
program. It allows the caller to enter information about
themselves (their profile) and to read other callers profiles (this
can get to be a lot of fun!). Currently, it only supports those
users who have ANSI turned on and has been tested with RA and QBBS.
It should work with any BBS that can generate a Dorinfo1.DEF drop
file.
Copyright Notice
────────────────
The PROFILER Door package is Copyright (C) 1992 by Armando Caceres.
You may not distribute modified or otherwise reverse-engineered
portions of the Profiler package without the written permission of
Armando Caceres, the author.
You are encouraged to distribute PROFILER in archived form, but you
must include all original files in the archive.
Registering PROFILER
────────────────────
PROFILER is not free software, it is ShareWare. You are allowed
to use PROFILER for a reasonable trial period (not to exceed 30
days). If, after this trial period, you continue to use PROFILER,
you are expected to register with the author.
PROFILER is fully functional (and always will be). It is not
crippled in any way. The only advantage to registering PROFILER is
that you will be legal, and will encouraging me to write more
doors. You will also receive an extra set of SySop utilities
(ProUtil) that will let you perform maintenance on the PROFILER
data files and index. With PROUtil you will be able to delete user
profiles, pack the database (recover space taken by by deleted
records), and re-build the index if for some reason your original
gets damaged.
PROUtil IS NOT shareware. It is not a try before you buy program.
Only those who register PROFILER will receive a copy of this extra
utility. The registration form is enclosed in REGISTER.FRM.
Registering entitles you to use all past, present, and future versions
of PROFILER and PROUtil for as long as you desire.
Disclaimer
──────────
The PROFILER package is provided as is, without warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied.
In no event shall I, Armando Caceres, be liable to you or anyone
else for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or
other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or
inability to use this program.
Reporting Problems
──────────────────
Problems encountered in running PROFILER should be reported to the
author immediately via FidoNet, or via normal 'snail' mail. Please
include any error information which may have been reported on the
screen.
Most errors are the result of incorrect installation of the program.
Check the configuration file(s) and reread the documentation thoroughly.
The most common errors are typos made while configuring the door, as
well as the batch files.
Product Support
───────────────
Support for PROFILER is available via FidoNet Netmail to 1:3812/30,
via the RA_UTIL or DOORWARE echos, via my BBS, or via normal mail
Installation
────────────
The PROFILER Door is very easy to setup. PROFILER must be called
from the subdirectory where it resides and the path to the
DORINFO1.DEF passed as a parameter.
A simple batch file can be used to
run it from the BBS program itself.
Menu Type: 7
Optional Data: c:\command.com /c Profiler.bat
Profiler.bat should change to the directory where profiler resides.
For example, if Profiler.exe is in its own directory called
C:\DOORS\PROFILER and the drop file(dorinfo1.def) is in your BBS
directory C:\BBS\ then your batch file might look like:
@echo off
cls
c:
cd\doors\profiler {switch to profiler subdirectory}
profiler C:\BBS\ {execute profiler and pass the path of Dorinfo1.def}
cd\bbs {switch back to BBS directory when profiler terminates}
exit {exit the batch file}
PROFILER also supports multinode BBS's running share. If share is
detected it will do record locking. If you are running multinode
just pass the path to your DORINFO1.DEF file to each node (you
should never pass the same path to more than one node. Folowwing
is an example I use for running it on my three node BBS...
Menu Type: 7
Optional Data: *C /c \RA\Profiler.bat *N *M
PROFILER.BAT
@Echo Off
CD\RA\DOORS\PROFILER
Cls
if %1 == 1 goto Profile1
if %1 == 2 goto Profile2
if %1 == 3 goto Profile3
Exit
:Profile1
Profiler C:\RA\NODE1\
CD\RA\NODE1
Exit
:Profile2
Profiler C:\RA\NODE2\
CD\RA\NODE2
Exit
:Profile3
Profiler C:\RA\NODE3\
CD\RA\NODE3
Exit
Path to DORINFOx.DEF
────────────────────
This is the full path to the DORINFOx.DEF file made by your BBS.
If your BBS doesn't make this data file, then you must use a door
converter. Profiler does not use an EXITINFO.BBS file. The path
to DORINFOx.DEF must have a backslash, "\", at the end.
Closing
───────
I hope you enjoy Profiler. I spent about 6 weeks writing a door
which should not have taken more than a few days. Actually, the
first version I finished in about 4 evenings. That version used
fixed length records and was very inefficient in its use of memory
and hard disk space. I decided that if I was going to allow other
people to use this program I needed to do a little better. I
changed to entire structure of the data files and went to variable
length records and incorportated the use of pointers so Profiler
would only use as much memory as it actually needed (it will not go
grab a big chunk of memory every time it runs. If you only have on
record in the Profiler database then it will only use about 45
bytes. If you have 100 records then it will use 4500 bytes (there
are 1024 bytes in one K!). Also, the datafiles stored on disk
(Profiler.DAT) is completely packed. It uses disk space very
efficiently. TO get the most efficient use, pack the database
every once in a while. You will need ProUtil to do this which
means you need to register Profiler to get it.
If I get enough support my next program will be a database manager
that will allow SySops to build their own databases which will work
in the BBS environment without any problem (watch out DBase and
Paradox).