BBS Toolkit/BBS Toolkit.iso/wildcat/renum.zip/RENUM.DOC

Text File | 1992-09-30 | 10KB | 198 lines

                              Combat Arms BBS
                               P.O. Box 913
                        Portland, Oregon 97207-0913
                           Voice: [phone]
                            BBS: [phone]
                               Fido 1:105/68
                            September 30, 1992


                                 RENUM.DOC
                                Version 1.7


          Hi! I am sending you a program I wrote and am asking that
     you please test it for me. Once the testing is completed and all
     bugs removed, this program will be placed in the public domain
     and be freeware, not shareware, without any cost to the user.

          I am presently running Wildcat version 3.55 on the Combat
     Arms BBS. It works well but now all local and Echo Mail messages
     are stored within the Wildcat message base (if you're not
     familiar with Wildcat, think "Hudson message base format"). That
     is all ok but when I write a netmail message I write it from my
     front-end (D'Bridge version 1.30) editor. The D'Bridge editor
     creates "regular" *.MSG files. The problem was that the numbering
     of those *.MSG files got totally out of whack and that frustrated
     me. I searched around for a *.MSG renumbering program and even
     had try to locate some stuff for me but never found anything to
     suit me.

          And that is where this program was born. I called it RENUM
     for all of the obvious reasons. The program will renumber all of
     the *.MSG files in any subdirectory, BUT only one subdirectory at
     a time (more on that later). I have tested the dickens out of the
     program and have re-written it six times, each time improving it
     somewhat. Thus this is revision 1.6 of RENUM. The program will
     renumber *.MSG files, regardless of the type of front-end program
     you are using.

          Included in RENUM.ZIP is yet another ZIP file called
     TEST_MSG.ZIP. TEST_MSG.ZIP contains 110 little *.MSG files, each
     80 bytes long and each with the following message string in it:

          This is a sample message file that can be deleted when
          the work is all done.

          What I would like you to do is to format a floppy diskette
     (360K or larger) in drive A: with the system files on it (using
     the DOS command FORMAT A:/S). Once that is accomplished, I would
     like for you to unZIP RENUM.ZIP onto that DOS formatted floppy.
     That way there will be nothing on that floppy except what is in
     RENUM.ZIP plus the DOS system files. There is no possible way for
     a-n-y other files on your drive to be impacted by my program.
     Then close the drive door to A: and re-boot.

          If everything goes as planned, your computer will boot up
     and read the bare bones CONFIG.SYS I've written. It will then
     begin to process the AUTOEXEC.BAT file I wrote. The AUTOEXEC.BAT
     program will change the prompt, path and ask you for the date and
     time. If you have a clock chip, simply hit the ENTER key twice.
     Otherwise enter the date and time as necessary.

          Next the AUTOEXEC.BAT file will create a subdirectory on A:
     called RENUM and the TEST_MSG.ZIP file will be unZIPed into that
     subdirectory (you can put more files into a subdirectory that
     into a root directory) using the copy of PKUNZIP.EXE that I have
     supplied. The AUTOEXEC.BAT will change to the A:\RENUM
     subdirectory and the RENUM.EXE will be activated.

          RENUM.EXE will scan the subdirectory, looking for *.MSG
     files and count them. The *.MSG files will then be sorted in
     memory and then renumbered on the disk. The dates of the *.MSG
     files will not be changed, however, nor will the *.MSG files be
     sorted on your disk. That requires a program like Norton's DS.EXE
     or the like to re-sort the file allocation tables (F.A.T.) and
     that is not the job of RENUM.

          If you find that there are problems in running RENUM on your
     system, please send me a netmail message describing in as much
     detail as possible the following:

          1.   The DOS version you're running and who makes it. All
               bets are off if you're using DRDOS. It might work, but
               no guarantees.

          2.   The specific computer you're using (and BIOS version if
               possible) and the amount of RAM.

          3.   What problems, if any, you encountered.

               ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
               ║                                           ║
               ║               W A R N I N G               ║
               ║                                           ║
               ║   AFTER COMPLETING THE TEST, YOU M-U-S-T  ║
               ║   OPEN THE DRIVE A: DOOR AND RE-BOOT      ║
               ║   YOUR SYSTEM IN ORDER TO RE-ESTABLISH    ║
               ║   YOUR ORIGINAL PATHS, CONFIG.SYS, ETC.   ║
               ║                                           ║
               ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

          I originally wrote RENUM on a genuine 4.77 MHz 8088 IBM PC
     with 640K of memory with MicroSoft's MS-DOS 5.0. It should run on
     your system with no problems. It runs on my BBS (33 MHz 80486
     clone). However, in order to protect your system during the
     testing, things will be slower because the floppy is being used
     rather than the hard drive. On a hard drive and a fast system,
     RENUM flies! Yes, it is horribly slow on a floppy. But it is very
     s-a-f-e and provides a valid test.

          If you find the program performs well and want to try it out
     on other directories you may have that contain "real" *.MSG
     files, you must realize that I have told the program to delete
     any copies of LASTREAD it finds in the directory. I did this so
     that the LASTREAD point does not get screwed up. When RENUM.EXE
     is finished is creates a new LASTREAD file with the highest
     number *.MSG file as the last one read. If you intend to use this
     on your "real" *.MSG files, you will have to put RENUM in a
     subdirectory that is in your PATH statement (such as C:\DOS).
     Also, I recommend that you first archive a copy of all your *.MSG
     files in that subdirectory (doing something like PKZIP
     OLD_MSGS.ZIP *.MSG) before you experiment on real messages. That
     way if things screw up (not likely) then you have only to delete
     the *.MSG files and haul them out of the archive file and you're
     back in business. I have tried this version on my BBS and it
     quickly renumbers the netmail messages that I wrote using
     D'Bridge with no problems. Because I have no way of knowing which
     front-end you're using, etc. I caution you to first backup the
     *.MSG files in any subdirectory you wish to try this program out
     on. RENUM should not be a problem but I don't want to bet on that
     yet.

          RENUM works well at my end and pokes along on a 4.77 MHz
     8088. It will probably go a lot faster on your equipment. I've
     included some code to tell you how long things take. I'd be
     interested in the times it takes on your system.

          I added color and corrected an error that miscounted the
     number of *.MSG files in the subdirectory in Version 1.6. If you
     have a monochrome monitor, it will not matter. The color coding
     is (theoretically!) "smart" so that it works on a monochrome,
     CGA, EGA or VGA monitor.

          Something I've been thinking about is the addition of a
     configuration file that would be read by RENUM.EXE. In that
     proposed configuration file you would put the paths to those
     subdirectories containing *.MSG files you wanted renumbered. Then
     when RENUM was fired up, it would go through each of the
     subdirectories in the configuration file. If you think this would
     enhance the program, please let me know. Other ideas are also
     welcomed.

          Any precautions? Yes, there is one that I am aware of and do
     not intend at this time to fix. The program works just peachy
     UNLESS you have a *.MSG file with a number greater than
     10,000,000 (such as 10000001.MSG). In that event the program will
     choke. But, that raises the question of what you're doing with a
     *.MSG file with a number that big!

          On other thing. I have had fits getting this program to run
     on a 12 MHz AT clone "turboed" to 26 MHZ and using MS-DOS 5.0.
     Others who have tested RENUM report it works fine. The reason for
     this use of the floppy is to eliminate all possibilities of
     interference from TSR's, etc. Once the program is stable, I will
     find a solution to problems such as experienced on the
     turbocharged AT.

          This version of RENUM will work with up to 999 *.MSG files
     in a subdirectory. In order for it to accommodate much more, the
     amount of RAM memory you have becomes a consideration. On the
     other hand, do you have a subdirectory with more than 999 *.MSG
     files in it? I never did. But if you do, I do not have a clue as
     to what the current version of the program will do. In the next
     release I will get it to accommodate up to 1,999 files in a
     subdirectory if I hear any complaints from testers of this
     program.

          I look forward to your assistance in "beta testing" this
     program and welcome your suggestions. The file RENUM.DOC contains
     the same text as this message. If you are aware of another
     program, besides this one, called RENUM let me know and I'll
     change the name. I am not aware of such a program name. Versions
     of this program prior to 1.7 were called MSGRENUM but I was
     advised by Bob Hay on 105/54 that a program with a similar name
     was copyrighted by a David Nugent in 1989. Version 1.7 is being
     released as an attempt to stop the further distribution of the
     incorrectly named program. My apologies to David, wherever he is.



     Regards,


     Richard M. Bash, B.S., M.P.A.
     1:105/68
     September 30, 1992