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1992-11-06
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TODAYBBS
by Michael Conley
Release 3.06 11/06/92
Requires BRUN40.EXE in the path
Now requires "BDAYPREP.EXE" ... a separate program to read your
BBS user birthday data and prepare it for TODAYBBS. The BDAYPREP
program is supplied in a separate ZIP file, and is available from
the same BBS where you downloaded TODAYBBS. The reason for
separating these programs is that TODAYBBS is becoming a more
independent program, with support being added for a variety of
BBS programs. BDAYPREP is Wildcat!-specific.
This program determines the current date, then reads data files
containing historical facts and produces daily files of interesting
information about the current date. It is intended for use in a
BBS system where the file can be created as a part of a daily
maintenance routine. When used in conjunction with the BDAYPREP
program, the program will optionally incorporate users' birthdays
into the display files it produces.
IMPORTANT: TODAYBBS requires the use of BRUN40.EXE, which is the
runtime module for QuickBasic. It's readily available on BBS systems
throughout the country. If you have trouble locating it, call me.
Bruce Goldman is now producing excellent TODAY.nnn data files which
are compatible with TODAYBBS, as well as some other programs such as
NEWDAY/PC. These files are widely available in ZIP format, with each
file containing two months worth of material. The current series as of
this document is series 907, with files named: DAY907-1.ZIP,
DAY907-2.ZIP, etc through DAY907-6.ZIP. Bruce has agreed to distribute
these files through the Charlatan's Cabin. They will be available to ALL
callers on the first call... (213) 654-7337.
==============================================================================
NEW FEATURES/CHANGES:
Version 3.06 fixes a bug in which certain combinations of categories
would not produce the correct output.
Version 3.05 fixes a bug discovered when the data files became larger
than originally envisioned ...
Version 3.04 now determines whether your data files are in ascending
or descending sequence by year. If they are ascending, such as the
newer files by Bruce Goldman, TODAYBBS will reverse the sequence,
so that the newest data is presented first in each category. After
several conversations, it was decided this approach is desirable for
online use. If you'd prefer to have the older dates first, you may
either continue to use version 3.03, or let me know and I'll make it
a configuration switch.
Version 3.03 fixes a moderately embarrassing leap year bug!
Beginning with version 3.02, TDHEADER.DAT and TDTAIL.DAT header and tag
files can now include color codes for the appropriate bulletin board
software you're running. They are no longer 'forced' into any particular
color, so if you DON'T include color codes, these files will be whatever
color the previous line was. Therefore we recommend putting in at least
ONE color code at the start of each file if you use them.
Version 3.xx can now be run with various BBS software packages. If you
wish to include user birthdays, you'll need to run the appropriate extraction
program to build TODAY.BIR in your \TODAY\ directory.
In order for TODAYBBS to report User Birthdays, you'll need BDAYPREP, a
separate ZIP file which extracts this data from your BBS database and
makes a file compatible with the TODAYBBS format.
NOTE ON UPGRADING:
If you are already running a version of TODAYBBS prior to 3.00 and are
converting to the new version, you MUST remove your old configuration file,
because the format has changed. In its place, a new TODAYBBS.CFG file
contains all of the control parameters for the program. A sample is
included with this ZIP file, and is explained below.
==============================================================================
SETTING UP:
The only elements that need to be set up to operate this program
are the TODAY.LCL file and the TODAYBBS.CFG file.
You may also add optional "header" and "footer" files to customize
your display. These will be included before and after the display
of the daily data in the output files.
They are named "TDHEADER.DAT" and "TDTAIL.DAT" and are plain ASCII.
If they are not found, they will be ignored. Samples are included
with this ZIP file to give you some ideas. Incidentally, if Wildcat!
display control characters are included, such as the ^U^N (User Name)
function, they will be correctly displayed with the output file is
viewed by Wildcat! See your Wildcat! documentation for details on
using these command sequences in display files.
The TODAYBBS.CFG file must be located in the currently logged directory
whenever TODAYBBS is executed. The first seven lines of the file define
the operating parameters, and the FORMAT MUST BE FOLLOWED EXACTLY.
A couple samples of this file are shown below:
When editing TODAYBBS.CFG, be sure to use an editor which will NOT include
any special formatting characters, as some word processing programs may do.
C:\TODAY\
Charlatan's Cabin BBS
BDHIRSU
C:\WC30\DISP\HELLO9.BBS
CODE
;
;Line 1 is the full drive and path name where the "TODAY.xxx" files are kept.
; The trailing BACKSLASH is an essential part of the path name.
;
;Line 2 is the name of the BBS as you would like it to appear in the output.
;
;Line 3 indicates which categories you would like to include in the output
; file. The categories are defined as follows:
;
; B = birthdays of important public figures.
; D = deaths of important public figures.
; H = holidays.
; I = religious observances.
; R = reminders of important annual events.
; S = events on this day in history
; U = users' birthdays (without the year!) (You'll need to
; run a BDAYPREP program designed for your BBS system.)
;
;Line 4 is the full drive and pathname for the program's first output file.
; If used with WILDCAT! we suggest using C:\CAT\HELLO9.BBS
; (substituting the appropriate path name if different) so that
; the file is displayed automatically at the end of your signon
; sequence.
;
;Line 5 should contain the word CODE if you want TODAYBBS to output
; Wildcat! version 3.x @-code colors in your .BBS display file.
;
; If used with WILDCAT! 2.x, line 5 should contain the filename
; of your ANSI .SCR format file. ANSI codes will automatically
; be inserted in the .SCR file and NO color codes will be inserted
; in the .BBS file. Here's a typical configuration file for Wildcat!
; version 2.x:
;
; C:\TODAY\
; Charlatan's Cabin BBS
; BDHIRSU
; C:\WC\DISPLAY\HELLO9.BBS
; C:\WC\DISPLAY\HELLO9.SCR
;
; Note that Wildcat! 3.x can use ONE output file for both MONO and
; COLOR (ANSI capable) users. Automatic color codes in the .BBS file
; will be masked for non-color users, and converted for those who have
; enabled COLOR in their user profiles.
;
; If you don't want ONLY an ASCII file with NO color codes, place the
; word "NONE" on line 5.
;
;IMPORTANT: All lines must be included in the file. Obviously certain
; combinations will not utilize all of the lines, but they are
; read by the program and tested before the program creates the
; output file and must conform to the above specifications even
; if not used! The notes after the last line are not required
; and may be deleted, but they will not cause a problem.
;
;THIS FILE must reside in the currently logged directory when TODAYBBS is run.
;
==============================================================================
THE TODAY.LCL FILE:
To customize your display with information of particular interest to your
BBS or immediate area, TODAYBBS will scan for the presence of a file
called "TODAY.LCL" and include appropriate lines from it if it's found.
Here's how the data format for all of the files works:
Column 1:
The record type, which can be a B for birthdays,
D for deaths, H for holidays, I for religious events,
S for special dates in history or R for reminders.
An asterisk (*) in this column denotes a remark.
Cols 2-5:
Month and day as MMDD with leading zeros. Zeros
for the day cause ALL days of the month to match
when being scanned. For example 0400 would match
every day of April.
Cols 6-9:
The full year of the event as four digits.
May be left blank. For REMINDERS ONLY, this column
may contain the ending value of a range of dates,
for example: R10021020 would issue a reminder every
day between October 2nd and October 20th. Note that
the BEGINNING or ENDING dates don't have to be within
the current month, but if they're NOT, then they must
be included in all applicable monthly files, since only
ONE file is read based upon the system date.
Column 10:
A special processing flag. Values may be:
BLANK for no special processing.
C to continue a message from the previous line.
Note, that you MUST repeat the date fields.
DAY-OF-WEEK DIGIT where 1=Sunday ... 7=Saturday
This will cause the message to display only if the
date falls on a certain day of the week. Look in
the November file for voting day examples.
Cols 11-68
The message to display for this date. If entry is
longer, use the 'C' processing flag for proper handling.
The program will attempt to provide word wrap for
longer entries, but the algorithm is a simple one
and may not produce ideal results.
--EXAMPLES--
*mmddyyyy Birthdays
*-------- ------------------------------------------------------------
B09011875 Edgar Rice Burroughs, novelist, Ah-ee-ah-ee-ah!
B09021838 Queen Liliuokalani (last queen of Hawaii).
B09021952 Jimmy Connors, tennis brat
*mmddyyyy Deaths
*-------- ------------------------------------------------------------
D01131822 Friday the thirteenth monster dies.
*mmddyyyy Holidays
*-------- ------------------------------------------------------------
H0901 2Labor Day, a legal Holiday
*mmddyyyy Religious events
*-------- ------------------------------------------------------------
I0922 St. Swithen's Day. (probably not right ... sorry!)
*mmddyyyy Special events
*-------- ------------------------------------------------------------
S09011939 Germany invades Poland, starts World War II.
S09011952 Sutro Baths purchased by George Whitney.
S09021620 The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth with
S09021620C102 Pilgrims.
*mmddyyyy Reminders
*-------- ------------------------------------------------------------
R04010410 Pay the mortgage!
R0401 Taxes due in two weeks.
R0415 Last day to pay taxes!
Because it's a reminder, the first line would be displayed throughout
the indicated range, from 04/01 to 04/10. This special processing
works ONLY with reminders.
==============================================================================
TESTING:
To test the program, simply type TODAYBBS<enter> and the output
file you have named in the TODAYBBS.CFG file will be created or
overwritten if it already exists.
You may wish to test various dates. For convenience, TODAYBBS
will accept dates from the command line. Since the year is not
used, enter the date as 4 digits in the form: MMDD. Leading
and internal zeros must be used, e.g., TODAYBBS 0307<enter>
will produce a file from the information located for March 7.
==============================================================================
OPERATION:
If your BBS has a provision for automatic daily maintenance, such
as the WILDCAT! program by Mustang Software, include the following
line(s) in the maintenance batch file, and schedule it to run as
soon as possible after midnight:
CD C:\WC30\DATA
BDAYPREP C:\TODAY\
CD C:\WC30
TODAYBBS
This sequence should be edited to suit your system, of course. We're
assuming in this example that you're running Wildcat! version 3.0, and
that your ALLUSERS.DAT file is in a directory named \wc\data. First,
we change to that directory, and run BDAYPREP. The command line instructs
BDAYPREP to place its output file (TODAY.BIR) in your C:\TODAY\ directory
along with your other TODAY data files.
Next, we change to the directory where TODAYBBS.EXE and TODAYBBS.CFG are
located together. Run TODAYBBS, and it will read its configuration file
and follow the instructions you've set up.
PROBLEMS, QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS:
=================================
TODAYBBS is public domain. I don't seek or accept any registration fees for
this or any of my other public domain utility programs, including those for
Wildcat! BBS systems. If you're interested in making a charitable contribu-
tion to express your appreciation, please read the enclosed file SHARE for
my thoughts on the subject.
I welcome suggestions, and will try to help (no guarantees) if there are
problems. You may contact me at The Charlatan's Cabin BBS (213) 654-7337,
or via CompuServe (70250,220).
If you're a registered Wildcat! SysOp, please leave me a private comment on
the BBS including your Wildcat! registration number, and I'll upgrade you to
member level.
============================================================================