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1992-01-01
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page 1
MaxBank v2.00
P R O G R A M D O C U M E N T A T I O N
MaxBank v2.00 has been programmed by Brian Bourne
CONTENTS
PAGE
1. Copyright Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. About MaxBank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A. Credits and Thank You's. . . . . . . . . 2
B. Where it came from . . . . . . . . . . . 2
C. What it will do for you. . . . . . . . . 2
D. System Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . 2
3. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A. Getting Started With MaxBank . . . . . . 3
B. Creating Necessary Data Files. . . . . . 3
C. Loading it from Maximus. . . . . . . . . 3-4
4. Multi-Node BBS's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
5. Problem Solving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
A. Error Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
B. Other Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. SysOp Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6. Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7. Contacting the Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This program MaxBank v2.00 is
Copyright (c)1991 Brian Bourne, and may not be altered, in
whole or in part without the written consent of Brian Bourne
This applies in Canada, or in any country that is a part of
the Berne Copyright Convention, or any country that is a part
of the Universal Copyright Convention.
Brian Bourne hereby gives consent to any and all users to
copy MaxBankest at will, conforming to the
following criteria:
1) The file MAXBANK2.ZIP may be distributed freely by any
person or agency, so long as no funds are received for
profit.
Charges for Media costs is allowable.
2) The file MAXBANK2.ZIP must be distributed in it's whole and
original form: any changes, additions or deletions, in whole
or in part of this or any of the accompanying files is a
breach of this copyright agreement. The only changes allowed
to this ZIP file is the addition or deletion of the ZIP file
comment. Any other modification to the distribution ZIP file
is a breach of this copyright agreement.
Any person violating this copyright agreement is subject to
punishment as prescribed by local copyright laws.
page 2
ABOUT MAXBANK
A. Credits and the Appropriate Thank You's
First of all I would like to thank Scott Dudley, not only
for his excellent work in producing Maximus v2.00 but also for
providing me with the format of his LASTUS??.BBS files and
helping me decide which are the best way to have the timebank
interact with Maximus. Thanks Scott.
Peter Avgerinos, who applied incessant pressure and kept me
working on MaxBank even though it was the last thing I wanted to
do. Peter also beta tested the pre-release of MaxBank and helped
me work out the numerous bugs. Thanks Pete.
B. Where MaxBank Came From
After downloading a copy of Maximus CBCS v2.00 and
installing it, I found that many of my favourite utilities didn't
work. One of those utilities was the timebank that my users
loved so much. After about 5 trillion messages asking for a new
timebank I set down to write one. Once I had gotten all the
formats for the new Maximus from Scott Dudley, I set down to
write the timebank. MaxBank was written as fast as my little
fingers could type. Many of the communication routines I took
off the online game I am working on. This speeded things up
considerably but MaxBank still ended up to be more hours of work
than I expected (sigh).
C. What MaxBank will do for You!
MaxBank provides your users with a good way to get that
extra online time that they are ALWAYS asking for. For instance,
since my system is very, very busy I can only allow users 45
minutes per day. Many users want/need more time to do larger
downloads, etc. MaxBank can store and give them this extra time.
You will find that MaxBank becomes very popular by your users.
D. System Requirements
To run MaxBank your system must have the following features
(minimum) to run:
- PC/XT/AT/286/386/486
- 640k RAM (recommend) (MaxBank only uses about 50-70k on a shell)
- harddisk
- Maximus CBCS v2.00 (running)
- Monochrome or colour monitor
- MS-DOS v3.3 or higher
- modem hooked up to either com port 1,2,3 or 4 (high speeds supported)
NB. MaxBank has been tested on a 486-33, 286-12 and a 386-33 on both
single and multi-node systems and under DesqView
page 3
Installation
A. Getting Started with MaxBank
It is suggested that you unZIP MaxBank into main Maximus
directory. After installation there will only be 5 files related
to MaxBank, so you won't have to worry about the directory being
over run. After you unZIP MaxBank the first thing to do is to
edit the configuration file. I will not repeat the information
in the configuration file. Simply edit the maxbank.cfg file with
a standard ASCII editor. The comments in the config file explain
everything. Please make sure the KEYWORD is flushed left to
column 1 and the there is only one space between the keyword and
the OPTION. Make sure that all directories specified DO actually
exist. MaxBank will not create any directories. THE CONFIGURATION
FILE MUST BE EDITTED BEFORE MAXBANK IS RUN AT ALL!
If you wish to ever start MaxBank from scratch simple delete
MAXBANK.USR and MAXBANK.HDR and all accounts will be deleted and
everything will be restarted.
B. Creating Necessary Data Files
After you start up MaxBank it will create 2 files... MAXBANK.USR and
MAXBANK.HDR. Please do not try to edit these files in any way other
than through the built in MaxBank SysOp editor. The USR file is the
complete user file containing all information pertaining to the
patrons and the HDR file simple indicates the number of accounts
open. In the previous beta version the user file length was fixed
and it was necessary to create it, this is not so any more. MaxBank
is now memory/disk space wise and uses only what space it needs.
C. Loading MaxBank from Maximus
The best way to run MaxBank is to create a mecca file in
your MISC directory. The MECCA file should look something like
this:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Loading MaxBank...
[xtern_run]@c:\max\maxbank.exe /com%P
-----------------------------------------------------------------
If you are running a multinode system you should read the section on
MultiNode configuration before compiling, your MECCA will be slightly
different.
You can then compile your mecca file. Just so you understand
what you just did.
[xtern_run] - well this is kind of obvious, it simple runs an
external program!
@c:\max\maxbank.exe - this is not so obvious. The @ sign tells
Maximus to "ReRead" the LASTUS??.BBS file to get
the new amount of time remaining online. The rest
is simply your path and file name for MaxBank.exe
/com%P - this is the command line parameter than MaxBank
requires to run. MaxBank will open up at whatever
the current baud rate is. The %P tells maximus to
pass the com port (eg: COM1 = 1)
page 4
The next step you will have to perform is to go into and
edit your MENUS.CTL file in your Maximus directory. You can
simply insert this line (or your specific variation of) on which
ever menu you like...
----------------------------------------------------------------
Display_File Misc\MaxBank Normal "$MaxBank"
----------------------------------------------------------------
That's it! Now compile your new control file using SILT.EXE
and presto! MaxBank is installed. Multinode BBS SysOp's should
read on however.
D. MultiNode BBS's
Well, configuration for MultiNode BBS's is actually very simple. The
configuration file remains unchanged with the keyword "LASTUSER"
pointing to the full path to the lastus??.bbs file(s). The only
change a multinode system must make over a single node system is that
following change in the MECCA file, it should look like this
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Loading MaxBank...
[xtern_run]@c:\max\maxbank.exe /com%P /t%K
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Please make sure that the "%K" is capitalized. That is all. MaxBank
will now load the appropriate Lastuser file according to the task
number.
page 5
Problem Solving
A. Error Codes
The following are error numbers which MaxBank will write to the
log file if they occur.
CODE | ERROR | SOLUTION
-------------------------------+-----------------------
14 | Out of String Space | Allow MaxBank more memory!
51 | Internal Error | Hardware Problem not related to
| | MaxBank
53 | File not Found | Means one of MaxBank's files
| | are not present. Check
| | for lastuser.bbs, etc.
57 | Device I/O Error | DOS error concerning I/O
| | functions
61 | Disk Full | Make more room on the drive.
67 | Too many files | Specify more files in your
| | Config.Sys
68 | Device Unavailable | COM port specified doesn't exist
69 | Communication buffer | Rare Error. Contact Author.
| overflow|
70 | Disk Write Protected | Remove write protection
71 | Disk Not Ready | If you are using floppy disks,
| | insert 1
72 | Disk Media Error | Disk is damaged. Hardware
| | problem
75 | Path/File Access Error | Create the path / re-specify in
| | cfg file.
76 | DeadLock | On multi-node systems. One of
| | the files is being access by
| | both nodes at once (or the same
| | record within the user file)
| | - simply re-enter MaxBank
If any other errors occur, contact author immediately.
B. Other Errors
Not very many errors SHOULD occur. But run down this
checklist if no error number is reported by MaxBank.
- the lastuser.bbs file is NOT corrupt (it should be 240 bytes)
- that the lastuser path in the configuration file ends with a backslash
- you HAVE run MaxBank with the /INIT option to create the
necessary data files.
- check your configuration file to make sure all paths specified
actually exist.
- you have followed the installation procedures as outlined in
this documentation (letter for letter)
- make sure that MAXBANK.CFG is in the same directory as MaxBank and
MaxBank has been run from the directory that it is in
- if you are under a multi-tasker, was there a SHARE violation
If you everything still seems to be ok then it is time to get
some extra help. Contact the author.
page 6
SysOp Functions
While a user is online the SysOp may use the following keys:
F10 (function key 10) - Break into Chat
F5 (function key 5) - Exit MaxBank immediately
F6 (function key 6) - Shell to DOS
These are the only "local sysop" only commands. All other commands I
feel are self-explanatory and need no further documentation.
Disclaimer
I'll try to keep this brief:
THE AUTHOR, NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH, IS NOT RESPONSIBLE
IN ANY WAY FOR DAMAGES, WHETHER PERSONAL OR TO YOUR
BELONGINGS. MAXBANK IS PROVIDED AS IS. THERE ARE NO
GUARANTEES. THE AUTHOR, NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH, ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES INCURRED BY MODIFIED COPIES OF
MAXBANK.
Contacting the Author
Please feel free to contact the author at any time to
express compliments, complaints, concerns, report bugs, offer
suggestions, etc.
Brian Bourne may be contacted at the following addresses:
Electronic Addresses:
FIDO-Net 1:250/722
BBS 416-225-8942 (2400 bps)
(Super SONIC BBS)
Surface Mail:
Brian Bourne
100 Park Home Ave.
Willowdale, Ontario
Canada
M2N-1W8
NB: If you choose to send surface mail, please be sure to
include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.