ftp.wwiv.com/ftp.wwiv.com.zip/ftp.wwiv.com/pub/MISC/DEMO510.ZIP/DIRMNT3.INS/DIRMAINT.DOC

Text File | 1999-01-25 | 15KB | 376 lines

DIRMAINT -- Searchlight BBS File Directory Maintenance Program
Version 4.5 April 1995

-------------------------------- IMPORTANT --------------------------------

This is a new version of DIRMAINT that contains a subtle, but important,
change in the way command line parameters are given. In the old DIRMAINT
program, DIRMAINT operated directly on Searchlight *.SL2 directory files,
bypassing the CONFIG file and directory list. Thus, you could type DIRMAINT
commands that included paths, such as:

  Dirmaint c:\slbbs\uploads u *.zip
  Dirmaint uploads u c:\uploads\*.zip

The new DIRMAINT program uses the pathnames stored in your CONFIG files
and does not require (or accept) the use of pathnames on the command line.
Thus, remove any pathname references from existing command lines.

In addition, Dirmaint 3.5 requires access to your CONFIG file for proper
operation. This means you should either execute DIRMAINT commands from your
Searchlight home directory, or else set an environment variable equal to the
home directory location; ie.:

  SET SLBBS=C:\SLBBS

When adding files, Dirmaint 3.5 uses the current user as the file's owner,
rather than the Sysop account. You can override this by specifying an
explicit file owner with the /O command. If necessary, update your existing
batch files or command lines, especially those that take place during events
or offline processing, to avoid creating files with random owner names. (To
emulate the old behavior, add /OSYSOP to existing command lines).

Because it reads the CONFIG file, the /R command line parameter is no longer
required to perform record locking.

-------------------------------- IMPORTANT --------------------------------


Version 4.5
Dirmaint version 4.5 allows you to use wildcards for the directory name.
Hence, you can process many directories with a single command. For example:

  DIRMAINT CD* U /F

This command would update all directories in your system that match the
wildcard CD* (for example, CD001, CDGAME, CDUTIL, etc).

Version 4.0
This is a maintenance release that is compiled to take advantage of new
directory management features in the Searchlight 4.0 code. There are no
functional differences. An out of memory problem that appeared in the
previous release has been addressed, and should be fixed.


Version 3.5A
This is a minor maintenance release which includes:
  - Directory description files are now repaired with Balance commands
  - Alias names are acceptable when using the Owner command

Version 3.5 Update
Dirmaint version 3.5 includes several new features:
  - A /O command for changing or setting a file's owner
  - Support for entering long file descriptions
  - Support for loading file descriptions from a text file
  - A command to balance/repair directories


Introduction

   DIRMAINT is a command-line utility program for Searchlight BBS which
allows you to maintain Searchlight file directories outside of the main
BBS.EXE program. Dirmaint includes commands to add and delete files, update
files (file size, date, owner, or description), password protect (or
unprotect) files, or increment file download counts. It can also be used to
balance (optimize) and repair directory indexes.


Syntax

The syntax for DIRMAINT is as follows:

   DIRMAINT DirName Command [Options] FileName(s) ["Descrip/Passwd"]

The first parameter, DirName, is the name of the directory file that you
will be updating. This should be the same one to eight character filename
that is used in directory listings and the CONFIG program within
Searchlight, and should not include any pathnames or extensions.

Note: Dirmaint needs to open the CONFIG.SL2 file for the current node. If
you run the Dirmaint command outside of the node's home directory, you
should set an environment variable equal to the home directory path; ie. SET
SLBBS=C:\SLBBS.


The main commands are:

    A   Add file
    K   Kill files
    U   Update files
    P   Password protect files
    D   Increment download count
    B   Balance/repair directory

Options are:

    /F  Use file date when adding or updating
    /D  Use DOS system date when adding or updating
    /P  Prompt for descriptions or passwords
    /A  Balance all directories (used only with the B command)
    /X<FileName>  Read long file description from text file
    /O<UserName>  Set name of file owner when adding/updating

Any combination of one or more single filenames or wildcards can be
specified on the command line; wildcards are processed differently for the
Add command than they are for the Kill, Update and Password commands (see
below). Finally, one short file description may be included in quotes (must
be in quotes) for Add or Update commands or one password (also in quotes)
with the Password command. Use the /P switch if you want to add or update
several descriptions or passwords at once. Use the /X or /P switches if you
want to add or update long descriptions.


Add Files

   Dirmaint lets you add one or more legal filenames to the directory,
whether or not the files actually exist. If a file does exist, its size is
read from the DOS directory; otherwise, the size is set to zero and the file
is marked as an offline file. Dirmaint checks for files in the directory's
"Path to Files" path (as specified in the CONFIG program), regardless of the
current directory. Therefore, be sure to copy files into the correct files
path for the directory before running Dirmaint (Dirmaint does not move or
copy files, it only updates the Searchlight directory database).

   If the /F command line parameter is used, Dirmaint reads the file's last
update date directly from the DOS directory and assigns that date to the
SLBBS file entry. Otherwise, the current system date is used.

   If you wish to specify an owner for the file (ie. name of person who
"uploaded" the file), use the /O option switch, followed immediately by the
desired username. If the username has several words, replace spaces by
underbars. For example:

    DIRMAINT Uploads A /OJames_Jones Myfile.ZIP

Here, the user "James Jones" is recorded as having uploaded the newly added
file, MYFILE.ZIP. If no /O parameter is given, or if the given username does
not exist in your Searchlight user file, then the name of the currently
logged in user is used.

   There are several ways to enter file descriptions. Short descriptions can
be entered directly on the command line:

    Dirmaint Uploads A /OJames_Jones Myfile.ZIP "Short file description"

Long descriptions can be entered by specifying the /X parameter, followed
immediately by the name of a text file containing the description text:

    Dirmaint Uploads A /Xlngdscp.txt Myfile.ZIP "Short description"

   If /P was specified on the command line, Dirmaint will prompt you to
enter a short and long description for each file added. If multiple files
are added and no /P switch is used, the description given on the command
line and/or filename is given to all files added. Since Dirmaint reads the
standard input stream when inputting descriptions, it is possible to
redirect a list of descriptions to Dirmaint with a pipe.

   Add Files supports the addition of multiple filenames in the following
manner: for each wildcard specified on the command line, all files which
exist in the DOS directory that match the specification are added.  Each
single, non-wildcard filename is added regardless of whether a matching DOS
file exists (the file is marked as offline if it cannot be found). You can
specify any number of single filenames and/or wildcards on each command line
(separated by spaces) with the only limitation being the length of the
command line. See examples below.

   An attempt to add a file that already exists in the Searchlight directory
will be ignored. Use the update command to change existing files.


Kill Files

   This command deletes the specified entries from the Searchlight directory
file (the actual DOS files, if any, are not deleted or modified). No options
or description need be included for Kill commands. A count of the number of
files killed is printed on exit.


Update Files

   This command updates the specified files by changing the file sizes to
the actual DOS file sizes and, optionally, modifying the file dates,
descriptions, and/or owners. If a DOS file exists, the Searchlight directory
entry is updated to reflect the DOS file's actual size. Otherwise, the DIR
entry is marked as an offline file (the old file size is not changed).

   If you include a description on the command line, Dirmaint updates the
file's short description, replacing it with your command line argument.
Similarly, if you include the /X<FileName> parameter, the long description
is replaced with the contents of the text file. If you include the /P
switch, Dirmaint prompts you to enter a new description for each file
updated. If you update multiple files and include a command line
description, you will assign that description to ALL files being updated.

   If the /D or /F options are given, Dirmaint updates file dates. As with
the Add command, the /F switch loads the file dates from the DOS directory
entry, whereas the /D switch loads the current system date. If /F is used,
but a file does not exist, then the system date is used by default. If
neither /F nor /D are given, the date is not changed.

   If the /O<UserName> switch is used, Dirmaint changes the file's owner to
the username given. If the username doesn't exist, the file's owner is not
updated. For usernames that contain spaces, replace the spaces with underbar
characters on the command line (for example, "/ORobert_A._Reed").


Password Protect Files

   This command allows you to change the password of the specified files.
You can enter a password on the command line (in quotes) or use the /P
switch to have Dirmaint prompt you for a password. To remove a password
from a file, either give no password on the command line, or press Enter
when prompted for a password.

   Note that if you specify a password on the command line and multiple
files, all files are assigned the same password.


Increment Download Count

   This command just increments the number of times downloaded count for the
file(s). This is useful if you use external utilities to download files and
you want to record the download.


Balance Directory

   This command runs the Balance/Repair directory function on the specified
directory. This both optimizes the directory's internal binary tree, and
repairs any corrupted index pointers within the file. It's a good idea to
run the balance procedure periodically or any time you suspect that a
directory file is corrupt:

   DIRMAINT UPLOADS B

   The balance function can be used in conjunction with the /A option switch
to balance all directories with a single command. For this, a special syntax
is required: instead of specifying a directory name, enter:

   DIRMAINT * B /A

This command will balance and repair all directories.



Directory Issues

   Dirmaint requires access to the CONFIG.SL2 file for the current node.
Once the CONFIG file is opened, Dirmaint can process the directory list
and files regardless of their location in your system. Therefore, either run
Dirmaint from your home directory, or set an environment parameter equal to
the home directory location (as in SET SLBBS=C:\BBS).

   When adding files, if the /O switch is not used, the file's owner becomes
the name of the person who is logged in on the node for which Dirmaint has
opened the CONFIG.SL2 file. If you use dirmaint in events or offline
processing, use the /O switch to specify an explicit username, in order to
avoid a random owner name (for example, /OSysop).



Examples:

DIRMAINT Uploads A ALLFILES.ZIP "List Of Available Files"

   This command adds the file ALLFILES.ZIP to the UPLOADS directory. The
file is added with a short description of "List Of Available Files", and the
current system date. There is no long description. The current user becomes
the file's owner.


DIRMAINT Uploads A /F SL*.ZIP "Searchlight support file"

   This command adds to the Uploads directory all files that match the
wildcard SL*.ZIP which are not already listed in the directory. Each file
is added with the file's actual date, and the description "Searchlight
support file".


DIRMAINT Uploads A /XFILE_ID.DIZ /OSysop MYFILE.ZIP "My new file"

   Adds the file MYFILE.ZIP to the Uploads directory. The file's short
description is "My new file", and the long description is read from the text
file FILE_ID.DIZ. The SYSOP is made the file's owner.


DIRMAINT Uploads A /P TEMP.ZIP UPDATE.ZIP

   Adds the files TEMP.ZIP and UPDATE.ZIP to the Uploads directory,
prompting for descriptions. The filenames are entered into the uploads
directory regardless of whether they actually exist.


DIRMAINT Uploads K TEMP.ZIP SL*.ZIP UPDATE.ZIP

   Deletes TEMP.ZIP, UPDATE.ZIP, and all files matching the wildcard
SL*.ZIP. A count of the number of files deleted is displayed.


DIRMAINT Uploads U /F ALLFILES.ZIP

   Updates the entry for ALLFILES.ZIP to reflect the current file size and
file date for that file.


DIRMAINT Uploads U /P SL*.ZIP

   Updates the file sizes for all files matching the wildcard, and also
prompts for new descriptions for the files. The file dates are not
changed.


DIRMAINT Uploads U /OJohn_Hutch *.*

   This command changes the ownership of all files in the Uploads directory
to "John Hutch", assuming this user exists in the user file.


DIRMAINT Uploads U ALLFILES.ZIP "Master file directory list"

   Changes the short description of ALLFILES.ZIP to "Master file directory
list". The file size is also updated. The long description, if any, is not
affected.


DIRMAINT Uploads U ALLFILES.ZIP /XDescrip.Txt

   Changes the long description of the file ALLFILES.ZIP to the contents of
the text file "Descrip.TXT". The short description is unchanged.


DIRMAINT Uploads P MYFILE.TXT "Tornado"

   Changes the password on MYFILE.TXT to "Tornado". Passwords are not case
sensitive.


DIRMAINT Uploads P MYFILE.TXT /P

   Prompts for the password for MYFILE.TXT. Note that passwords are entered
once only and are displayed as entered (unlike the bbs program, which uses
a dots-echo input routine and double checks entries).


DIRMAINT Uploads P *.*

   Removes passwords from all files in the Uploads directory.


DIRMAINT Uploads D ALLFILES.ZIP

   Increments the download count for file ALLFILES.ZIP. You might wish to
run this command if, for example, the file was downloaded during a door
process.


DIRMAINT Uploads B

   Balances and repairs the Upload directory's binary tree index.


DIRMAINT * B /A

   Balances and repairs the tree indexes for all directories.