v15INF3: Introduction to comp.sources.unix
Rich Salz
rsalz at uunet.uu.net
Tue Sep 13 05:57:33 AEST 1988
Submitted-by: rsalz at uunet.uu.net (Rich Salz)
Posting-number: Volume 16, Info 1
Archive-name: index16.1
This is the first of two introductory articles about comp.sources.unix.
This one describes how to submit source to the newsgroup, where the
archive sites are, and how to contact them. The companion articles lists
all previously-published sources.
I am always looking for suggestions on how to improve the usefulness
of the newsgroup, and can be contacted as listed below.
-Rich $alz
--------------------
Subject: Submitting source for publication
Items intended for posting or queries and problem notes should be sent to
uunet!sources. In Australia, Robert Elz is a "sub-moderator"; people
there can work with him (kre at munnari.OZ) to get postings out more easily.
Similarly, people in Canada might want to contact Ozan Yigit, yunexus!oz,
to coordinate their submissions through him.
If you want verification of arrival, so say in a cover note, or at the
beginning of your submission, if it is small. I try to verify that a
program works, and if I can't get it to work, I may hold up posting it
for a couple of days. Please note that, except in rare cases, source
without documentation and a Makefile will not be published. The backlog
from receipt to posting varies from one to four weeks depending mostly
on the set of submissions currently in my queue.
--------------------
Subject: The structure of comp.sources.unix articles
Each posting in comp.sources.unix is called an "issue"; there are roughly 100
issues to a volume. The division is arbitrary, and has varied greatly in
the past. There are two types of articles in comp.sources.unix; sources
and "information postings." They can be distinguished by the subject
line:
Subject: v07INF8: Index for Volume 7 and other info
This first word in the title identifies this as the eighth info posting of
volume seven. Similarly, the subject line shown below:
Subject: v07i081: Public-domain Unix kernel
identifies this as the 81st source article in Volume 7. Large sources are
broken up into smaller pieces, and have subject lines that look like
this:
Subject: v07i082: System VI Source Distribution, Part03/08
The first few lines of an article are auxiliary headers that look like this:
Submitted-by: root at freeware.ATT.COM
Posting-number: Volume 7, Issue 82
Archive-name: new-login
The "Submitted by" is the author of the program. IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT
THE SOURCES PUBLISHED IN COMP.SOURCES.UNIX, THIS IS THE PERSON TO CONTACT.
When possible, this address is in domain form, otherwise it is a UUCP bang
path relative to some major site such as "uunet."
The second line repeats the volume/issue information for the aide of NOTES
sites and automatic archiving programs.
The Archive-name is the "official" name of this source in the archive. Large
postings will have names that look like this:
Archive-name: patch2/Part01
Please try to use this name when requesting that sources be mailed to you.
Also, note that the "part number" given in the title, and the archive name
given in the auxiliary header need not be identical.
--------------------
Subject: Reporting and tracking bugs and patches to postings
You should probably subscribe to comp.sources.bugs.
Some of the larger postings have established channels for distributing
bug reports (e.g., Larry Wall posts patches in comp.sources.bugs; C News
has update bulletins there and in one of the news groups, etc.). Others
are sort of "catch as catch can."
Sometimes, when new versions of previously-published software is available,
just patches are put out, usually in the form of shar files containing
input for the "patch" program, new files, etc. Sometimes complete new
versions are put out. Which method is used depends on the poster and
the moderator.
To report bugs, contact the person listed in the Submitted-to header.
Often there is a contact address in a README file, too. I do not maintain
the sources I moderate, so don't send your bug reports to me.
--------------------
Subject: Becoming an archive site
If you collect comp.sources.unix postings and are willing and able to make
your collection available to other people, please let me know. Benefits
include the undying gratitude of your colleagues, and a promise from me to
try to make sure you never lose an article.
--------------------
Subject: Accessing the archives
The complete archives are fairly large; an average volume is three to
four megabytes.
There are several active archive sites around the net. Archive sites in
France and England are being set up, and may be extended to provide full
European coverage; I will post more information as soon as things are
settled. Thanks to Scott Bradner at Harvard, there will soon be a BITNET
retrieval service available.
When you request something before Volume 6, please make sure to be as
descriptive as possible as articles before then do not have official
names.
Some sites below will send tapes through the mail. For those sites, send
a 1/2" mag tape WITH RETURN POSTAGE and RETURN MAILER. Tapes without
postage or mailer will not be returned. No other methods (COD, etc.) are
available; please don't ask.
At the present time, I do not have ready access to the archives, nor
the support of my employer to do this. Please don't ask me for missing
issues, unless you are sure you are reporting a net-wide problem of
propogation.
--------------------
Subject: Listing of archive sites in no particular order
1. The Danish UNIX user group (DKUUG) is running a mail based archive
service at diku, it is only available to EUnet users in Denmark because
of accounting. It features access to the latest EUUG tape distribution
which includes sources from comp.sources.unix and comp.sources.games.
Also some specially collected items like GNU emacs is available.
To get in contact with this archive service, do:
mail diku!archive
Subject: help
Archive mail enjoys a 100 % surcharge compared to ordinary mail.
EUUG also provides a tape based archive service of sources collected
from the network and other specilally collected products like the GNU
Emacs, X windows, MH and UNIX|stat. These are also known as the
Conference tapes. Available media include 9 track 1/2 inch 1600 fpi
2400 ft, and some QIC formats. Contact EUUG, Owles Hall, Buntingford,
Herts, SG9 9PL, England, or Frank Kuiper, CWI, Kruislaan 413, NL-1098
SJ Amsterdam, the Netherlands for further information. Frank can also
be reached as frankk at cwi.nl .
2. Lee McLoughlin and Stuart McRoberts of the Department of Computing,
Imperial College, London have set up an FTP and mail based server for
UK sites. All volumes are online, some may be in compressed form.
For information about the mail based server mail to
info-server at doc.ic.ac.uk with a message body of:
request catalogue
topic comp.sources.unix
request end
They also store most of the GNU software, X windows, minix updates,
uupc and most other software deemed useful by the management. Mail
the info-server with a topic line of:
topic index
for futher details. For reasons of cost access is limited to UK users
only.
3. Ron Heiby has set up an anonymous UUCP access site. If there is enough
interest, I will post his full note, but for now I am just giving the
summary info. The machine is "mcdch1" which has a single 1200bps
modem at 1-312-576-7902. Send an initial carraige return, then log in
with the name "pduucp" and password "public". This will not work from
8am to 6pm Chicago time Monday through Friday, so we can get our real
work done. The first thing you will want to do is pick up the
detailed instructions and a list of what is available.
uucp mcdch1!~/howto.snarf !~/MYNAME/
uucp mcdch1!~/directory !~/MYNAME/
Do not use full pathnames or wildcards; they will not work.
The Systems file entry for doing this looks something like:
(For HoneyDanBer UUCP (BNU) users. Combine into a single line.)
mcdch1 Wk1800-0730,Sa,Su ACU 1200 3125767902
"" \r\c in:--in: pduucp word: public
This is not an official service of Motorola and may be discontinued at
any time. The contents of the comp.sources.unix archive have been
donated by the submitters of the files to the Usenet comp.sources.unix
moderator for free availability throughout the community. Motorola
assumes no responsibility for the contents of these files, including
the suitability for their use in any application on any hardware.
(Some of the material, for example is known not to run on systems sold
by Motorola.) Any questions about suitability, problems with the
software or documentation, or anything else related to the contents of
the files should be directed to the persons who submitted the material
originally (usually the authors).
4. Pyramid Technology maintains a general user-contributed-software archive,
including comp.sources.unix and comp.sources.games. Source modules are
arranged both topically and by volume/issue number. New UUCP connections
are welcome, although sites outside Northern California will be harrassed
about why they haven't yet signed up for UUNet.* Pyramid will also make
tapes on a *very* limited basis for people willing to stop by during off
hours and wait while the tape is written. This is being managed by Rick
Preston with Carl Gutekunst kibitzing. Contact usenet at pyramid.com for
more information. [ *Don't take this 100% seriously. ]
5. Bill Wisner, wisner at killer.DALLAS.TX.US, maintains an archive of
comp.sources.unix, as well as several other USENET newsgroups. This
archive is available via anonymous UUCP and is reachable through PC
Pursuit. Two sample L.sys lines follow, one for 2400 baud access and
one for 1200:
killer Any ACU 2400 1-214-821-3795 in:--in: uupdsrc word: Public
killer Any ACU 1200 1-214-827-2919 in:--in: uupdsrc word: Public
Modify as necessary to fit local circumstances, of course. To get more
information, request file killer!/bbsys4/README.
6. Robert Elz (kre at munnari.OZ) keeps sources in different ways depending
on his available disk space; contact him for more info.
7. Thos Sumner at UCSF will respond to requests for material, but cannot
promise an ongoing commitment. Anyone requesting material via mail
should supply a path from ucbvax. Anyone requesting tape should
contact him first. Contact him at thos at cca.ucsf.edu, or
ucbvax!ucsfcgl!cca.UCSF!thos
8. Michael Squires maintains two archive sites. Site sir-alan has a
full archive for anonymous uucp using the login of "pdsrc" (no
password). The Trailblazer autobauds between 300/1200/2400
baud. The number is 814 337 0894; the list of available files is in
/usr/spool/pdsrc/all.subjects. Vols 1-13 are available on system
"oncoast"; this is a new archive site. The phone number is 814 337
3159; the modem is a USR HST 9600 supporting 300/1200/ 2400/9600 with
MNP 4 (9600 is, of course, USR's proprietary protocol and can only be
used by another HST 9600-equipped system). The system starts at 2400
baud then cycles through 9600/1200/300; no BREAKs are required in the
L.sys entry for 2400, one for 9600, and two for 1200. The login is
"pdsrc"; no password is required. A UNaXcess BBS system is available
for messages or mail may be sent to oncoast!mikes. The list of files
is in /usr/spool/pdsrc/all.subjects; a 12-bit compressed version (the
text file is over 100K!) is in /usr/spool/pdsrc/all.subjects.Z. The
same file is on system "sir-alan" as /usr/spool/pdsrc/onc.files.Z.
9. Rick Adams (rick at uunet.uu.net) provides archive access to those on the
Internet. Access is available directly via anonymous FTP; look in
~ftp/comp.sources.unix/volumeN. Rick and I have managed to work out
an arrangement so that these archives are always current -- right as
the sources are published. UUNET subscribers can also UUCP missing
files directly.
10. Internet sites may also retrieve archives from j.cc.purdue.edu via
anonymous ftp. The archive is in the directory
~ftp/news/comp/sources/unix/volumeX. Due to disk space
considerations, many of the sources are compressed; these may be
recognized by the ".Z" suffix. If you don't have compress & friends,
they are in ~ftp/pub/compress.shar for the taking. This is being
managed by Rich Kulawiec (Wombat), rsk at j.cc.purdue.edu. They would
appreciate it if you would avoid large file transfers in the middle of
the day. [Rick also points out that the FTP'able archies also contain
mod.amiga, a bunch of kermit sources, news 2.11, rn 4.3, nntp, and
whatever else happens to be in ~ftp/pub at the moment.]
11. The CSNET CIC is now current. Send a request for "mod.sources" with
the topics "help" and "index" to the Info-Server, or or contact
postmaster at sh.cs.net.
12. Sharan Kalwani at the Michigan Cancer Foundation (shan at mcf.uucp) has
set up a mail-based server for Michigan sites. The archive resides
on mcf's machine. Comp.sources.unix and other stuff are available.
Just a few issues are missing and efforts are solicited to make the
archives complete. For reasons of cost access is limited to MI users
only unless you want to set up direct links with mcf. Mail to
"archives at mcf.uucp" and supply the text "send index" for some help on
how to access the files and an index of the files currently online.
For human help, mail to shan at mcf.uucp or mcf!shan at umix.cc.umich.edu.
13. Matt Caprille of Bull, S.A., in France has many sources archived
and available in magnetic media. Contact echbull!mfc for info.
--
Please send comp.sources.unix-related mail to rsalz at uunet.uu.net.
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