v23INF1: Introduction to comp.sources.unix
Rich Salz
rsalz at bbn.com
Sat Jul 14 04:32:34 AEST 1990
Submitted-by: rsalz at uunet.uu.net (Rich Salz)
Posting-number: Volume 23, Info 1
Archive-name: index23.1
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.
-Rich $alz
--------------------
Subject: Distribution and Copyrights
The Usenet newsgroup comp.sources.unix is forwarded through the Unix-Sources
mailing list which is maintained by unix-sources-request at brl.mil. If you
receive comp.sources.unix through your mailbox, or any way other than
by reading Usenet articles, then you shouldn't be contacting me.
>From the beginning, the goal of comp.sources.unix has been the widest
possible distribution of source code in the hope that it is of use to the
programming community, but with no guarantees that it won't trash your
machine. That is generally the goal of the people who write and submit
programs to me. I am growing less tolerant of code that has excessively
restrictive copyrights, time-limitations, and the like. If you have
qualms about this, please think seriously about sending your sources to me.
There is no "compilation copyright" on the collection known as
comp.sources.unix. It is a collective effort, the result of the sites
that pass the group around, the kind souls that maintain archives, those
who improve the code that I publish, and -- most importantly -- the people
who write the code. If you want to try to make money off this collective
body of work, I am not going to pretend that I can stop you.
Please note that this notice in no way supercedes the copyright that
individual posters have attached.
--------------------
Subject: Submitting source for publication
Items intended for posting or queries and problem notes should be sent to
uunet!rsalz.
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 while. Please note that, except in rare cases, source without
documentation and a Makefile will not be published.
--------------------
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
As an experiment, I'm using the Snefru one-way hashing system (think
of it as a very strong checksum) to help detect if articles get mangled.
The software appeared in volume21/snefru; retrieve that package for
more details.
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: kernel/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. I will also try to
expedite bugfix postings. Authors should consider holding beta-tests
in alt.sources.
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.
I maintain a mailing list of archive sites; contact me if you are one.
--------------------
Subject: Accessing the archives
The complete archives are fairly large -- 50 to 60 megabytes, compressed.
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. Matt Caprile has done a great amount of work in cleaning up the
index entries and old names, look for a notice here eventually.
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 much
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: Contacting me
My name is Rich Salz, which I (pretentiously) spell with a dollar sign for
the S ($alz). I am not the same as Rick Adams, the major force behind
UUNET. I have a guest account on UUNET, which is where I do the
moderating. I can be reached via electronic mail as uunet!rsalz,
rsalz at uunet.uu.net.
I work at BBN. This is unrelated to comp.sources.unix, except that if
something really critical comes up, you can call me at the office at
617-873-3290 (direct to my desk). Try to avoid sending mail to
rsalz at bbn.com, unless you really have to.
--------------------
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, comp.sources.games, and a variety of other
sources. Packages are arranged both topically and by volume/issue number.
New UUCP connections are welcome; anonymous UUCP is not available, and
requests to mail sources will be ignored. Pyramid will make tapes on a
*very* limited basis for people who call *well* in advance, hand carry a
tape to Pyramid's R&D lab in Mountain View, and wait while the is written.
Contact usenet at pyramid.com for more information. Note that this service is
maintained by Pyramid staff on a volunteer basis; when things get busy,
requests for new UUCP connections may take a while.
5. Kory Hamzeh, avatar!kory, maintains an anonymous UUCP archive.
Avatar is a 80386 based system with a 330 MB ESDI drive and a Telebit
Trailblazer PLUS modem. The Telebit autobauds at 1200/2400/19200
(PEP). A typical L.sys entry would look like this:
avatar Any ACU 1200 18188847503 "" BREAK "" BREAK in: anonuucp
avatar Any ACU 2400 18188847503 "" BREAK in: anonuucp
avatar Any ACU 19200 18188847503 in:-\n-in: anonuucp
For more information, write to Kory.
6. The archives on Munnari now completely mirror the official archives
on Uunet. Thanks to Robert Elz, <kre at munnari.OZ>, for giving me
the account on that machine. The files are in ~ftp/comp.sources.unix
and are available in Australia for FTP or by using fetchfile.
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. There are two dial-up lines: 814 337 0348 (currently 1200/2400) and
814 337 3159 (Telebit TB+ cycling 2400/19.2/9600/1200 - BREAK for
speed change). The 1200/2400 modem will be replaced by a USR Dual
Standard (HST + V.32) cycling 2400-9600-1200 when I receive the new
ROMs. Anonymous uucp logins are either "pdsrc" or "uucp" (functionally
identical) or via an XBBS BBS system ("bbs" or "xbbs"). I will be
running SCO TCP/IP shortly and will be able to offer SL/IP links to
the archives. There are three directories of interest: /u/pdsrc,
/u/pubdir, and /u/uunet. Each directory contains a file called "HELP"
which provides basic information, plus "ls-lR" and "ls-lR.Z" files
generated daily. There is also an XBBS and mail-based downloads.
Contact Michale Squires, sir-alan!mikes, for more info.
9. UUNET provides archive access to those on the Internet. Access is
available directly via anonymous FTP; look in
~ftp/comp.sources.unix/volumeN. I maintain the UUNET archives, and
they're guaranteed to be current and official. UUNET subscribers can
also UUCP missing files directly; ask your UUNET contact for
information on how to do that. In the US, anyone can have their UUCP
dial a 900 number to get sources; contact uunet-request at uunet.uu.net
for more info.
10. Internet sites may also retrieve archives from j.cc.purdue.edu via
anonymous ftp. The archive is in the directory
~ftp/comp.sources.unix/volumeX. Most files are compressed; these may
be recognized by the ".Z" suffix. This is being managed by Jeff
Smith, jsmith at mentor.cc.purdue.edu. They would appreciate it if you
would avoid large file transfers in the middle of the day.
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. In France, the A.F.U.U. (French UN*X User Group), provides a tape-
based archive service for people in France. Sources include
comp.sources.unix, USEnix tapes, EUUG tapes, etc. Available media
include 9 track 1/2 inch 1600 BPI 2400 ft, and QIC-24 cartridge
tapes (Sun, Bull, Archive, etc. compatable). For a full list of what
is available and to get an order form, etc., contact the AFUU offices:
A.F.F.U. tel: +33 (1) 4670.9590
11, rue Carnot fax: +33 (1) 4658.9420
94270 Le Kremlin-Bice^tre e-mail: anne at afuu.fr
FRANCE
13. Tad Guy maintains an FTP'able archive at Old Dominion University.
The archive contains the Unix, X, Games, Misc, and Amiga source groups,
as well as comp.binaries.amiga. The unix sources are only kept
on-line starting with Volume 10. Anonymous FTP to Xanth.cs.odu.edu.
14. Mark Prior has set up an archive on sirius.ua.oz.au for
comp.sources.unix (and some other groups). Volume11 and later are
available for retrival via for either ACSnet "fetchfile" or anonymous
FTP (129.127.40.3). Files are stored in sources/unix/volume<nn> by
issue number in compressed form, (~ftp/pub/sources/unix/volume<nn> for
ftp users).
15. Internet sites may retrieve any of the comp.sources.unix files from
wuarchive.wustl.edu [128.252.135.4] from /usenet/comp.sources.unix
using anonymous ftp. Washington University maintains a complete archive
of all USENET sources and binaries groups (those with archiving headers,
anyway) as part of its public access archives. A description of the
arrangement of the archives can be found in /arrangement and a complete
list of all files currently in the archive (built nightly) is in
/files.lst. A mail-based archive server should also be available soon.
16. Daryl V. McDaniel of Micronetics in Oregon has set up a anonymous
UUCP access. The archive contains several USENET groups, lots of
GNU software, and other. For more details, get the file
illian!~/how-to-get. L.sys connection info is as follows:
# Micronetics archive site, 1200/2400/9600pep/19.2pep
illian Any ACU 1200 1-503-591-9742 "" \n in:--in:-\b-in:--in: Uanon
illian Any ACU 2400 1-503-591-9742 "" \n in:--in:-\b-in:--in: Uanon
illian Any ACU 9600 1-503-591-9742 "" \n in:--in:-\b-in:--in: Uanon
illian Any ACU 19200 1-503-591-9742 "" \n in:--in:-\b-in:--in: Uanon
Modify as appropriate for your site, of course. Note that there is no
limit concerning what hours of the day you may call, but there is
a limit of 40 minutes/transfer during the day, two hours at night.
For information, contact illian!archive-request.
17. Andreas Pleschutznig of Micro Systems Software in Austria, will
make 1/4" tapes and can also make 1.2Meg 5 1/4" diskettes of
c.s.u and alt.sources. Send mail to mcvax!mssx!src.
18. Thanks to Karl Kleinpaste <karl at cis.ohio-state.edu> I will be
maintaining the OSU archives. They are available for FTP from
cheops.cis.ohio-state.edu in directory pub/comp.sources.unix,
and as part of the anonymous UUCP osu archives. Karl periodically
posts information on accessing the UUCP archives to comp.sources.d
exit 0 # Just in case...
--
Please send comp.sources.unix-related mail to rsalz at uunet.uu.net.
Use a domain-based address or give alternate paths, or you may lose out.
exit 0 # Just in case...
--
Please send comp.sources.unix-related mail to rsalz at uunet.uu.net.
Use a domain-based address or give alternate paths, or you may lose out.
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