[File: SIMTEL20.INF Last revised: March 16, 1993] [Note: Due to local policy changes, we are no longer able to keep the PC/Blue collection online and intact. We are sorry for any inconvenience to our users. The PC-Blue collection is available from OAK.Oakland.Edu, in directory /pub/pc-blue/pcblue.] THE SIMTEL20 ARCHIVES OVERVIEW There is a colossal amount of free public domain and shareware software for the CP/M, PCDOS/MSDOS, Macintosh, and UNIX operating systems, and for the DoD standard programming language, Ada, in several archives on WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil (IP host 192.88.110.20), a DECSYSTEM-20 running the TOPS-20 operating system, owned and operated by the U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range, located at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Archives of correspondence for several mailing lists are also available. [SIMTEL20 is a contraction of SIMulation and TELeprocessing, the name of the branch that originally purchased the machine and in whose building the system still resides, and the "20" in DECSYSTEM-20. The convention of including the "20" in some form or another was popular with other DECSYSTEM-20 systems at the time SIMTEL20 was named, such as MIT-XX at MIT and SCORE at Stanford.] You can obtain these files using the InterNet file transfer protocol, FTP (described in a following paragraph), with user-name "anonymous". For a login password, use your e-mail address. Throughout this message, FTP examples are given in a GENERIC syntax. You will have to consult either local documentation or your friendly system wizard to learn the actual syntax used with your local mainframe operating system. For the sake of brevity, the full host name "WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil" will be dropped from further references to SIMTEL20 in this discussion. Also please note that square brackets may be used in place of angle brackets in referring to directory names. For example, pd1:[msdos.filedocs] is the same as pd1: There are many helpful files in the default ANONYMOUS ftp directory. Please look at these if you have need for further information on specific collections. To obtain directory listings, connect to SIMTEL20 via FTP and get these files: pd1:files.idx pd2:files.idx pd2:files.idx pd2:files.idx pd8:files.idx pd9:files.idx pd8:files.idx pd6:files.idx pd7:files.idx These comma-delimited directory listings in each top-level directory are suitable for importing into a database program. They can be compared against an earlier version of the same file to produce a complete list of files added and deleted from the archives. Using the comma-delimited fields it is possible to build a script for FTP to maintain a parallel archive. FILES.IDX can be printed or displayed with a simple BASIC program. For additional information see PD1:AAAREAD.ME or PD2:AAAREAD.ME. Information on other collections may be found in the default anonymous ftp directory. The , , and archives are the ones to watch for the very latest offerings, as they are updated frequently. The , and archives contain software distributed by the CP/M Users Group and the SIG/M Users Group respectively. This software is available on diskettes from the associated user groups, and the archives are updated as new volumes are issued. The archives contain software for the MS-DOS and PC-DOS operating systems. The archive contains a variety of UNIX tools. Those which apply specifically to CP/M are in the directory . The archive is growing rapidly. Information about this archive is in directory PD7:. In general, the archived software is very good, having been worked-over and refined by many users. The documentation and comments tend to be complete and informative. Files in all of these archives can be obtained using the FTP procedures described in this message. PLEASE NOTE: Due to the large number of files available, the archive maintainers cannot possibly attempt to validate the proper operation of the various programs. When a program bug is reported, immediate action is taken to either correct the error or remove the offending program from the archives. Still, users must understand that all archive programs are offered AS IS, and the archive maintainers specifically disclaim any liability should these programs malfunction or cause damage, incidental or otherwise. When testing ANY new software, be certain that all information stored on disk is backed-up before you start, so that you can recover if files are damaged or erased. This is particularly true if you have a hard disk, in which case malfunctions can be spectacularly disastrous. FILE TYPES Files are stored in two formats: Text files such as those with names that end with DOC, HEX, INF and ASM are sometimes stored as ASCII files, but sometimes these files are stored in binary compressed form. Binary storage is also used for executable (COM and EXE) and library/archive files (LBR and ARC). All binary data are stored as four 8-bit bytes per 36-bit SIMTEL20 word, with the low-order four bits of each word filled with zeros. If such a file is interpreted as a contiguous string, as will happen if a straight binary transfer is made to a 16 or 32-bit UNIX machine, the four zero filler-bits per 36-bit group will cause rather bizarre and frustrating results. For information on ARJ, ARC, ARK, ARJ, LZH, ZIP, ZOO, LBR, squeezed and crunched files, get PD2:00-FILES.DOC and/or PD1:00-FILES.DOC. Although the type of storage used for a particular file can usually be inferred from the file-name, this is not always true. It is a good idea to check the appropriate "crclst" of "idx" file to ascertain the storage format used for each file of interest. Now, and for the foreseeable future, storage formats for files in the archive can be determined from their "generation numbers". All files with names ending in ".1" are stored in binary format, and those with names ending in ".2" are stored in ASCII. This relationship will continue to apply for files in the archive until further notice. WARNING: Because the public domain archives on SIMTEL20 consume a huge amount of disk space, storage capacity will be conserved by the greatest practical use of libraries, archives, crunched and squeezed files, all of which are stored in binary format. If you cannot properly transfer binary files, you are going to be VERY FRUSTRATED! If you need help, please contact your local system wizard and provide him/her with a copy of this message. Having done that, if you are still unable to make things work correctly, send a message to Action@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil and someone will try to help you. Please provide the following information: 1. Machine and operating system (e.g., VAX-11/780, 4.3 BSD UNIX) 2. Network software in use (e.g., 3-Com UNET) 3. Complete list of available FTP commands (e.g., GET, PUT, etc.) Important files in the archives are the CATALOG files. These files, which are stored in ASCII, contain the "-CATALOG.nnn" files from all the volumes of the archive. To obtain the composite catalog files, connect to SIMTEL20 via FTP and get this file: pd2:cpmug.cat Similar files exist for the archive, but they are stored in squeezed form. These files, when unsqueezed, yields SIG0.CAT and SIG1.CAT (the catalog). pd2:sig0.cqt pd2:sig1.cqt (NOTE: That's "L-and-three-zeros" in "vol000") FILE TRANSFER VIA FTP FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, a formalized procedure for moving files among machines on the Defense Data Network (DDN) and other networks that connect with the DDN. The protocol is implemented by a program often called FTP. The different mainframe operating systems implement FTP with variations in command syntax. Some systems have the remote-file-name precede the local-file-name in the command. Others reverse this order. Some versions have the whole command on a single input line, while others use multiple lines. Read the documentation for your local system, or consult a friendly system wizard for the details of your local FTP command syntax. UNIX users can do something like "man ftp" for on-line instructions. However, not all UNIX FTP programs are called "ftp", so you may have to snoop around in the system directories or ask a system wizard for the correct local name to use with the "man" command. ITS users can do ":INFO FTP", and "HELP FTP" works on TOPS-20 and some other operating systems. I will be happy to update this message with pointers to other sources of on-line documentation if they are sent to w8sdz@TACOM-EMH1.Army.Mil. FTP transfers from SIMTEL20 can be made with user-name "anonymous". Use your e-mail address for the password. For anonymous logins, SIMTEL20 supports the FTP "change working directory" command. (Your local syntax may be something like CD, or CWD). Ignore the message which may appear that prompts you to enter a password. This command allows you to specify a default SIMTEL20 directory to be used for all file retrievals, and thereby relieves you from having to repeatedly type "pdx:" as part of each filename. For example, you can do something like this: cd pd1: get filename-1 get filename-2 ...and so on instead of using the longer filename forms shown in previous examples. Users of TOPS-10, TENEX, or TOPS-20 systems can use "image" or "paged" mode for ALL transfers. UNIX and other users must use "ascii" mode for ASCII files, and "type tenex", "type binary", or "type L 8" mode for binary files. All aspects of the FTP process for UNIX machines have been automated to a high degree by two programs in directory PD8:. With these programs, a simple command like "sh autoftp30.sh mylist &" can be run in no-hangup background mode to transfer multiple files from SIMTEL20 without the user remaining logged-in on the local system. For more information, get the file PD8:AUTOFTP30.TAR-Z, a compressed tar archive. After transferring it to your Unix host, rename to autoftp30.tar.Z, uncompress, and extract with tar. Also see BATCHFTP102.TAR-Z which is an enhanced version of autoftp. MAILING LIST CORRESPONDENCE ARCHIVES Copies of correspondence for several mailing lists are kept on SIMTEL20 in directories with names of the form PD2:, where "KEYWORD" has been chosen to indicate the associated mailing list. At present, the following correspondence archives are available: mailing list mail archive filename --------------- --------------------- ADA-SW PD2: AMETHYST-USERS PD2: INFO-68K PD2: INFO-APPLE PD2: INFO-CPM PD2: INFO-FORTH PD2: INFO-IBMPC PD2: INFO-MICRO PD2: INFO-MODEMS PD2: INFO-MODEMXX PD2: INFO-MODULA-2 PD2: INFO-PASCAL PD2: INFO-XENIX310 PD2: INFO-XMODEM PD2: NORTHSTAR-USERS PD2: UNIX-SW PD2: VIDEOTECH PD2: Descriptions of these and other mailing lists can be obtained via FTP with anonymous login (as for SIMTEL20) from FTP.NISC.SRI.COM. Ask for the file netinfo/interest-groups (an ASCII file). And please note, this is NOT on SIMTEL20. File names for SIMTEL20 mailing list correspondence archives have two forms. For example, in PD2:, which holds the INFO-CPM correspondence (the "INFO-" is assumed), the forms are: yymm.n-TXT or yymm.n-TXT-Z. Files with names ending in -Z were compressed with a Unix compress-compatible program. The characters "yymm" in the file names are the digits of the year and month of the messages in each particular file. The "n" was incremented as overflowed 150 disk pages (approximately 375K). The current month's correspondence is kept in CPM-ARCHIV.TXT, which is constantly growing as new messages arrive. There may also temporarily exist files named CURRENT.n-TXT, which hold the overflow of the current month's messages when CPM-ARCHIV.TXT is split into monthly files. Although INFO-CPM has been used as an example here, the same naming scheme is used for the other mailing list files as well. For a complete list of available files, connect to SIMTEL20 via FTP and do this: dir PD2: You will receive a list of names of the form: KEYWORD.DIRECTORY.n where "n" is one or more digits. For example, the INFO-CPM listing currently appears as "CPM.DIRECTORY.1" To then get a list of files in a particular archive, do this: dir PD2: where "keyword" (for example, "cpm") is chosen from the preceding list, and the word "directory" and the number "n" are not used. At present, all of these files are stored in ASCII. FTP PROBLEMS, CONNECT OR LOGIN PROBLEMS System and network related problems should be reported to Action@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil (SIMTEL20 System Administrators). UPLOADING FILES TO SIMTEL20 Contributions of public domain and freely-distributable software are actively solicited. If you have something that seems appropriate for inclusion in the , , or archives, please contact w8sdz@TACOM-EMH1.Army.Mil (Keith Petersen). Contact ADA-SW-Request@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil (Richard Conn) if you wish to contribute to the archive. Contact RThum@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil (Robert Thum) if you wish to contribute to the archive. Contact UNIX-SW-Request@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil (John Pliler) if you have something for the archive. Please do not send files without first getting upload instructions. Uploads to the default ANONYMOUS directory are ignored and deleted without review. FILE ERRORS OR PROGRAM PROBLEM REPORTS Please report file problems to the appropriate manager of the collections listed above. NOTES ABOUT OBTAINING SIMTEL20 FILES SIMTEL20 allows only nine ANONYMOUS FTP logins during weekday prime time, 5am to 3pm Mountain Time (GMT-7), but 27 otherwise. SIMTEL20 files are also available by anonymous ftp from mirror sites OAK.Oakland.Edu (141.210.10.117), wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4), ftp.uu.net (137.39.1.9), nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100), src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.3.7), nic.switch.ch (130.59.1.40), archie.au (139.130.4.6), nctuccca.edu.tw (140.111.3.21), by e-mail through the BITNET/EARN file servers, or by uucp from UUNET's 1-900-GOT-SRCS. See UUNET file uunet!~/info/archive-help for details. OAK.Oakland.Edu is the primary mirror site for WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil. All other mirror sites (except wuarchive) and all LISTSERV and TRICKLE servers get their SIMTEL20 files from OAK instead of SIMTEL20 because it is much faster and allows more simultaneous ftp connections. OAK is always "in sync" with SIMTEL20 because I maintain it, in addition to my duties at SIMTEL20. I run OAK's mirror program whenever new files are added at SIMTEL20. CD-ROM copies of the SIMTEL20 MS-DOS collection are available from Coyote Data, Ltd., 1142 N. Main, Rochester, MI 48307, telephone (800) 451-7093 or (313) 656-8265, or FAX (313) 651-4071. E-mail: 71756.444@CompuServe.COM or CIS 71756,444. The consumer version of their Oasis Library CD-ROM re-catalogs the MS-DOS files of SIMTEL20, adds category and key-word search and retrieval utilities, and provides on-line file descriptions. Quarterly update subscriptions are available. CD-ROM copies of the SIMTEL20 MS-DOS, Macintosh and Unix-C collections are available from Walnut Creek CDROM, 1547 Palos Verdes, Suite 260, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-2228, telephone (800) 786-9907 or (510) 947-5996, or FAX (510) 947-1644. E-mail: rab@cdrom.com. Quarterly update sub- scriptions are available. ADDITIONS, IMPROVEMENTS AND CORRECTIONS Suggestions for additions, improvements and corrections to this message are always welcome. Please send them to w8sdz@TACOM-EMH1.Army.Mil. Happy computing! Keith Petersen Maintainer of the MSDOS, MISC and CP/M archives at SIMTEL20 [192.88.110.20] Internet: w8sdz@TACOM-EMH1.Army.Mil or w8sdz@Vela.ACS.Oakland.Edu Uucp: uunet!umich!vela!w8sdz BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND