▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ MSGBASE.EXE v1.00 by Mark Zec ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Overview ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Although PCBoard is, for the most part, Y2K compliant, numerous other BBS
apps, such as mail readers and mail doors, aren't. MSGBASE attempts to
correct these problems, not by trying to fix the problem (the defective
app) but by fixing the result (the PCBoard message bases).
MSGBASE scans the PCBoard message base files, checking the date data found
for each message for corruption, dates out of range, etc. When a "bad"
date is found, it's changed to the current system date.
This is important for one rather large reason: If a message is imported into
the message base with a date that's 10 years in the future (which is how
the original Cam-Mail door imports messages after 2000...a message dated
02/01/00 will be instead dated 02/01/10), that message will be in the
message base for 10 years, depending on what options are used with PCBPack.
For example, if you tell PCBPack to pack out messages that are more than
60 days old, a message with the date mentioned above won't be packed out
until 04/01/2010, 60 days after the message date.
The problem isn't just with mail doors either. During my development/testing
of this program, I found that corrupt dates, such as 01/15/0, were being
imported into the BBS through Fido message packets. With so many abandoned
BBS programs, it would be too difficult to try to catch every possible
entry point for corrupt dates, so the easiest thing is to correct the
message base itself.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Syntax ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
MSGBASE <Path/file name of .CFG file> [-a/-l]
<Path/file name of .CFG file> - Can be any valid DOS path and 8.3 file name,
such as C:\UTIL\MSGBASE.CFG or P:\APPS\MESSAGES.CFN
[-a/-l] - At least one of these parameters is required, but both may not
be used on the command line at the same time.
-a Tells MSGBASE to process every message in the PCBoard message base.
This method is ideal for a daily event to make sure that every
message has a correct date.
-l Tells MSGBASE to process every new message that gets imported into
PCBoard via online entry, internal QWK, and mail door. The caller
log(s) are scanned for new message entries, and only those messages
are checked for bad dates. This method is ideal if you wish to
run MSGBASE every time a caller logs off. An entry is placed into
the caller log to let you know that MSGBASE has run, and also serves
the function of acting as a "marker" so that the entire caller log
isn't scanned for new messages after each caller.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Configuration File Format ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
The configuration file (see the sample MSGBASE.CFG file included) must be
5 lines. Anything after the fifth line is discarded, but do NOT delete any
of the first five. If you choose not to use any of the optional values,
simply blank out the line...don't delete it.
Line 1: Full path and file name to your CNAMES.@@@ file. This line is
required. Without it, MSGBASE will be unable to determine the
locations of your message base files.
Line 2: Full path and file name(s) to your callers logs. This line is
optional if using the -a parameter, but required if using the -l
parameter. Multiple files can be placed on this line, as long
as each path/file name is separated by a space. A typical line with
multiple caller logs would look like:
C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER1 C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER2 C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER3
If the -a is being used, this line is disregarded.
When processing only new messages that have been entered, a line
will be written to the callers log that looks like:
■ MSGBase Event Completed ■
This serves two purposes. First, it will give an indication to you
that the event has run. Second, it will be used as a "bookmark",
so that MSGBASE doesn't process the entire log every time. MSGBASE
will process the callers log, starting at the last line and moving
up to the first line, until either this log entry is encountered,
or until the beginning of file is reached.
Line 3: A number between 1 and 1825 used as date "spread" for determining
bad message dates. For example, if 1825 is used, a message date will
have to be within roughly 5 years of the current date to be
considered valid. If the date falls outside that range, based on
the option on Line 6 (both future and past dates, or just future),
the message date will be replaced with the current system date.
Line 4: Full path/file name to activity log file. This line is optional,
but provides a record of every bad message date that was found
and corrected. MSGBASE makes no attempt to monitor the size of
the log file, however, so it will continue to increase in size
unless periodically deleted. It's recommended that the log file
is active when first using MSGBASE to monitor its operation. As
soon as you're satisfied with the operation, this line can be
blanked out (but not deleted).
Line 5: Y or N. If set to Y, MSGBASE will create a batch file in the
current directory (not the directory where the MSGBASE.EXE is
located) called REINDEX.BAT, which invokes the PCBPACK command
with the correct parameters for conferences and indexing. It's
advised that, especially when using MSGBASE to process the entire
message base during an event, that the message base also be
reindexed immediately after. If set to N, the batch file will not
be created.
The PCBPACK command issued in the REINDEX.BAT depends on the type
of message checking is being done by MSGBASE. If the program is
invoked with the -a option, processing the entire message base, the
REINDEX.BAT file will consist of a single line:
PCBPACK /AREA:ALL /INDEX
If the program is being invoked with the -l option, processing only
newly entered messages, the REINDEX.BAT will only contain the
conferences that have had messages corrected. For example, if upon
scanning the callers log, MSGBASE corrects dates in the Main Board
(conference 0) and two others, #50 and #100, the REINDEX.BAT file
will look like:
PCBPACK /AREA:0;50;100 /INDEX
Line 6: Y or N. If Y, MSGBASE will only check future dates for being out
of range, based on the spread value entered on line 3 of the
configuration file. If N, MSGBASE will check both future and past
dates for being out of range. This option is in place for those
sysops that keep a large archive of old messages. Without it,
MSGBASE would constantly redate old messages.
Because MSGBASE uses an external configuration file, it's possible to use
multiple configuration files, for example one per node. Although this
wouldn't be necessary if MSGBASE is being run once per day as part of an
event with the "-a" option, it would be ideal when using the "-l" switch
when each caller logs off a node. That way, MSGBASE would only process the
messages left by the current caller on a node instead of processing all
nodes, whether the caller is still on or not.
For example, if you're running a system with two dialup nodes and want them
processed identically, the two .CFG files could look something like this:
MSGBASE1.CFG
C:\PCB\MAIN\CNAMES.@@@
C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER1
180
C:\PCB\MSGBASE\MSGBASE.LOG
Y
Y
MSGBASE2.CFG
C:\PCB\MAIN\CNAMES.@@@
C:\PCB\MAIN\CALLER2
180
C:\PCB\MSGBASE\MSGBASE.LOG
Y
Y
Node 1's BOARD.BAT file would have this command near the end:
MSGBASE C:\PCB\MSGBASE\MSGBASE1.CFG -L
Node 2's BOARD.BAT file would have this command near the end:
MSGBASE C:\PCB\MSGBASE\MSGBASE2.CFG -L
This example assumes that your configuration files are stored in the
C:\PCB\MSGBASE directory. The MSGBASE.EXE can also be in this directory,
as long as it's in your path, or it can be placed in a directory that's
already in your path.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Installation ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Because MSGBASE can be run in two different modes, one that scans the caller
logs and another mode that processes all messages in all areas, installation
can also fall into two categories:
Using MSGBASE with the "-l" option:
The command invoking MSGBASE would best be placed in each node's BOARD.BAT
file (or NODE.BAT, depending on your setup). Every time a caller logs off,
MSGBASE will be invoked. The caller log will be scanned for any messages
that the previous caller entered, either online, via the internal QWK, or
by a mail door.
Using MSGBASE with the "-a" option:
The command invoking MSGBASE would best be placed in either a nightly event
file (typically a midnight event). If you pack the message bases nightly,
my suggestion would be to run MSGBASE prior to the packing.
Alternatively, if you're transferring mail at various times during the day
and want to make sure that any ougoing messages have the date formatted
correctly before export, MSGBASE can be the first thing run as part of a
mail event.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Activity Log ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
If you choose to have MSGBASE maintain an activity log (recommended at least
when first using the program), the following information is logged:
1. The date and time MSGBASE began its maintenance.
2. If any date-related errors were detected in the message bases, the
message number, conference name and number, bad date, and corrected
date are entered into the log. An example would look like this:
Correcting message # 8075 in Main Board # 0
Old Date: 01-17-10 New Date: 02-03-00
3. The date and time MSGBASE ended its maintenance.
The activity log is NOT monitored for size by MSGBASE...if not deleted,
it will continue to grow in size until it encompasses the known universe
(well, maybe not quite THAT big, but close <g>). Although I recommend
maintaining the log in the beginning to monitor any corrections that are
being performed, the activity log can be disabled as soon as you're satisfied
that MSGBASE is correcting the message bases properly.
I've included a log file with the distribution archive to show what a full
log looks like. Feel free to delete it at your leisure. All of the errors
it found on our BBS were from incoming Fido packets.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Speed ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Yes, it's an issue I'm always concerned about. :)
Processing speed will obviously vary from machine to machine, OS to OS, and
setup to setup. Our BBS is running a 486DX4-100 with 32 MB of RAM, and a
*really* slow 8 year old 340 MB hard drive. With this setup, MSGBASE
processed our entire message base of approximately 3500 messages in about
two minutes.
However, when I copied the entire message base from the BBS machine to my
development/personal machine (Pentium 233, Win95B, 32 MB of RAM, and a new
6.8 GB hard drive), the processing time for the same message base dropped
to four seconds.
For those who want a utility that works quickly, you can base the
performance on your own system by the two benchmarks above. The sample
MSGBASE.LOG includes the two processing runs I did for benchmarking
purposes. The first was done by the BBS machine, the second by mine.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Registration and Contact Information ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
MSGBASE is yet another PCBoard utility that's being released as freeware.
I figured I needed to write it for us since we only have the original
Cam-Mail door (and Cam only fixed the Cam Gold, the cheap bastard), so why
not make it available to everyone who was equally screwed?
Of course, if you find this program to be the best thing since sliced
bread, and your future would be doomed without it, I can certainly be
coerced into accepting donations. :)
Contact information is:
Mark Zec
mark.zec@haremail.com
Mark Zec@1:387/422
Hare Mail BBS 210-949-0338
I'm also co-moderator of the Fidonet PCBoard echo, and can be reached
there.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Disclaimer, Additional Features ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Of course, because this is freeware, you get what you paid for. It works
here, but I can't guarantee that it'll do anything more than take up some
disk space. If you have any questions, comments, or requests for
additional features, feel free to contact me. Of course, additional
features will be considered, but I can't guarantee that they'll be
implemented. This is all being done in my spare time, and without pay, so
keep that in mind.
Any bug reports will be appreciated. Please provide as much information as
possible about the nature of the bug. I've done a fair amount of testing
with MSGBASE on the BBS and haven't encountered any problems, but that
doesn't mean they don't exist.
Of course, bug reports/fixes will be handled before requests for additional
features.
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Special Thanks ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
A number of sysops were kind enough to supply snippets of their callers
logs. I needed these so that MSGBASE would be able to recognize and detect
as many mail doors as possible when processing the callers logs for new
messages (the "-l" option). Because we only have the original Cam Mail
door, I would have been unable to code MSGBASE to recognize all of these
doors without their help.
My thanks goes out to these sysops (in no particular order):
Bob Watson - Tao BBS
Barry Martin - The Safe BBS
Dave Oldridge - Coastal Watch BBS
Herbert Bushong - Blackbeard's BBS
