atp man page on DragonFly
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ATP(1) ATP QWK Mail/News Reader ATP(1)
NAME
atp - read, reply, and archive QWK format mail packets.
SYNOPSIS
atp bbsname[.qwX]
where bbsname is the name of the QWK packet with extension omitted.
The long form uses bbsname.qwX where X is any valid filename character,
typically the letter `k' or a digit in the range `0' to `9'.
DESCRIPTION
ATP is used for reading and replying to messages contained in QWK mail
packets which are available through public access bulletin boards. ATP
evolved from an earlier reader written by Rene Cougnenc which he called
`AzerTyuioP' (the name `AzerTyuioP' is the top row of keys on a French
typewriter). ATP has greatly enhanced and expanded upon the function‐
ality of its predecessor. But like its predecessor, ATP still may be
compiled for the French language. German is now also supported. ATP
includes the Rich Salz and Simmule Turner Emacs-style command line edi‐
tor with command history. Note that this is covered by a separate copy‐
right.
A BBS will typically carry topical news conferences. A user may dial up
a BBS, start a program know as a mail door, and quickly gather the cur‐
rent news into a file called a ``QWK packet.'' Once this file is down‐
loaded, an offline mail reader such as ATP processes it for reading and
replying at one's leisure. There are several formats for offline mail
packets but QWK is the most common. Some of the more popular QWK mail
doors which produce these packets are Qmail, Markmail, Jimmer, and TQM.
ATP can handle QWK packets produced by any of these doors so there is
no need to worry which one to use.
When started, ATP will present you with a command prompt. This prompt
will show the current active BBS and the conference. At any time you
may type `help' at the command prompt to receive a summary of commands.
ATP also functions as a mini-shell allowing you to enter many common
Unix commands at the prompt.
FEATURES
In addition to reading and replying to mail, ATP maintains archives of
past messages. These can be reviewed at any time. As new QWK packets
are loaded, they are immediately added to the archives. Pointers to the
last read messages are maintained. Loading a new mail packet will not
reset these pointers. Reading will resume with the last read message in
each conference. By entering a number at the command line, ATP will
move to that message number and display it. In this way you can move
backward and forward among the messages at will. Typing `reset' resets
the the message pointer, marking the current message as the last mes‐
sage read. The `clean' command provides a means of maintaining and
pruning message bases.
ATP will support 8192 conferences per BBS. The limit is set for back‐
ward compatibility with some older mail doors. You may change this
limit by recompiling ATP should the need arise. Your tagline file can
hold many thousands of taglines, essentially no limit for most pur‐
poses. Taglines are stored in a the plain text file taglines.atp.
Other features include the ability to scan message headers, a tagline
management system, support for FIDO or regular style taglines, personal
mail notification and personal mail conference, the ability to search
messages for strings, a separate conference for replies, kill and
change security on replies, tagline selection by random, automatic, or
direct means, hooks for a spelling checker, powerful command line edit‐
ing with history recall.
ENVIRONMENT
ATP looks for three environment variables: SHELL, HOME, and ATP. The
SHELL environment variable must reflect the path to your command shell
(under MSDOS and OS/2 this path would be called COMSPEC instead). The
HOME environment variable points to your home directory. Some command
processors will automatically set SHELL and HOME for you. The ATP
environment variable should be the full path to a subdirectory where
ATP will store its configuration files, normally a subdirectory under
your home directory. Use a descriptive name such as `atpmail' or `qwk‐
mail' for this directory. As you probably know, environment variables
most often are set by adding entries to your command shell's startup
file (.e.g. .profile or autoexec.bat).
CONFIGURATION
Before using ATP for the first time, you will have to edit its configu‐
ration file which you may call either .atprc or atprc. This file con‐
tains a list of information which tells ATP where to find your mail
packets, what editor to invoke for entering messages, how many lines
your screen has. Below is a typical configuration file. IMPORTANT! A
space must reside on either side of the `=' sign for correct parsing to
take place. After you have edited your atprc configuration file, don't
forget to put it in the same directory as pointed to by the ATP envi‐
ronment variable, or your home directory. If you have a Perl inter‐
preter installed on your system, you can use the script atpdiag to
check your installation and configuration. See atpdiag(1) for details.
# -------------------------------------------------------
# sample atprc ATP configuration file
#
user = PAUL DRAKE
editor = vile
reply = /usr/spool
mail = /usr/spool
archiver = zip -jk
unarchiver = unzip -Lxjo
speller = ispell
ansi = on
bell = on
color = on
graphics = on
charset = latin1
screenlen = 25
screencol = 80
qlist = ls -lt *.qw? | cut -c 34- | less
blist = ls -lt blt* | cut -c 34- | less
tagstyle = fido
tagline = Why buy a cow when the milk is free?
autotag = on
workpath = /tmp
truncate = 50
pcb = on
header = off
# end of sample atprc ATP configuration file
# ------------------------------------------------------
user
Your name goes here. It must be spelled exactly as it appears on
the bulletin boards where you are registered.
editor
The name of the editor which you will use to edit your replies.
reply
This is the path to your directory where you keep reply packets
for uploading.
mail
This is the path to your directory where downloaded message pack‐
ets are kept.
archiver
This is the name of the program used to prepare your reply packet
for uploading. Normally this is zip. When using the Info-Zip ver‐
sion, the switches `-jk' tell zip to create archives without path‐
names and to emulate PKzip. These switches aren't absolutely
needed put could be helpful in certain situations. Please acquire
the most recent versions of zip and unzip for your system which
are compatible with the BBSs which you frequent. The Info-Zip
package is highly recommended.
unarchiver
This is the name of the program used to extract the data files
from your QWK mail packets. Normally this would be unzip. The
sample atprc assumes the freeware Info-Zip version of unzip. The
switches `-Lxjo' tell it to extract files while junking path
names, convert MSDOS file names to lower case, and to overwrite
existing files without prompting. These switches may not always be
necessary but may be helpful in certain situations. Use appropri‐
ate switches for the brand of unarchiver you are using.
speller
This line defines the name of the spelling checker you wish to use
to check the spelling of your replies. The program ispell is rec‐
ommended because of its interactive design. It is available in
source code form via anonymous ftp from prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu.
ansi
This configuration switch can be set to either `on' or `off'. It
defaults to `off' but most users should set this to `on'. This
controls the placing of the cursor on the screen and other screen
attributes. Note that if `ansi' is set `on' you must have a ter‐
minal capable of handling ANSI sequences. MSDOS users will want to
add the line DEVICE=ANSI.SYS to their config.sys file in order to
use this feature. Many common terminals support ANSI such as the
popular VT102 and VT220 terminals. The Linux console also supports
ANSI, as do many other PC unixes, and OS/2. So if you fall into
any of these categories, please set `ansi' to `on'.
bell
This configuration switch can be set to either `on' or `off'. It
determines if ATP will use the terminal bell. If you desire silent
operation, set bell to `off'.
color
ATP will support color on ANSI terminals. Setting color `on' will
enable ANSI color. You must have the ATP `ansi' variable set to
`on' also. If you have a monochrome terminal you may find that
setting color to `off' gives a more readable screen. Experiment
and see.
graphics
When graphics is set to `on' ATP will use VT102 line graphics
characters to emulate the MSDOS line graphic character set. Linux
users will want to set this `on'. If your terminal or system con‐
sole is unable to display the VT102 line graphics set then set
this `off'.
If you want to see if your terminal is capable of displaying VT102
graphics, type the command `graphics' at the ATP command line. It
will toggle this mode on and off, displaying a boxed message. If
you toggle graphics `on' and instead of a pretty graphics box on a
reverse field you view an ugly box composed of q's and a's then
you may safely assume that your terminal will not support VT102
line graphics.
Note: not all VT102 class terminals have the line graphics option.
Note too that line graphics is independent of which character set
you choose. If your terminal uses the MSDOS character set and
displays it correctly, there is little point in choosing this
option. However, just because your operating system is running on
a PC, do not assume that is uses the MSDOS character set.
charset
Most QWK packets use the MSDOS character set to represent foreign
language and line graphics characters. If your system does then
you should set charset equal `msdos' and `graphics' to `off'. How‐
ever most Unix systems do not recognize the MSDOS character set
mappings. If your terminal or console uses ISO standard LATIN1
character set (e.g. Linux) then you will want to set charset
equal to `latin1'. If your system is unable to display any 8 bit
characters you will want to set this to `7-bit' (8 bit characters
will then be mapped to their closest 7-bit counterpart). Please
see the file atprc for more details. Here is a table of some sug‐
gested settings:
TABLE 1
CHARACTER SET OPTIONS FOR ATPRC VARIABLES
┌────────────┬────────────┬────────────┐
│ system │ charset │ graphics │
├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│ Linux │ latin1 │ on │
│ VT102 │ 7-bit │ on │
│ generic │ 7-bit │ off │
│ OS/2 │ msdos │ off │
│ 386bsd │ msdos │ off │
│ MS-DOS │ msdos │ off │
└────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
screenlen
This configuration setting tells ATP how many lines your screen
uses. This depends on the type of video card which you are using
and also on the type of terminal emulation which you have
selected. Valid entries are in the range of 3 to 300. If ATP is
unable to automatically detect your screen size, it will fallback
to these values.
screencol
This configuration setting tells ATP how many columns your screen
uses. This depends on the type of video card which you are using
and also on the type of terminal emulation which you have
selected. Typical entries are 80 columns. Some terminals will
support 132 columns too. If ATP is unable to automatically detect
your screen size, it will fallback to the value you specify here.
qlist
Used for listing QWK packets. This configuration entry is a com‐
mand line which will be executed anytime you type `qlist' at the
ATP prompt. ATP will change to your mail path directory and exe‐
cute this command line. The example here when invoked will list
all the QWK packets in your mail directory sorted by time and only
displaying the size, date, and name of the packets. It is piped
into `less' which is the GNU version of `more'. You may delete
this entry or modify it if it doesn't do what you want. A simple
default entry is already set internal to ATP.
blist
ATP can display bulletins delivered with the mail packet. The
`blt' command uses the string specified here, passing it to the
shell to list your bulletins. You will want to modify this entry
depending on your operating system. After you have viewed the list
of available bulletins, view a bulletin by typing its name at the
command line.
tagstyle
This switch sets the default style used in your message taglines.
It defaults to normal. By setting this to `tagstyle = fido', atp
will start up using FIDOnet style taglines. See later section on
taglines for more information.
tagline
This is used to set your persistent tagline which can always be
called back immediately from the command line. See section on
taglines for details.
autotag
By default, ATP will randomly select taglines for your replies.
The taglines are stored in the text file taglines.atp located in
the same directory as your atprc. Automatic selection of taglines
may be turned off from the command line or by setting autotag to
`off'.
workpath
This option is not usually needed. However, if you need the ATP
work directory to be on some particular path or drive specify it
here. OS/2 and MSDOS users can specify a disk drive by specifying
the drive letter. See example in atprc.
truncate
Under ATP there is a `clean' command that will put you into main‐
tenance mode for your message bases. One of the options is to
truncate a message base to the most recent messages. This option
sets the default truncation length. This truncate option can be
changed during the maintenance process if the need should arise.
pcb
The BBS known as PCBoard supports long subject lines as of PCB
version 15. If you would like to have long subject lines then set
this option on. Note that not all QWK readers will be able to read
your entire subject line because most readers are limited to 25
characters. But generally there should be no problem. Note that if
you use the RIME network that you should not use a long subject
line when entering a routed message, i.e. a message where the
first line must read something like ->156<-. If this option is
enabled and you enter a reply subject line less than 25 characters
in length, behavior defaults to normal QWK conventions.
header
When replying to a message, ATP generates a reply header which
mentions the author of the message being responded to. If you wish
to have no headers then set the header option off in your atprc.
SHELL SYSTEM COMMANDS
When at the ATP command prompt, you will be able to execute many common
Unix commands directly: cat, cd, cp, echo, df, du, less, ln, lpr, ls,
man, mkdir, more, mv, pwd, cwd, rm, rmdir, set, sort, sync.
Under the MSDOS version the following commands are available: cd,
chkdsk, copy, del, dir, md, mem, more, mkdir, print, rd, rmdir, set,
sort, type, xcopy.
COMMANDS SUMMARY
What follows is a summary of the commands available inside ATP. The
most important are: `load', `review', `j',`n',`r', `e', and `qscan'.
These will be presented first. Remember that you may always type `help'
for a brief summary of commands.
help
The `help' command will display a brief summary of available com‐
mands.
load bbsname
This command is used to get a QWK packet from your spool directory
and load it into the reader for viewing. It takes one argument,
the name of the BBS or the explicit name of the mail packet. If
you just give the name of the BBS, ATP will search for the packet
named bbsname.qwk. You may also name the packet explicitly (e.g.
bbsdeguy.qwk, joesbbs.qw5, etc.).
Example: load zer0g.qw4
review bbsname
The review command is used for reviewing the BBS archives previ‐
ously loaded into the reader. It takes one argument, the name of
the BBS without any extension. DO NOT add the `qwk' file extension
with this command. The short form of this command is `rev'.
Example: rev hobbits
<cr>
A carriage return alone will read the next message.
j [ conference_name | conference_number ]
The `j' command stands for `join' and it is used for changing con‐
ferences. It must be followed by either the conference name or
the conference number.
n The `n' command will join the next active conference.
a The `a' command will display the current message again.
+ The `+' command will go forward one message.
- The `-' command will go backward one message.
r The `r' command is used to enter a reply to the current message.
You may redirect a reply to a different message area by following
`r' with the name of the new area where the reply should be
posted. When entering a reply, you are always prompted to allow
changing of the subject, address, and security information. When
prompted for security you may answer `n' or `r' which respectively
stand for `none' and `receiver only' (private message) security.
x The `x' command is used to crosspost a reply to another area. To
use this command, go to the reply conference and select the reply
you wish to crosspost. Type `x' followed by the conference number
or conference name where you wish to post a new copy of the reply.
c The `c' command is used to enter changes to a previous reply. This
command Is valid only in the replies conference. It will re-invoke
the editor for the current message. The old message is killed
along with its tagline. The tagline active at the time this com‐
mand was invoked will be the new tagline for the edited reply.
Note that that in the context of the reply conference, the `e'
command has the same effect as the `c' command—change a reply.
p The `p' command is used to toggle message security between `pri‐
vate' and `public' for your reply messages. When a message is pri‐
vate, a warning to this affect will be highlighted in the bottom
right of the message header.
e [ conference_name | conference_number ]
The `e' command with no arguments will enter a message in the cur‐
rent conference. Again, choose your tagline before entering your
message. The `e' command may be followed optionally by the name
or number of the conference where you would like to enter your
message. Upon invoking `e' you will be presented some choice as to
subject, addressee, and message security.
Note that this command behaves differently if the current confer‐
ence is either the REPLY or PERSONAL conference. If you are in the
PERSONAL message conference, this command is completely disabled
because it makes no sense to enter a message in the personal con‐
ference (you CAN reply to messages though--use the `r' command).
If you are in the REPLY conference, this command will re-edit the
current message. It does not enter a new message.
head
The `head' command will toggle the automatic reply header on and
off. The reply header is a sentence at the top of a quoted reply
message which will mention the name of the author of the quoted
message, who it was written to, and on what date it was written.
If you don't want this style in your replies then you may turn it
off with the head command or just edit it out when composing your
reply.
reset
The `reset' command is used to set the conference message pointer
to the highest message which you have read. It looks at the value
of the current message and resets the highest read pointer to that
value. This is useful if you wish to quit in the middle of re-
reading a conference but would like to save your place marker.
scan
Will scan forward from the current message displaying message
headers. You will be prompted after each screen whether you wish
to continue scanning.
qscan
Quick scan is the same as scan except it will only display a sin‐
gle line abbreviated header.
conf The conf command will display a list of all available conferences
on a particular BBS.
ts The `ts' is text search command, an alias for `find', see below.
find The `find' command will search the current conference for any text
that follows it. Wildcards are not supported, and it is not case
sensitive. For example:
find paul drake
will display messages containing the text ``Paul Drake'' or ``PaUl
dRakE'' and so on. After finding some text, use the `next' command
to repeat the search. Note that any spaces after the first one
following `find' are significant. Thus,
find paul drake
is NOT the same as
find paul drake
next
The `next' command is used to repeat the search initiated by the
`find' command. If your version of ATP supports function keys,
pressing F10 is equivalent to typing this command. To abort
search, type control-C.
qlist
The qlist command will display a list of all QWK packets in your
mail directory. See the configuration section for details.
clean
The clean command will allow you to do maintenance on your message
bases. You will be able to delete, truncate, or purge messages
marked as killed. Use the `k' command while reading messages to
mark a message as killed. Set the default truncation length for
maintenance in your atprc. This number is changeable from inside
the clean command should you need that flexibility.
rot The rot command will filter the current message through a Usenet
standard rot-13 text filter. Invoking the rot command twice will
restore the original message. Rot-13 encoding is sometimes used to
shield offensive material from being accidentally read. It is not
a secure cypher, and it is not intended to be.
! [ shell_command ]
Without arguments, this command will shell you out of the program
into the system. Type `exit' to return. You may also follow this
command with any valid command line which your operating system's
command processor will recognize.
cls Will clear the screen display.
pcb Will toggle support for PCBoard long subject lines.
time Will display the current date and time.
date Will display the current date and time
fido The `fido' command will toggle the current tagline style. See sec‐
tion on taglines for more information.
last The `last' command will display the end message in a conference.
news The `news' command will display the current news file from the
BBS.
welcome
The `welcome' command will display the current board's welcome
message.
files
The `files' command will display the new files list from the cur‐
rent BBS.
blt The `blt' command will display a list of available bulletins from
the current BBS. To display a particular bulletin just enter its
file name.
hello
The `hello' command will display the BBS Welcome message.
goodbye
The `goodbye' command will display the BBS goodbye message.
door The `door' command will display the BBS door id and version (if it
was included in the mail packet).
m The `m' command will toggle the ansi mode on and off.
g The `g' command will quit ATP.
q The `q' command will quit ATP. It is the same as the `g' command.
s filename
The `s' command will save the current message to a specified text
file. If the file exists, the message will be appended to the
end.
tag The `tag' command is used to set tagline options. See the section
below on taglines for details.
TAGLINES
ATP supports either FIDO or regular style taglines. In addition ATP
uses three types of taglines: persistent, run-time, list. You have 1
persistent and 1 run-time tagline. Your list taglines must be kept in
the file taglines.atp which should be in the same directory as your
atprc. The purpose of the persistent tagline is that it is always
there for you to recall and use. You may choose to use other taglines
but the persistent tagline will still be there when you want it. The
run-time tagline is one you yourself enter at the command line. Should
a bit of whimsy strike you, you can use it right away without editing
the tagline file. At any one time there is only one active tagline
which may be viewed by typing the command `tag ?'. Before entering your
message choose your active tagline. You may pick from the list, use
your persistent tagline, or type a run-time defined tagline at the
prompt. You also have the choice of toggling FIDO or regular style
tagline by typing the command `fido' at the command line. Here is a
summary:
persistent
Defined after the `tagline =' statement in the configuration file.
This tagline is stored in a stack with the run-time tagline. Typ‐
ing `tag swap' will copy the stack into the current active
tagline. Typing `tag swap' twice in a row will roll the stack. The
persistent tagline is good for a tagline which you regularly use
such as one containing place of message origin.
run-time
Defined at the ATP command line. If you feel like adding an
impromptu tagline just type `tag' followed by your text.
Example: tag Laurel and Hardy fan club
This above example command will change the active tagline to:
...
* ATP/Linux 1.50 * Laurel and Hardy fan club.
list
A list type tagline is just a tagline stored in the plain text
file taglines.atp. If you have selected the auto tagline feature,
ATP will choose a tagline at random from your taglines.atp file
every time you enter a reply. You may also type `tag random' at
the command prompt to re-select at any time. Taglines may also be
selected directly. Type `tag list' to view your list of taglines,
and then type `tag n' to choose a numbered tagline directly (where
`n' would be the number of the tagline in the list as it is
viewed). If you wish to add or delete taglines from taglines.atp
you should use your favorite text editor.
TAGLINE COMMAND
The `tag' command is the basic command for setting and changing
taglines. ATP echoes any changes in tagline to the screen so you may be
certain as to what the current tagline is. If in doubt, just type `tag
?'. Here are the possible variations on `tag':
tag help
The `tag help' command will display the special help menu for
taglines.
tag swap
The `tag swap' command will swap move either the persistent or the
run-time defined tagline into the current tagline buffer. Any list
defined tagline will be removed from the buffer. Alternately typ‐
ing `tag swap' will toggle the current tagline between persistent
and run-time defined.
tag steal
The `tag steal' command will append the tagline in the current
message to your taglines.atp file. This feature only works on mes‐
sages which follow the PCBoard BBS style of taglines. For Fido
taglines use the `tag add' command.
tag add
The `tag add' command allows you to type in a tagline which will
then be appended to your taglines.atp file. This feature is useful
for Fido style taglines which are not so easily captured by the
`tag steal' command.
tag list
The `tag list' command will display a list of all available
taglines.
tag n
The `tag n' command will set the current tagline to the tagline in
the list designated by the number `n'.
tag ?
The `tag ?' command will display the current tagline.
tag auto
The `tag auto' command will toggle automatic tagline selection ON
or OFF.
tag random
The `tag random' will choose a random tagline for you. It may be
used with either automatic selection disabled or enabled. The auto
tagline mode itself uses this command after every reply to regen‐
erate a new tagline. Try it out a few times to familiarize your‐
self with it.
tag off
The `tag off' command will disable taglines.
tag on
The `tag on' command will re-enable taglines.
fido This is a command which toggles the tagline style between FIDO
style taglines and regular style. This is provided because FIDOnet
has specific rules about tear lines and high ascii characters.
Here is an example of a regular tagline followed by an example of
a FIDO style tagline:
---
□ ATP/Linux 1.50 □ This is a regular style tagline.
...
* ATP/Linux 1.50 * This is a FIDO style tagline.
SPECIAL KEYS
With release 1.4 some support for special keys have been added. This
is still being developed and may change. If you would like to try the
special keys here are the mappings. Note: support now is only for
VT102, Linux, OS/2, and MSDOS consoles.
key command
-------------------------------------------------------------
<f1> help
<f2> tagline help
<f3> view taglines
<f4> list available QWK packets
<f5> show terms of license
<f10> `next' for text search.
<home> goto first message in conference [keypad upper left]
<end> goto last message in conference [keypad lower left]
<page up> view messages in reverse order [keypad upper right]
<page dn> view messages in forward order [keypad lower right]
<keypad `5'> `N' either `next' or `no' (depends on context)
<up arrow> recall previous command in history
<down arrow> recall next command in history
COMMAND LINE EDITOR
ATP uses the Rich Salz and Simmule Turner command-line editor. This
provides a simple but powerful emacs-like command-line editing inter‐
face to its users. Previous commands may be recalled by scrolling
through the command history with the arrow keys. A line may be edited
before it is sent by typing either control characters or escape
sequences. A control character, shown as a caret followed by a letter,
is typed by holding down the ``control'' key while the letter is typed.
For example, ``^A'' is a control-A. An escape sequence is entered by
typing the ``escape'' key followed by one or more characters. The
escape key is abbreviated as ``ESC.'' Note that unlike control keys,
case matters in escape sequences; ``ESC F'' is not the same as
``ESC f''. Auto command completion is invoked by pressing the ``TAB''
key. If there is more than one possible completion, ``ESC ?'' will dis‐
play the available alternatives.
An editing command may be typed anywhere on the line, not just at the
beginning. In addition, a return may also be typed anywhere on the
line, not just at the end.
Most editing commands may be given a repeat count, n, where n is a num‐
ber. To enter a repeat count, type the escape key, the number, and
then the command to execute. For example, ``ESC 4 ^f'' moves forward
four characters. If a command may be given a repeat count then the
text ``[n]'' is given at the end of its description.
Please see the man page editline(3) for more details. The following
are a list of the basic control characters and commands:
^A Move to the beginning of the line
^B Move left (backwards) [n]
^D Delete character [n]
^E Move to end of line
^F Move right (forwards) [n]
^G Ring the bell
^H Delete character before cursor (backspace key) [n]
^I Complete filename (tab key); see below
^J Done with line (return key)
^K Kill to end of line (or column [n])
^L Redisplay line
^M Done with line (alternate return key)
^N Get next line from history [n]
^P Get previous line from history [n]
^R Search backward (forward if [n]) through history for text
must start line if text begins with an uparrow
^T Transpose characters
^V Insert next character, even if it is an edit command
^W Wipe to the mark
^X^X Exchange current location and mark
^Y Yank back last killed text
^]c Move forward to next character ``c''
^? Delete character before cursor (delete key) [n]
ESC start an escape sequence (escape key)
TAB auto command completion
ESC ? suggest alternative completions
Note: use the up/down arrow keys to recall previous commands.
HISTORY
Version 1.50 January 1997 -- fourth release of ATP
Full termcap support for non-ansi terminals. No limits on message
size for any version. Replies can now be directed to any message
area with `r' command. New `x' command for cross posting. Improved
`r' and `c' commands for re-directing replies to different message
areas. Use ^C to cancel `find' search. Add perl script `atpdiag'
to help diagnose proper configuration. Rot-13 message
shroud/unshroud added. GNU autoconf support provides configure
script for building ATP on Unix systems. Tom Glaab contributes
tagline steal/add (thanks!). Tagline `tag on/off' commands added.
MSDOS 16 bit version can swap itself out when spawning sub-shell
if linked with Ralph Brown's spawno libraries. MSDOS versions now
DESQview aware. Stefan Reinauer contributes German language sup‐
port. Code re-organized with greater modularity and strong type
checking in mind. Source includes ansi2knr to allow building with
non-ANSI C compiler. Can now be compiled with C++. Various bug
fixes and improvements.
Version 1.42 September 4, 1993 -- third release of ATP
This release sports improved `find' and `clean' commands. The
`clean' command now allows selective purging of messages that have
been marked killed with the `k' key. It also allows truncation of
message bases to the last `n' messages. All in all a much nicer
way to maintain message bases. Derric Scott
(dtscott@access.digex.net) provided the patches for the improved
`find' command which highlights found text in reverse video. ATP
supports messages up to 180,000 bytes in size (more than 3000
lines). The ATP command line is now 8 bit clean and will accept
the so called "high ascii" and foreign language characters.
PCBoard long subject lines are now supported but this is still
experimental. Users may toggle this feature with the `pcb' command
from the command line. The `blt' command displays a list of avail‐
able bulletins, then type the bulletin name that you wish to view.
Alan Barclay provided patches for SCO which also added the `qscan'
command for a quick scan of abbreviated message headers. Many
bugs have been fixed and efforts to greater portability have con‐
tinued. OS/2 is now supported. Jim Gomes provided Windows and MSC
support. It has been reported that ATP runs under the AMIGA but no
patches were submitted for inclusion in this release. Thanks to
David Fox for his bug reports and ideas.
Version 1.41 Spring 1993 -- beta testing release of ATP
Closed beta testing with interested individuals.
Version 1.4 November 1992 -- second release of ATP
Now ATP includes a separate conference for replies. Replies may be
killed with the `k' command or security toggled with the `p' com‐
mand. The `find' command and `next' command were added for text
search. The Rich Salz and Simmule Turner line editing library is
now included. This gives powerful Emacs style command line editing
and history recall. Please check the separate copyright notice
regarding this library. Three character sets are now supported:
ISO Latin1, 7bit, and MSDOS. On terminals which support VT102 line
graphics, MSDOS line graphics are translated appropriately. In
addition, for some terminals, special function keys are now sup‐
ported.
Limits on number of conferences per BBS is now set at 8192 with
dynamic memory allocation for supporting data structures. Message
size limit has been increased from 32K bytes to 150K bytes,
roughly 3000 lines of typical message text. Limits on the number
of taglines have been removed. Taglines are now stored in a sepa‐
rate tagline file "taglines.atp". Taglines may now be selected
randomly (automatically or manually) as well as directly. Bug
fixes and general code cleanup also were done. Code has been
brought into stricter compliance with ANSI and POSIX standards.
Sorry K&R. No matter what your system GNU GCC is recommended for
compiling ATP.
ATP has been compiled and tested on a number of systems for this
release including Esix, Linux, SVR4, 386bsd, and MSDOS. For MSDOS
it is recommended that DJ Delorie's port of GNU GCC be used. This
is a very nice compiler and it will compile Unix source code very
easily. It requires a 386 or better computer. ATP will also com‐
pile under the large model of Borland's Turbo C but the limits are
smaller.
Version 1.3 July 1992 -- first release of ATP
McWilliams. Character set translation MSDOS/Linux, Linux/MSDOS.
Personal mail alarm. Personal mail conference. Correct reply head‐
ers, correct time and conference numbers. Command line processing.
Improved command parsing. Rewrite fget() to handle pathological
control.dat files. Taglines and tagline management. Ansi editing
of entries. Replies queries: save, abort, edit. Message header
scanning. Bug fixes. Improved message quoting. Correction of con‐
ference Autojoin(); Tested under Linux 0.96c and Esix R.4.0.
Version 1.2 April 1992 -- first Unix/Linux port of AzerTyuioP.
Salazar. Unix-izing for Linux. Conversion of path names. Writing
new string comparison functions. Reworking system.c and system.h
modules for portability. First version to unarc packets and read
them under Linux. Improved handling of control.dat parsing.
Introduction of array to track real conference numbers versus con‐
ference ordinal numbers.
Version 1.1 November 1990 -- Cougnenc releases AzerTyuioP code.
Cougnenc. Code to experimental QWK reader AzerTyuioP is released
for MSDOS. Primarily useful as tool for studying QWK packets.
Cougnenc had no documentation on the layout so this work was
empirical in nature. Includes both French and English capabili‐
ties, set-able at compile time. Reader creates archives of
received messages.
THANKS
Many thanks to Rene Cougnenc for his AzerTyuioP from which much of ATP
is derived. Also thanks must be given to Mark Salazar who provided the
first quasi-functional Unix version of AzerTyuioP which was able to un-
archive packets and read mail. A big thanks to all who have provided
patches particularly Derric Scott with enhancements to the `find' com‐
mand. Alan Barclay provided fixes and added functionality with his SCO
patches. Tom Glaab has provided nice enhancements to the tagline func‐
tionality such as the `steal' command. Stefan Reinauer provided German
language support. Also thanks to Jim Gomes, Dane Beko, Patrick Lee, Ron
Smith, and David Fox who have provided useful suggestions, contribu‐
tions, and bug-reports.
COPYING AND NO WARRANTY
Copyright © 1992,1993,1997 Thomas McWilliams.
ATP is copyrighted free software provided WITHOUT warranty of any kind,
NOT EVEN the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for any
particular purpose. Use at your own risk. ATP may be used in any way
you wish so long as you comply with the provisions of the Free Software
Foundation GNU General Public License; either version 2 of the License,
or (at your option) any later version. Essentially this means that you
*MUST* provide the source code for any works derived from ATP when you
distribute binaries. You can not withhold the rights which you yourself
have been granted. Please type `show terms' from ATP's command line for
a display of warranty disclaimer and pointers to pertinent documents.
This software should have come with a copy of the GNU General Public
License. You may obtain a copy of this license by writing to:
Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
675 Mass Ave,
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
BUG REPORTS AND PATCHES
Bug reports, suggestions, and code contributions are welcome. If you
have ported ATP to another system, your are welcome to submit the
patches so that they might be incorporated into the next release. Bug
reports should include a way for me to reproduce the bug.
Fido netmail may be sent to me at node 1:109/615 and I am sometimes
reachable via the Internet at one of the following locations:
tgm@netcom.com
thomas.mcwilliams@f615.n109.z1.fidonet.org
Snail mail may be sent to:
Thomas McWilliams
P.O. Box 7545
Arlington, VA 22207
Source code for ATP can be found at:
sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/system/BBS/mail/atp-1.50-src.tar.gz
FILES
/usr/local/bin/atp
$ATP/taglines.atp
$ATP/atprc
SEE ALSO
atpdiag(1), editline(3), zip(1), unzip(1), rot13(1)
ATP 1.50 4 January 1997 ATP(1)
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