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author | Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info> | 2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900 |
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committer | Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info> | 2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900 |
commit | e0c6872cf40896c7be36b11dcc744620f10adf1d (patch) | |
tree | 60335e10d2f4354b0674ec22d7b53f0f8abee672 /info/digests/texline/no11/server.text |
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diff --git a/info/digests/texline/no11/server.text b/info/digests/texline/no11/server.text new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..94f8c56e76 --- /dev/null +++ b/info/digests/texline/no11/server.text @@ -0,0 +1,303 @@ +\centerline{\bf The Aston \TeX\ Server} +\smallskip +\noindent +For network users who can send mail but not transfer files, accessing +remote archives is a problem. The conventional way to do this is to +use `mail servers' on the machines holding the archives. These are +programs which read mail messages directed to a specific username on +the archive machine, with the message consisting of commands to the +mail server. The server processes the commands which are usually +requests to send files to the requestor as mail messages. + +The mail server described here accepts several commands, +described in the following sections. In each case, the commands to +the server are specified in the body of the mail message. This is a +little different from many other mail servers, which require the +command to be in the `subject' field of the mail message. + + +\section{Where is the \TeX\ Archive Mail Server?} +The \TeX\ archive's mail server is accessed by sending a mail request, +containing a valid {\tt mail-server} command, through \JANET\ to +\begintt +TEXSERVER@UK.AC.ASTON.TEX +\endtt +Note that {\tt texserver} operates without any operator interaction: +your mail is never seen by human eyes (unless the archive maintainer +is deliberately doing so), so it is essential that you get your requests +right. I\lowercase{NVALID REQUESTS ARE SIMPLY IGNORED}! + +People occasionally experience difficulties with getting mail to, or +replies from, {\tt texserver}. For this reason, {\tt texserver} +generates a `your message received' reply when it receives your +request. The actual request is then queued for processing (which may +happen up to an hour later). + + + + +\section{Getting Help} +This help message can be acquired by sending the following message to +{\tt texserver}: +\begintt +ignored-text +---ignored-text +return-address +HELP +ignored-text +\endtt +{\tt texserver} ignores everything in the body of the message until a line +containing three hyphens as its first non-blank characters is met. +This is because many mail messages (particularly those which pass +through protocol converters at gateways) develop a header showing its +path through the various mailers. + +Following the three-hyphen separator, the return address should be +specified on the next non-blank line. This must be the address {\it +from\/} {\tt texserver} {\it to\/} you, in the usual network format +(for people who don't know this, it is explained in a later +section). The next non-blank line should contain only the word +{\tt HELP} (or {\tt HELP} with a language qualifier--see below), +specified in lower, UPPER or MiXeD cases. Any subsequent lines are +ignored. + +This help message is also available in a variety of other languages. +The appropriate language version is specified simply by adding a +`command qualifier' to the {\tt HELP} command---so that, for +example, {\tt HELP/DANISH} or {\tt HELP/DANSK} will select the +Danish-language version of the help text. The following qualifiers are +currently supported: +\begintt +/DANISH |it or |tt /DANSK +/DUTCH |it or |tt /NL or /NEDERLANDS +/FRENCH |it or |tt /FRANCAIS +/GERMAN |it or |tt /DEUTSCH +/ITALIAN |it or |tt /ITALIANO +/JAPANESE +/SPANISH |it or |tt /ESPAGNOL +/SWEDISH |it or |tt /SWEDE +\endtt +You can truncate the qualifier to the point of uniqueness, so that +{\tt HELP/FRE} selects French and {\tt HELP/DE} German. But do so +carefully, for {\tt texserver} will simply ignore ambiguous +commands such as {\tt HELP/FR}. And make sure you spell the qualifier +correctly! + +If you request {\tt HELP} in a language other than English, but +receive the English message instead, it's because there is not +yet a translation into the requested language. Perhaps you +would care to consider making the translation yourself, and mailing +it back to the author. Your contribution will, of course, receive +due acknowledgement. + +It is well worth transferring the help text to yourself as a first +experiment of the system; this will ensure that you understand how to +format messages for {\tt texserver} and to specify network addresses on +VAX/VMS. + + +\section{Generating Directory Listings} +You can acquire a directory listing of the archive or a part of +the archive by sending the following message to {\tt texserver}: +\begintt +ignored-text +---ignored-text +return-address +DIRECTORY directory-specifier +ignored-text +\endtt +You will understand the form and purpose of most elements of the message +from the above discussion of the help, so they won't be explained +again. The {\tt DIRECTORY} command, which can be specified in any +case and truncated to {\tt DIR}, should be given a directory +specification as its argument, conforming to the VAX/VMS directory +syntax (see below). If omitted, a listing of the directory +{\tt [TEX-ARCHIVE]} is returned. + +Normally, the files listed by the {\tt DIRECTORY} command can be used as +the basis of a {\tt FILES} command (described in a later section), +which requests files to be transferred. VMS wizards can, however, +put qualifiers to the DCL {\tt DIRECTORY} command {\it following\/} +the argument. The most useful one is probably {\tt /SIZE}, which +returns the file size in units of 512-byte blocks. + +To make full use of the {\tt DIRECTORY} command, you need to know +about VMS filenames. Firstly, a filename consists of three parts, +the {\it name} itself, the {\it extension} (file-type) and the +{\it version number}, specified as +\begintt +name.extension;version +\endtt +Both the name and extension may be up to 39 characters each, +consisting of alphanumerics, dollar, underscore and hyphen. Upper and +lower case letters are not distinguished. Note, however, that `name' +is not the same as `name.', since {\tt texserver} (and the VMS mailer) +applies a default extension to the former but not to the latter. If +the version number is omitted (in which case the semi-colon +punctuation is not required), VMS automagically selects the highest +(most recent). + +Files, of course, reside in directories. These are specified in +square brackets. Like Unix and many other operating systems, +directories under VMS are hierarchical. Sub-directories are specified, +within the square brackets, following the parent directory name and +separated by periods. Hence, +\begintt +[TEX-ARCHIVE.PUBLIC] +\endtt +is a valid directory name and +\begintt +[TEX-ARCHIVE.PUBLIC]PRIVATE.TXT;42 +\endtt +a file within it. + +Of course, directories reside on discs and discs on nodes on +networks\dots but that is getting needlessly complicated. + +The other thing you need to know about is wildcards. There are three +of them: +\halign{\quad \tt#&\qquad#\hfil\cr + * &matches zero or more characters\cr + ? &matches exactly one character\cr + ... & matches a sub-directory tree\cr} + +Hence, the {\tt texserver} command +\begintt + DIRECTORY [TEX-ARCHIVE...]*.TXT +\endtt +will find all versions of all files with an extension of +{\tt .TXT} (conventional for text files) in the directory +{\tt[TEX-ARCHIVE]} or any of its sub-directories and return the output +to you (if you got the return address right). + + +\section{Locating Files} +If you know the name of a file which you want to retrieve, but not the +directory in which it resides, the {\tt WHEREIS} command can be used +to find it. For example, to locate all {\WEB} files in the archive +(\WEB\ is the programming language in which \TeX\ is written, being a +combination of \TeX\ input and Pascal), you would use a command like: +\begintt +ignored-text +---ignored-text +return-address +WHEREIS *.WEB +ignored-text +\endtt +You may use the same wildcard specifiers as in the DIRECTORY command. + + +\section{Searching Files} +You can search through files in the archive for a given string of +characters. This is useful, for example, when you know something is +present in the archive, but not exactly which files are relevent. The +{\tt SEARCH} request has the following format: +\begintt +ignored-text +---ignored-text +return-address +SEARCH directory-specifier search-string +ignored-text +\endtt +The directory specification should have the same format as for the +`directory' request. The search string can be any arbitrary series of +characters, but if it includes one or more of the characters |'"/@#| the +whole string should be enclosed in double quotes (and double quotes in +the search string specified twice consecutively). For example, +\begintt +search [TEX-ARCHIVE...]*.TXT text +\endtt +searches all files in the archive with an extension of {\tt .TXT} for +the string of characters `text'. (Note that the search +is case-insensitive.) To search for the string |/"text"|, +one would use +\begintt +search [TEX-ARCHIVE...]*.TXT "/""text""" +\endtt +to `escape' the quote character, which has a special meaning to DCL. + +\section{Transferring Files} +Now that you can generate listings of the contents of the archive, +extracting files from it is child's play! Simply edit the listing +returned by the {\tt DIRECTORY} or {\tt WHEREIS} commands into the +following form: +\begintt +ignored-text +---ignored-text +return-address +FILES +filename +filename +. +. +. +\endtt +Any number of filenames may follow the {\tt FILES} command. Each +filename must be specified on a separate line; each file will +normally be returned as a separate mail message. Wildcards are +{\it not\/} supported by the {\tt FILES} command. + + +There is a limit to the size of a {\sc mail{}} message which can be sent +through many gateways. For this reason, large files resulting from +{\tt texserver} requests are automatically split up and send in a series +of parts. You will normally have to concatenate these parts (in the +correct order!) before they will be of use. + +\section{Specifying the Return Address} +The syntax used for network addresses is the one used throughout most +of the networking community, |user@site|. For example, for \JANET\ +users, requests from `orinoco' at site |uk.ac.wimbledon.common| should +have a return address of +\begintt +orinoco@uk.ac.wimbledon.common +\endtt +Note that the VMS mailer folds the return address to {\sc upper} case unless +it is enclosed in double quotes (this is a common source of trouble +for mail being returned to {\tt uucp} sites). + +For |BITNET| users, you need to send the mail out via the |EARN| gateway: +\begintt +user%machine.site.BITNET@EARN-RELAY +\endtt +Note that the order of specifying domains {\it is\/} important to the +|EARN| mailer. The syntax is similar for other networks accessed via +the |EARN| gateway. + +Requests from north America (e.g., those with |.EDU| addresses) should +also use the |EARN| gateway, since the |NSFNET-RELAY| gateway is not +available for UK-to-US traffic: +\begintt +user%machine.site.EDU@EARN-RELAY +\endtt +Other users should try |EARN| in the first instance (it seems to be +pretty clever). If that fails, consult a local networking guru. If +that fails, mail the archive maintainers, who should be able to put you +in touch with someone who can help. If all else fails, you're on your +own! + +There is a document, compiled by Tim Clark of the University of +Warwick, which goes into significant detail regarding the routing of +mail from the UK through gateways. This is available in \LaTeX\ form +from the archive as file +\begintt +[TEX-ARCHIVE.ARCHIVE-UTILS]GATEWAYS.TEX +\endtt + +Any comments, queries, suspected bugs, etc should be addressed to the +author, not to the maintainers of the archive it serves. (If any +query doesn't get answered within, say, a week, please re-submit it; +the author's network connection is rather flaky!) Note that the +author is {\it not\/} a networking Wizard. + +As usual with public-domain software, no commitment is given as to the +quality of this software: it may not do what this help says it does. + + +\section{Bibliography} +Terry A. Welch, 1984, A Technique for High-Performance Data +Compression, + IEEE Computer vol 17, no 6, pp.8--19. + +\author{Adrian Clark} +\endinput |