627 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
627 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
Archie Email Help (Version 3.0)
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HELP for the archie email server, as of 10 April, 1993.
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To perform an archie search via email, send mail to
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archie@<archie_server>
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Where <archie_server> is the name of an archie host.
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The current (and complete) list of archie servers can be found with the
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"servers" command (described below). A sample list is:
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archie.rutgers.edu 128.6.18.15 (USA)
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archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 (USA)
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archie.sura.net 128.167.254.179 (USA)
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archie.ans.net 147.225.1.2 (USA)
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archie.au 139.130.4.6 (Australia)
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archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 (European server in Finland)
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archie.sogang.ac.kr 163.239.1.11 (Korea)
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If you do not get mail back within 2 days or so, try using the "path"
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command described below.
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Mail destined for the administration of individual servers should be
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addressed to:
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archie-admin@<archie_server>
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To add or delete a site from the archie database, send mail to:
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archie-admin@bunyip.com
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To contact the implementors of archie, send mail to:
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archie-group@bunyip.com
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For your information anonymous FTP may be performed through the mail by
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various ftp-mail servers. Send a message with the word 'help' in it to:
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For BITNET/EARN sites ONLY:
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bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu
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or (general access):
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ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
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for an explanations on how to use them.
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The "Subject:" in mail sent to archie is treated as part of the message
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body.
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Command lines begin in the first column. All lines that do not match a valid
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commands are ignored.
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Under version 3.0 the email client implements all the non-interactive
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commands and variables of the telnet client. However, interactive
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commands like "pager" are not supported as they don't make much sense in
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the email environment.
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For a complete explanation of the the archie system use the "manpage"
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command to request a copy of the manual page, what follows is a short
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summary of the valid email commands and variables.
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NOTE: The "site" command of earlier versions of archie has been disabled
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under version 3.0 until it can be reimplemented with the new
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architecture of the system.
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Quick and dirty summary
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----------------------
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For those of you who want to get something done now and read the rest of
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this later, send the email to an archie server with the line:
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find <foo>
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(where <foo> is the name of the file you are looking for). You should get
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a message back with results of your search. If you want to be a bit more
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sophisticated, read on....
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Commands
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--------
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In the commands that follow, parameters between '[' and ']' are optional.
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The ellipsis ("...") signifies that the previous parameter can be repeated
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multiple times. A '|' character means "or".
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help [ <topic> [[ <subtopic> ] ...]]
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The "help" command by itself produces this message.
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An optional topic and subtopic(s) may also be given. A
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list of words is considered to be one topic, not a list
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of individual topics. Thus,
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help set maxhits
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requests help on the subtopic 'maxhits' of topic 'set',
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not on two separate topics.
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find <pattern> This command produces a list of files matching the pattern
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<pattern>. The <pattern> may be interpreted as a simple
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substring, a case sensitive substring, an exact string or
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a regular expression, depending on the value of the
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variable search.
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prog <pattern> This is identical to "find" and is included for backward
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compatibility with older versions of the system.
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list [ <pattern> ]
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Produce a list of sites whose contents are contained in
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the archie database. With no argument all the sites are
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listed. If given, the <pattern> argument is interpreted
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as a regular expression (see the archie manual page for
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an explanation of regular expressons) against which to
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match site names: only those names matching are printed.
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The format of the output can be selected through the
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output_format variable (described below).
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Note that the numerical (IP) address associated with a
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site name is valid at the time the site was last updated
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in the archie database, but may have changed subseqently.
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mail <address> Mail the results generated up until this command to
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<address>. This must be a vaid email address.
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manpage [ roff | ascii ]
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Return the archie manual page. The optional arguments
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specify the format of the returned document. "roff"
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specifies UNIX troff (or nroff) format, while ascii
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specifies plain, preformatted ASCII output. With no
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arguments it defaults to ascii.
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motd Re-display the "message of the day", which is normally
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printed at the start of the returned message.
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path <address> Set the return address to <address>. This overrides the
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default path which the system automatically generates by
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looking at the incoming mail header. This is actually an
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alias for "set mailto <address>" (see "Variables" below),
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and is included for backwards compatability.
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servers Display a list of all publicly accessible archie servers
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worldwide. The names of the hosts, their IP addresses and
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geographical locations are listed.
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set <variable> <value>
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Set the specified <variable> to <value>. See "Variables"
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below.
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show [ <variable-name>...]
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Without any parameters, display the status of all the
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user-settable variables, including such information as
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its type (boolean, numeric, string), whether or not it is
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set and its current value (if its type requires a
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value). Otherwise show the status of each of the
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specified arguments. Useful for finding out what the
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default settings at a server are.
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unset <variable>
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Unset the specified <variable>. The subsequent value of
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the variable is defined on a <variable>-specific basis.
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version
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Print the current version of the email interface.
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whatis <substring>
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Search the Software Description Database for the given
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substring, ignoring case. This database consists of
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names and short descriptions of many software packages,
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documents (like RFCs and educational material), and data
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files stored on the Internet.
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Note that this database is currently maintained by hand
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and may not be completely up-to-date.
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Variables
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---------
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The archie email system has 3 types of variables.
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1) Numeric
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----------
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Numeric variables may have preset internal ranges in which the value of
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the variable must lie.
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maxhits Allow the "find" command to generate at most the
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specified number of matches (permissible range: 0-1000)
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max_split_size Approximate maximum size, in bytes, of a file to be mailed
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to the user. Any output larger than this limit will be
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split in pieces of about this size. This can be set by
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the user in the range 1024 to ~2Gb with a default of
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51200 bytes. Some mail gateways will not allow results of
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over 100Kb and so care should be taken when setting this
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limit.
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2) String
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---------
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String variables may have a predefined range of values.
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compress
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The kind of data compression the user can specify when
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mailing back output. Currently allowed values are
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"none" and "compress" (standard UNIX compress program)
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with a default of "none"
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encode The type of post-compression encoding the user can
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specify when mailing back output. Currently allowed
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values are "none" and "uuencode", with a default
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of "none". Note that this variable is ignored unless
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compression is enabled (via the compress) variable.
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language Allows the user to specify the language in which the
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help, etc. is presented. Individual servers may be
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configured for a range of languages.
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mailto A valid address to mail the results back to. This overrides
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the address automatically generated by the archie system
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from the incoming mail header. Setting this variable is
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equivalent to using the "path" command.
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output_format Affects the way the output of "find" and "list" is
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displayed. User settable, with valid values of "machine"
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(machine readable format), "terse" and "verbose", with a
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default of "verbose".
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search The type of search done by the "find" (or "prog") command.
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The list of valid values is given below in order of
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increasing search times. The given search string may
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match a directory or filename in the database.
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exact String has to match exactly (including case)
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subcase Substring match. Case sensitive.
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sub Substring match. Case insensitive.
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regex Regular expression (see ed(1)) search.
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Case sensitive. The archie manual page
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gives examples of regular expressions.
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There are also compound searches made up of combinations
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of the above search methods in sequence:
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exact_sub Try "exact". If no matches found use
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"sub".
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exact_subcase Try "exact". If no matches found use
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"subcase"
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exact_regex Try "exact". If no matches found use
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regex.
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Note: unless specifically anchored to the beginning
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(with ^) or end (with $) of a line, regular expressions
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(effectively) have ``.*'' prepended and appended to them.
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For example, it is not necessary to type
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find .*xnlock.*
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because
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find xnlock
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In this instance, the regex match is equivalent a simple
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substring match which should be used instead.
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server The archie/Prospero server to which the email interface
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connects when "find" or "list" commands are used. Usually
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defaults to "localhost" on most archie systems.
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sortby Set the method of sorting to be applied to output from
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the "find" command.
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The five permitted methods (and their associated reverse
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orders) are:
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none Unsorted (default; no reverse order, though
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'rnone' is accepted)
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filename Sort files/directories by name, using lexical
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order (reverse order: 'rfilename')
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hostname Sort on the archive hostname, in lexical order
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(reverse order: 'rhostname')
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size Sort by size, largest files/directories first
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(reverse order: 'rsize')
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time Sort by modification time, with the most recent
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file/directory names first (reverse order: 'rtime')
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3) Boolean
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----------
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Currently the email interface to the archie system has no variables of
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type "boolean".
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>> help
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Archie Email Help (Version 3.0)
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HELP for the archie email server, as of 10 April, 1993.
|
||
|
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To perform an archie search via email, send mail to
|
||
|
||
archie@<archie_server>
|
||
|
||
Where <archie_server> is the name of an archie host.
|
||
|
||
The current (and complete) list of archie servers can be found with the
|
||
"servers" command (described below). A sample list is:
|
||
|
||
archie.rutgers.edu 128.6.18.15 (USA)
|
||
archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 (USA)
|
||
archie.sura.net 128.167.254.179 (USA)
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||
archie.ans.net 147.225.1.2 (USA)
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||
archie.au 139.130.4.6 (Australia)
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archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 (European server in Finland)
|
||
archie.sogang.ac.kr 163.239.1.11 (Korea)
|
||
|
||
If you do not get mail back within 2 days or so, try using the "path"
|
||
command described below.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mail destined for the administration of individual servers should be
|
||
addressed to:
|
||
|
||
archie-admin@<archie_server>
|
||
|
||
To add or delete a site from the archie database, send mail to:
|
||
|
||
archie-admin@bunyip.com
|
||
|
||
|
||
To contact the implementors of archie, send mail to:
|
||
|
||
archie-group@bunyip.com
|
||
|
||
For your information anonymous FTP may be performed through the mail by
|
||
various ftp-mail servers. Send a message with the word 'help' in it to:
|
||
|
||
For BITNET/EARN sites ONLY:
|
||
|
||
bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu
|
||
|
||
or (general access):
|
||
|
||
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
|
||
|
||
for an explanations on how to use them.
|
||
|
||
The "Subject:" in mail sent to archie is treated as part of the message
|
||
body.
|
||
|
||
Command lines begin in the first column. All lines that do not match a valid
|
||
commands are ignored.
|
||
|
||
Under version 3.0 the email client implements all the non-interactive
|
||
commands and variables of the telnet client. However, interactive
|
||
commands like "pager" are not supported as they don't make much sense in
|
||
the email environment.
|
||
|
||
For a complete explanation of the the archie system use the "manpage"
|
||
command to request a copy of the manual page, what follows is a short
|
||
summary of the valid email commands and variables.
|
||
|
||
NOTE: The "site" command of earlier versions of archie has been disabled
|
||
under version 3.0 until it can be reimplemented with the new
|
||
architecture of the system.
|
||
|
||
Quick and dirty summary
|
||
----------------------
|
||
|
||
For those of you who want to get something done now and read the rest of
|
||
this later, send the email to an archie server with the line:
|
||
|
||
find <foo>
|
||
|
||
(where <foo> is the name of the file you are looking for). You should get
|
||
a message back with results of your search. If you want to be a bit more
|
||
sophisticated, read on....
|
||
|
||
|
||
Commands
|
||
--------
|
||
In the commands that follow, parameters between '[' and ']' are optional.
|
||
The ellipsis ("...") signifies that the previous parameter can be repeated
|
||
multiple times. A '|' character means "or".
|
||
|
||
|
||
help [ <topic> [[ <subtopic> ] ...]]
|
||
|
||
The "help" command by itself produces this message.
|
||
|
||
An optional topic and subtopic(s) may also be given. A
|
||
list of words is considered to be one topic, not a list
|
||
of individual topics. Thus,
|
||
|
||
help set maxhits
|
||
|
||
requests help on the subtopic 'maxhits' of topic 'set',
|
||
not on two separate topics.
|
||
|
||
|
||
find <pattern> This command produces a list of files matching the pattern
|
||
<pattern>. The <pattern> may be interpreted as a simple
|
||
substring, a case sensitive substring, an exact string or
|
||
a regular expression, depending on the value of the
|
||
variable search.
|
||
|
||
prog <pattern> This is identical to "find" and is included for backward
|
||
compatibility with older versions of the system.
|
||
|
||
|
||
list [ <pattern> ]
|
||
|
||
Produce a list of sites whose contents are contained in
|
||
the archie database. With no argument all the sites are
|
||
listed. If given, the <pattern> argument is interpreted
|
||
as a regular expression (see the archie manual page for
|
||
an explanation of regular expressons) against which to
|
||
match site names: only those names matching are printed.
|
||
The format of the output can be selected through the
|
||
output_format variable (described below).
|
||
|
||
Note that the numerical (IP) address associated with a
|
||
site name is valid at the time the site was last updated
|
||
in the archie database, but may have changed subseqently.
|
||
|
||
mail <address> Mail the results generated up until this command to
|
||
<address>. This must be a vaid email address.
|
||
|
||
manpage [ roff | ascii ]
|
||
|
||
Return the archie manual page. The optional arguments
|
||
specify the format of the returned document. "roff"
|
||
specifies UNIX troff (or nroff) format, while ascii
|
||
specifies plain, preformatted ASCII output. With no
|
||
arguments it defaults to ascii.
|
||
|
||
motd Re-display the "message of the day", which is normally
|
||
printed at the start of the returned message.
|
||
|
||
path <address> Set the return address to <address>. This overrides the
|
||
default path which the system automatically generates by
|
||
looking at the incoming mail header. This is actually an
|
||
alias for "set mailto <address>" (see "Variables" below),
|
||
and is included for backwards compatability.
|
||
|
||
servers Display a list of all publicly accessible archie servers
|
||
worldwide. The names of the hosts, their IP addresses and
|
||
geographical locations are listed.
|
||
|
||
set <variable> <value>
|
||
|
||
Set the specified <variable> to <value>. See "Variables"
|
||
below.
|
||
|
||
show [ <variable-name>...]
|
||
|
||
Without any parameters, display the status of all the
|
||
user-settable variables, including such information as
|
||
its type (boolean, numeric, string), whether or not it is
|
||
set and its current value (if its type requires a
|
||
value). Otherwise show the status of each of the
|
||
specified arguments. Useful for finding out what the
|
||
default settings at a server are.
|
||
|
||
unset <variable>
|
||
Unset the specified <variable>. The subsequent value of
|
||
the variable is defined on a <variable>-specific basis.
|
||
|
||
version
|
||
Print the current version of the email interface.
|
||
|
||
whatis <substring>
|
||
|
||
Search the Software Description Database for the given
|
||
substring, ignoring case. This database consists of
|
||
names and short descriptions of many software packages,
|
||
documents (like RFCs and educational material), and data
|
||
files stored on the Internet.
|
||
|
||
Note that this database is currently maintained by hand
|
||
and may not be completely up-to-date.
|
||
|
||
Variables
|
||
---------
|
||
|
||
The archie email system has 3 types of variables.
|
||
|
||
1) Numeric
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
Numeric variables may have preset internal ranges in which the value of
|
||
the variable must lie.
|
||
|
||
|
||
maxhits Allow the "find" command to generate at most the
|
||
specified number of matches (permissible range: 0-1000)
|
||
|
||
max_split_size Approximate maximum size, in bytes, of a file to be mailed
|
||
to the user. Any output larger than this limit will be
|
||
split in pieces of about this size. This can be set by
|
||
the user in the range 1024 to ~2Gb with a default of
|
||
51200 bytes. Some mail gateways will not allow results of
|
||
over 100Kb and so care should be taken when setting this
|
||
limit.
|
||
|
||
2) String
|
||
---------
|
||
|
||
String variables may have a predefined range of values.
|
||
|
||
|
||
compress
|
||
The kind of data compression the user can specify when
|
||
mailing back output. Currently allowed values are
|
||
"none" and "compress" (standard UNIX compress program)
|
||
with a default of "none"
|
||
|
||
encode The type of post-compression encoding the user can
|
||
specify when mailing back output. Currently allowed
|
||
values are "none" and "uuencode", with a default
|
||
of "none". Note that this variable is ignored unless
|
||
compression is enabled (via the compress) variable.
|
||
|
||
language Allows the user to specify the language in which the
|
||
help, etc. is presented. Individual servers may be
|
||
configured for a range of languages.
|
||
|
||
mailto A valid address to mail the results back to. This overrides
|
||
the address automatically generated by the archie system
|
||
from the incoming mail header. Setting this variable is
|
||
equivalent to using the "path" command.
|
||
|
||
output_format Affects the way the output of "find" and "list" is
|
||
displayed. User settable, with valid values of "machine"
|
||
(machine readable format), "terse" and "verbose", with a
|
||
default of "verbose".
|
||
|
||
search The type of search done by the "find" (or "prog") command.
|
||
The list of valid values is given below in order of
|
||
increasing search times. The given search string may
|
||
match a directory or filename in the database.
|
||
|
||
exact String has to match exactly (including case)
|
||
subcase Substring match. Case sensitive.
|
||
sub Substring match. Case insensitive.
|
||
regex Regular expression (see ed(1)) search.
|
||
Case sensitive. The archie manual page
|
||
gives examples of regular expressions.
|
||
|
||
|
||
There are also compound searches made up of combinations
|
||
of the above search methods in sequence:
|
||
|
||
exact_sub Try "exact". If no matches found use
|
||
"sub".
|
||
exact_subcase Try "exact". If no matches found use
|
||
"subcase"
|
||
exact_regex Try "exact". If no matches found use
|
||
regex.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Note: unless specifically anchored to the beginning
|
||
(with ^) or end (with $) of a line, regular expressions
|
||
(effectively) have ``.*'' prepended and appended to them.
|
||
|
||
For example, it is not necessary to type
|
||
|
||
find .*xnlock.*
|
||
|
||
because
|
||
|
||
find xnlock
|
||
|
||
In this instance, the regex match is equivalent a simple
|
||
substring match which should be used instead.
|
||
|
||
server The archie/Prospero server to which the email interface
|
||
connects when "find" or "list" commands are used. Usually
|
||
defaults to "localhost" on most archie systems.
|
||
|
||
sortby Set the method of sorting to be applied to output from
|
||
the "find" command.
|
||
|
||
The five permitted methods (and their associated reverse
|
||
orders) are:
|
||
|
||
none Unsorted (default; no reverse order, though
|
||
'rnone' is accepted)
|
||
|
||
filename Sort files/directories by name, using lexical
|
||
order (reverse order: 'rfilename')
|
||
|
||
hostname Sort on the archive hostname, in lexical order
|
||
(reverse order: 'rhostname')
|
||
|
||
size Sort by size, largest files/directories first
|
||
(reverse order: 'rsize')
|
||
|
||
time Sort by modification time, with the most recent
|
||
file/directory names first (reverse order: 'rtime')
|
||
|
||
|
||
3) Boolean
|
||
----------
|
||
|
||
Currently the email interface to the archie system has no variables of
|
||
type "boolean".
|
||
|