Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!ctrsol!ginosko!uunet!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: Porting C News to MS-DOS?
Message-ID: <5360@ficc.uu.net>
Date: 30 Jul 89 00:27:41 GMT
References: <1143@mailrus.cc.umich.edu> <1989Jul28.232622.1036@servalan.uucp>
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
Lines: 32

In article <1989Jul28.232622.1036@servalan.uucp>, rmtodd@servalan.uucp (Richard Todd) writes:
> Probably the 
> nastiest one to deal with is link().

You could look at the VMS code in B news. Instead of creating a link it creates
a file containing the name of the file to link to... a symbolic link.

>    Another problem I noticed, but never figured out a solution to, is this:
> On Unix time values are stored in a very simple format [ms-dos ones aren't]

The solution I have come up with for this one is to convert dates to UNIX format
in the library.

> message handlers, etc.) is done as shell scripts.  While on a Unix system
> this is really cool, as shell scripts are easy to modify, on a DOS system
> you've got to somehow translate the shell scripts into C programs.  

There is a PD version of the UNIX shell available, under the name ASH. You
could try converting that. Backgrounding tasks would be impossible, as would
concurrent pipelines, but you should be able to get a lot of the functionality.

> a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.  If you want to have
> your own netnews site, save your pennies and get yourself a real Unix box.

Or get an Amiga. Porting UNIX code to the Amiga would be easier than porting
it to a PC, because it has much more of an operating system (complete with
real pipes). Or you can port News to MINIX.
-- 
Peter da Silva, Xenix Support, Ferranti International Controls Corporation.
Business: peter@ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180. | "...helping make the world
Personal: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com.   `-_-' |  a quote-free zone..."
Quote: Have you hugged your wolf today?  'U`  |    -- hjm@cernvax.cern.ch