Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!petunia!news From: cambler@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (Fubar) Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp Subject: Re: Getting MS-DOS to poll in backgroun (was FSUUCP execution) Message-ID: <26f149ac.5159@petunia.CalPoly.EDU> Date: 14 Sep 90 21:20:44 GMT References: <200@srchtec.UUCP> <1990Sep13.113358.13864@news.clarkson.edu> Organization: Fantasy, Incorported: Reality None of Our Business. Lines: 48 ahd@kendra.kew.com (Drew Derbyshire) recently informed us: >Unless you run something like Desqview or Windows, there really isn't a >good background way to this. Nor do a lot of boxes have the horsepower >to run a timing dependent application like a UUCICO program in >background even with the multitasking shell. > >Note: FSUUCP is not my package, I am only commenting because it is a >general problem with DOS applications that run all the time. Chris may >have additional insight, so listen to him. Everybody send me all your money and the pink slip to your porsche. Well, he *did* say to listen to me! :-) Ahem. reality check. Sorry. moral imperative. had to be said. Running fsuucp in the background is not reccomended, really. I have made no provisions for keeping it well-behaved. If you can get it to run under desqview, I'm not surprised, but then if it barfs, I'm not surprised either. If anyone has any specific problems doing this, drop me a line, and I'll see what I can do to help out. As for automated polling, the only 2 ways I can see to do this are either get another package that executes commands at a specific time, or write one yourself. Actually, it's quite trivial to write a time watcher with an exec() or spawn() in it. Some users have fsuucp running under their BBS systems and use the BBS's internal scheduler to run it. FSBBS, for example, has a UNIX flavoured crontab processor. I've heard of other BBS systems which have similar features. (before anyone asks, FSBBS is still in beta). The callin unit has a timer to exit after a specific length of time has elapsed, if that is any help. I added that at the request of a BBS sysop who wanted callin to die after an hour. He wanted a 1 hour window for the system that polled him to call. As for callout, release 5 supports the L.sys time entry for time restricted calling, but does not have an internal timer to sit and wait until a specific time to call. This may be remedied. -- ++Christopher(); --- cambler@polyslo.calpoly.edu --- chris@fubarsys.slo.ca.us --- Ever get the feeling that there is someone out there who understands you completely?