Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!nuchat!sugar!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.UUCP (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix Subject: Re: WRONG! Summary: Now now, keep your pants on. Keywords: xbbs reply Message-ID: <939@ficc.UUCP> Date: 16 Jun 88 14:25:24 GMT References: <208@turnkey.TCC.COM> <837@.UUCP> <51@stanton.TCC.COM> Organization: SCADA Lines: 89 Let's see if we can avoid the flames, boys and girls... In article ... donegan@stanton.TCC.COM (Steven P. Donegan) writes: > In article <837@.UUCP>, peter@ficc.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (that's me) writes: > > > Someone wrote: > > > > 3) The message base, file handling, and bulletins (motd and others) > > > > use non-standard layouts and fixed length record formats. > > Someone else (presumably the author of xbbs) replied with a flip > > response to the effect: > > > They are MY format; therefore they are standard for xbbs! > So I took it upon myself to point out: > > Fixed length record files are very rarely appropriate for a UNIX system. > > Certainly a low-performance application like a BBS doesn't need them. > > The downside obvious: you can't use an editor on them... > Gosh Peter (FLAMES ON), I have been using vi on my XBBS bulletins, control > files and motd's for ages. You tell me that it's obvious that I can't do > what I've been doing for about 2 years? And the message base? Now then, I haven't used xbbs myself: my own unix based BBS is quite good enough for my purposes. However, based on the statements above it's not unreasonable to assume that "the message base, file handling, ... [of xbbs] use ... fixed length record formats". The author of the program didn't deny that, so I assumed that it was true. I thought it worthwhile to point out that fixed length record files have certain disadvantages. Now then, based on *your* reply I must assume that at least the bulletins, control files, and motds are not a fixed record format. You didn't mention the message base and (I presume) user files and mailboxes, so might I assume that these are really fixed-length record files? OK, let's go on... > I am getting rather sick of the totally unfounded and obviously uninformed > comments of quite a few different individuals on Sandy's XBBS system. Most > downside comments I've seen here so far prove that the individuals making > the comments have never actually installed/operated/managed an XBBS system. No, but I have installed, operated, and managed several other BBS systems of my own and others devising. I have used systems (and to my shame written one) that have fixed length record files, as well as systems that use standard UNIX-style text files. I must say that it was *much* more pleasant to work on the latter. > I also take exception to the 'low-performance application' comment. XBBS is > a very efficient, fast, responsive system that hides system load well. Users > of the XBBS system note very little response degradation on a heavily loaded > system, much less than a shell user on the same system. A bulletin board is a low performance application. It does not require fast response time, nor does it require a lot of number crunching. In general, a bulletin board system is limited by the physical I/O speed of the disk drives more than anything else -- including parsing message headers and responding to keystrokes. You might very well have a fast bulletin board, but I really doubt that fixed-length record files should be given the credit. > Come on folks, before flaming someones efforts to provide FREE software of > any variety at least: Here is where I would definitely flame on if I were the type to do so. I did not flame the author of XBBS. I merely pointed out a well-established fact about unix-based systems, to wit that all the tools are oriented towards text files. > Try it before bitching. I have. > Bitch constructively. I though I was. > Make sure of your FACTS. No-one can ever be 100% sure of their facts. One can only operate on the best information available to them. The best information I have, based on messages from the author of the software, among other people, is that it does not use text files to store user messages. I believe this is a mistake. I have explained why. Next time, before flaming, go check out news.announce.newusers. -- -- Peter da Silva, Ferranti International Controls Corporation. -- Phone: 713-274-5180. Remote UUCP: hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter.