Category : BBS Programs+Doors
Archive   : THDPRO10.ZIP
Filename : NEWINV10

 
Output of file : NEWINV10 contained in archive : THDPRO10.ZIP

***** Please note *****
This file is simply an outline of major changes and does not attempt to
fully explain the options, but rather to simply state their basic purpose. For
information on any of these changes it is highly recommended that you refer to
THDDOC.TXT (or other text files) for more information. This list of changes is
not necessarily complete.
***** End Note *****

ADDITIONS -
-----------

Along with the options added to the 10m beta, this version includes four
major additions. (see HISTORY.DOC for a list of changes made in the 10m beta)

UC2 and RAR support -
The makers of UC2 introduced a version I could use, therefore, support for
this archiver has been added. Somewhat slower than PKZIP (irritatingly so on
my XT) but does give consistently better compression.
I have also added support for RAR. This archiver also gives consistently
better compression (in my tests) than PKZIP, and is faster than UC2 (although
appears not to compress "quite" as well as UC2).
Both products seem to perform admirably and if they continue to do so,
we'll likely see a lot more of them in the future. Conversions to both of
these archive types are supported through the use of TOUC2# and TORAR# (where
"#" represents your conversion level of your choice). Conversions to UC2
format are done with "protection" turned on. Both are done with maximum
compression (the "solid" option of RAR is configurable).

VENDINFO.DIZ support -
A new description format has been accepted by the ASP (Association of
Shareware Professionals). This format is a complex issue which allows
programmers to access a great deal of information about the program for which
it was created.
THD supports this format in a limited capacity, concentrating on
descriptions and some minor program information.
Basically THD ProScan version 10.0 can extract descriptions, and
author/program information from these files for use in the comments and BBS
updates.

SECURE MODE -
Secure mode has been introduced to add a little assurance of the integrity
of your utilities. Basically this option (if active) will monitor the
utilities that THDPRO.EXE makes use of and note any changes to those files. If
a file which is used is altered, THDPRO.EXE will abort operation without using
the affected utility.
There are some disadvantages to using SECURE MODE. Please be sure to read
the documentation before you consider using this option.

DEFAULT AND FALL BACK MODES -
The way THDPRO.EXE handles archives has been changed in the interest of
speed. Archives are now expanded completely (where space exists) prior to any
virus scanning. THDPRO.EXE now...

strips comments
CRC tests the file
expands the file

it then locates imbedded archives and performs the above actions on each
imbedded archive located. It continues this until all archives are expanded or
until it is unable to expand further. (during this expansion a data file is
created for any imbedded archives to allow THDPRO.EXE to re-archive the
expanded files in their original structure [and new format if configured].
This data file will be called THDINFO.###. These files will be virus scanned
as with all other files but will not be present in the finished archive)
If it successfully expands all archives, it will continue on with the virus
scanning and rearchiving (if configured to do so). Processes not outlined here
are still performed in their regular order and have been skipped for brevity.
If the file expansion fails, the THDPRO.EXE will "FALL BACK" to the method
used prior to version 10.0 which consists of processing one archive at a time
(this requires in some cases considerably less space but usually more time).
Files which have been expanded prior to this fall back will not be
re-expanded since they will have already passed testing in the default mode
(these files will however be re-expanded for conversion purposes if so
configured.)

Added the "/LA" (Log All) switch to THDPRO.EXE. If used, this will
cause THDPRO.EXE to complete scanning with all configured virus scanners
prior to reporting any failed scan. This can be used if you wish to log the
output from all of the scanners. Note that logging is not supported for the
SCAN 1.x.x series. This will cause all configured scanners to be used
regardless of any scan failure.

The archive comments are now slightly more configurable in regards to
the actual text which is inserted. This version adds a number of KEYWORDS
which THDPRO.EXE will replace with corresponding information based on
information extracted from the Archives. For a list of the new keywords and
their purpose please see THDDOC.TXT in regards to configurable comments.

CHANGES -
---------

Renaming THDINSTL.EXE to NETINSTL.EXE will help to simplify
installation on networked systems. (This is identical to running
THDINSTL.EXE /NET) Please see THDDOC.TXT in regard to "Network Notes"
for details on this and other network considerations.

The change most likely to cause confusion is in reference to McAfee's
VirusScan. The command line sent by this version by default will be compatible
with the 2.x.x series from McAfee. The 1 series is still supported through the
use of the environment variable THDOPT=SC1. The SC2 variable used in the 10m
beta is not supported since that command line will be used by default with
this and future releases.

The major "CHANGE" has been in the handling of BBS updates. THDPRO.EXE no
longer does the BBS updates internally. Instead it creates a data file for use
by THDPLUS.EXE (the new BBS update utility) or for use by third party
programs.
It was decided that some programmers might improve upon the methods of
interaction if they were given the necessary information without having to
dissect the archive themselves. The TESTINFO.DAT file format is explained in
detail in TESTINFO.INC (a Turbo Pascal include file). Programmers who wish to
design their own THD interface for their BBS can use the information recorded
by THDPRO.EXE in this file to do so.
This also gives those BBS types currently not supported a way to interface
THD ProScan with their BBS without having to wait for myself to program it.

The abandoned directory cleaning process has been improved. THDPRO.EXE
will now remove any of it's abandoned temporary directory structures older
than about 1 hour. Abandoned log entries are now appended on concurrent runs
if they were created 1 hour ago or more. Previously the logs were not always
cleaned and the directory removal could wait as long as two days.

The age/date file limiting process now ignores dates on imbedded
directories when determining if an archive is new enough to process.

Stripping of Comments from "ZIP" archive types is now done by THDPRO.EXE
in the interest of speed. Similar changes to stripping for ARJ has been
decided against given that the archive would need to be rebuilt, and ARJ.EXE
can do that with greater efficiency. Other archive types will all have
comments stripped by their respective archivers.

THDPRO.EXE will no longer complain about "Waiting for another process to
release the file", except in instances where the problem is a sharing
violation. And when it does so, it will also report the name of the file to
which it has been denied access. (Previously this was reported whenever file
access was denied for any reason). Failed file access will be reported to
THDPRO.LOG.

THDOPT=NFL will tell THDPRO.EXE to send the "/NOFLOPPY" switch to
F-PROT.EXE. Use this switch only if F-PROT tells you run with the /NOFLOPPY
parameter.

THDINSTL.EXE has changed the method by which it detects available drives.
The old method was too slow and on occasion could cause some CD-ROM changers
to lock up.


  3 Responses to “Category : BBS Programs+Doors
Archive   : THDPRO10.ZIP
Filename : NEWINV10

  1. Very nice! Thank you for this wonderful archive. I wonder why I found it only now. Long live the BBS file archives!

  2. This is so awesome! 😀 I’d be cool if you could download an entire archive of this at once, though.

  3. But one thing that puzzles me is the “mtswslnkmcjklsdlsbdmMICROSOFT” string. There is an article about it here. It is definitely worth a read: http://www.os2museum.com/wp/mtswslnk/