Category : BBS Programs+Doors
Archive   : WGT109A.ZIP
Filename : WWIVGATE.DOC

Welcome to WWIVgate version 1.09.

This program was written by Kevin Carpenter after spending many hours
trying to get NETSEX to work. Given the scism that occured after NETSEX
version 2.00 was released, and the resulting lack of support for either
version 1 or 2, I felt it was time to create a supported replacement.

My main design criteria was to keep configuration simple. Thus, many
decisions are currently made by the code itself. If I receive enhancement
requests indicating a desire to override some of those decisions, I'll
add that capability via the configuration file.

Miscellaneous tidbits about WWIVgate:

1) Its Shareware! I wanted to deliver a fully functional product, but
multiple Shareware authors warned me that registration rates would be
very low. So, with disgust, I seriously considered crippling the mail
feature. Instead, a friend suggested I just add an annoying message
that goes away when the program is registered. I liked the idea and
added a 30 second, noisy delay to the execution of the program when it
detects that it is running unregistered. That proved so annoying that
some folks gave up before they got started... So I reduced it to 10
seconds.

The registration is $15 (send to the address below), which should not be a
very large burden for anybody supporting multiple networks. I'm not going
to make any great claims about providing anyone lifetime updates or
any such stuff, but I will notify all registered folks of any updates
I make available, probably by WWIVnet, maybe FIDOnet e-mail (my NC views
this as commercial use of FIDOnet and frowns upon the activity).

I do not plan on making the source code available, although you are
welcome to try and change my mind.

2) The latest versions of the program will be FREQable from my board
(FIDOnet address 1:100/215 special name WWIVGATE) or downloadable from
the guest account on my BBS (WWIVnet node 3469 at 1-314-739-0571,
Name "Guest", Password "Guest", Phone "1111").

Another board that serves as a distribution site for me is "The Trading
Post [South]" WWIVnet 8315 - FIDOnet node 1:376/126. His BBS number is
1-803-731-0690.

3) As of this writing (09/08/92) WWIVgate has been tested with WWIV 4.21a
and FrontDoor 2.02nc. WWIVgate has been designed to use the multi-net
features of WWIV4.21a and will NOT work with previous releases.

4) What it does: Basically, all WWIVgate does is import messages from
FIDOnet message folders into WWIV subs, and exports messages from WWIV subs
to FIDOnet message folders. You will still need a tosser/packer like
Squish, and a mailer package like FrontDoor.

In more detail: WWIVgate opens the WWIV CONFIG.DAT, NETWORKS.DAT, SUBS.DAT,
USER.LST (if needed), and its own configuration file WWIVGATE.DAT to
determine where things are, what people's real names are (for FIDOnet which
tends to use real names, not handles), what you want it to do, and validation
of statements in its configuration file (subs you specified exist, etc.).
Like NETSEX, the WWIVgate setup uses a fake WWIVnet number to convince WWIV
to create an output packet of the form S3469.NET. WWIVgate will search for
such a file, parse it, and create output MSG files in the appropriate
FIDOnet message folders. Next time you run your packer (like right after
you run WWIVgate!), these messages will be transported out onto FIDOnet.
After processing the WWIV S.NET packet, WWIVgate will
scan all of the configured FIDOnet message folders for new messages to
import into WWIV. As it finds appropriate messages, it will parse them
and create a P1.NET file for later external processing. Along the way,
WWIVgate does a few things like process the RE: and BY: fields in WWIVnet
messages, strips WWIV color codes and high-ASCII characters, translates
users handles to their real names, appends the FIDOnet address of any
incomming message to the originators name (which makes it easier to
auto-reply to them!) and of course strips it back off on outgoing messages,
etc.

5) WWIVgate handles incomming FIDOnet echos and mail, and outgoing WWIVnet
subs, replys, and auto-replys. (Mail and auto-replys are only supported
when the program is registered.)

6) At this point in time, WWIVgate should allow a WWIVnet Sysop to gate
FIDOnet echos onto WWIVnet for other Sysops. All that is required is that
the local sysop add other WWIVnet boards to the N*.NET files they create
for WWIVgate. Since WWIV will handle sending all new messages out, WWIVgate
really isn't involved. Please make sure you follow any FIDOnet conventions
(like getting the Echo Coordinators approval) before you gate any echos
to WWIVnet. Note that this "feature" has not been tested by the author
as of this writing.

7) WWIVgate provides independance from 3rd parties like the WWIVnet
FIDOnet coordinator (currently WWIVnet 1@5315). Although it might be
proper to let the FIDOnet coordinator know what you are doing, it is
not required for proper WWIVgate operation. The only person who needs
to know your "Fake" FIDOnet number is you and your BBS.

8) WWIVgate assume you want all specified echos to end up in WWIV. As
such, when it is done processing an incomming *.MSG file, it will remove
it from the FIDOnet message folder.

9) Two FIDOnet "mailers" are currently supported: Qmail and Squish. It
would be easy to add more, I just don't know any others signatures.

10) You may run a echo folder both from WWIV and your FIDOnet frontend as
long as the frontend marks newly created messages with the LOCAL attribute.
These messages will not, however, be ported into WWIV.

11) To e-mail a person on FIDOnet from WWIV, use the format:

KEVIN CARPENTER (1:100/215) @656

Where you obviously substitute in the name and address of the person you
are trying to e-mail. The 656 should be replaced with your fake FIDOnet
node number. (You could use your real WWIVnet node number here as well,
WWIVgate will not care for local generation of message destined for FIDOnet).

As of version 1.00N/Beta, the NETSex format of:

KEVIN CARPENTER OF (1:100/215) @656

Should also work.

Note that this syntax is assuming YOU are trying to e-mail

12) WWIVgate assumes that the first two fields of the WWIV User Record
are User Handle and User Real Name, and that the length of those fields
have not be modified in your WWIV VARDEC.H file. Furthermore, the User
Record must not exceed 2048 bytes in length.

13) Since all FIDOnet mailers may not create the special MSGID field,
some incomming mail may not be replyable to. Without the MSGID, or an
Origin Line (Required for Echomail, not common on normal mail), WWIVgate
simply doesn't know which address to reply to. In this case, instead of
a normal From line (like "Kevin Carpenter (1:100/215)"), you will see a
line of the form "Kevin Carpenter (FIDONET)". If anybody knows how to
get around this one, please let me know. One of the users of WWIVgate
reports that D'Bridge users seem to cause the condition repeatedly. Oh,
I did finally realize that the INTL field also provides this infomation.
Version 1.01a and later utilize that field as well.

Ok, onto the setup (Basic Install):

A) Go into INIT and use the N command to create a network called "FIDOnet".
(caseing is not important, the name is!). Specify an appropriate directory
like c:\bbs\fido. Specify your "Fake" FIDOnet node number. By convention,
699 is used for testing.

B) Go into WWIV and create message subs (via //BOARDEDIT or the WFC) to
hold your gated FIDOnet echos. When prompted, specify that its a FIDOnet
sub. I used subtypes of [1-n] (like 1656, 2656, etc.).

C) Go into the directory specified in INIT and create a N*.NET file for
each of your subs defined in the previous step. The only board required
in the file is your WWIVnet node. ie. N1656.NET contains the line: 3469.

D) Create a WWIVGATE.DAT file (using the sample if you so desire) that
provides your real FIDOnet address, and specifies the FIDOnet message
folders that map to the subtypes you created.

E) Create a fake WWIVnet like network in the directory specified in INIT.
All that is required is a two node network. Files that need to be edited
include BBSLIST.2, CONNECT.2, and CALLOUT.NET. Once edited, go to your
main WWIV directory, type "set wwiv_net=1", "network3 y", and "set wwiv_net=".
(substitute the network number created in step A, less 1, if you already
have other multi-net networks defined). Go into your BBS and read your
mail - you should have a message about your newly created WWIV FIDOnet.
If network3 dies, or the feedback message indicates a problem, you goofed
up. Look at the samples again and fix your problem.

F) Place WWIVGATE.EXE and WWIVGATE.DAT in your main WWIV directory.
Modify your mailer to invoke WWIVgate and to invoke network1 and network2.
(See the included FRNTDOOR.BAT for an example. That file is what the
author is running as of this writing).

G) If you have modified your WWIV User Record, compile and run the
included file CHKLEN.C. WWIVgate defaults to a WWIV User Record length
of 832 bytes - which is standard for the 64 subs version of WWIV. If
you have a different length User Record, you will need to add the statement
User_rec_len = xxx in your WWIVGATE.DAT file (of course, substitute your
real length per CHKLEN.C for the xxx).

H) Add your FIDOnet "fake" number to your WWIVnet CALLOUT.NET. My callout.net
looks like this: (my 1021 password has obviously been changed)

@656 & + ""
@1021 & ^ (7 )22 ; "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

I) Send in your registration fee to the address below!

Advanced Features (Optional)

For those of you who support multiple FIDOnet networks, WWIVgate is
"Zone Aware". To ease your lives, I've added the following features:

a) An optional Origin Line override so that you can have different origin
lines for each network. Simply code in your origin line into the
configuration file WWIVGATE.DAT. WWIVgate will recognise it and substitute
it for the standard one normally generated.

b) The configuration file may be stored in the WWIV network directory
associated with each FIDOnet network you wish to process. Make sure you
do NOT have a WWIVGATE.DAT in the same directory as WWIVGATE.EXE or it
will use that one instead (that made testing a whole lot easier for me!).

c) You may specify the either the WWIV INIT defined network number or
name as an optional command line parameter to WWIVgate. WWIVgate defaults
to searching for a network named "FIDOnet". It is case insensitive. If
you wish to support multiple FIDOnet networks, this really isn't optional...
For clarity sake, numbers start at 1, just like in INIT, not like the
wwiv_net environment variable which starts at 0.

d) If you are gateing to a FIDOnet compatible network that allows user
aliases, you may add the configuration record "alias_ok" to your WWIVgate.DAT
file. This will allow your WWIV user alias names to be passed through to
your FIDOnet compatibel network. Note that you should NOT do this is you
are connected to THE FIDOnet. They do not allow aliases...

e) If you are not on WWIVnet, but rather one of the other compatible networks,
you will need to specify the configuration record "WWIVnet_name = xxx", where
xxx is your network name defined via INIT (WWIVlink, ICEnet, etc.). An
alternative is to set the WWIV_Net environment variable to point to your
compatible network name.


Please read the file WWIVGATE.HIS for a short description of the latest
fixes.

Please feel free to contact me if you need assistance.

Kevin Carpenter
c/o Kevin's Place BBS
#37 Grand Circle Dr.
St. Ann, Mo. 63074
WWIVnet address: 1@3469
FIDOnet address: 1:100/215