LibServ version 2.0 by Evan Johnson
for Asphyxiated Rooster Software
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CONTENTS

I. Liabilities and so forth ...
II. How to use LibServ
III. How to contact the author
IV. The Digital Land BBS
V. Version history
VI. Registration (PLEASE READ)

Liabilities and so forth ...

Asphyxiated Rooster Software assumes no liability for any events of
any kind, good or bad, stemming from the use of LibServ. We will
not be held responsible for any overdue fines caused by negligence
in the use of LibServ.

So there.

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HOW TO USE LIBSERV

Installation of LibServ is pretty easy. Copy all three
executable files included (BOOKS.EXE, CHECKLIB.EXE, LISTBOOK.EXE)
to the root directory or a directory included in your path. Then
add the line

checklib

to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, at the point where you want the result
of your searches to appear in your computer's startup.

To use LibServ, type "books" at any prompt (so long as the
file BOOKS.EXE is in a directory in your path). You will be
presented with a screen for data entry.

First, you are asked to choose a label for your current batch.
Seeing as though I see this feature as often not very useful, you can
just hit Enter and LibServ will stick a label of "Books" on it. While
this is not very descriptive, I find it just generic enough. Of course,
if you wanted descriptive, you would have entered it yourself.

Then you are asked to enter the month, date, and year of the due
date in numerical format. BE SURE TO USE ONLY THE LAST TWO DIGITS OF
THE YEAR. If you don't do this, LibServ will be checking the current
year of "94" against your entered "1994" and, of course, the day will
never come (until 191994, that is) when your books will come up as due.

This grueling process over, you must enter the actual book names.
My family uses a system wherein a little label is affixed to a book
name to show whose it is and of what type, so the book "Foobar Comes
to Washington" would be "Foobar Comes Wash. -- EvP" assuming it was
mine, and it was paperback. No support is provided for this in LibServ;
if you insist, just tab over and yell at me.

OK, now you've entered your books into the database. Now all you
have to do is turn on your computer once in a while, because when you
do, LibServ Part #2 checks if your entered books are due yet. If so,
it'll beep and tell you so. For all nondue batches in the file, it'll
report a "You have no books due anytime soon." It is important that
you remember that message only applies to the current batch; you may
see a message:

You have books (label "Foo") due in 3 days.
Type "listbooks" to view titles.
You have no books due anytime soon.
You have no books due anytime soon.
:
:

Now, assuming you follow directions well, you've typed "listbooks" at the
command prompt. Of course, as any DOS guy worth his salt well knows, the
actual program name is LISTBOOK, not LISTBOOKS, but DOS doesn't care and
I find it easier to remember.

When you type "listbooks," you will see a list of books that are
due in less than 5 days. Simple as that.

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HOW TO CONTACT THE AUTHOR

Evan Johnson (aka asphyxiated rooster) may be contacted at any of the
following places, in order of preference:

[email protected] (Internet)
WWiVNet: [email protected]
#2 on the Digital Land BBS (see below)
[email protected] (Internet)

Or, if you're really behind on the times:

Asphyxiated Rooster Software
c/o Evan Johnson
5800 Deal Place
Chevy Chase, MD 20815

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THE DIGITAL LAND BBS

When you're done toying with LibServ, have a crack at the Digital Land
BBS, world headquarters for AR/Soft. Not only will you find the latest
AR/Soft releases, including beta versions, but there are also a wealth
of other files and dozens of message bases filled with intelligent
conversation. Quickly becoming one of the best BBSes in the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area.

Info:

The Digital Land BBS
(301) 718-8491
Software: WWiV version 4.23
Sysop: Technicolor Dreamer (also the AR/Soft Vice President)
Remote: asphyxiated rooster (who else?)
CoSysops: LordOptic (also an AR/Soft staff programmer)
Jenetic Bytemare (only uninvolved member of management)
Starting date: Jan. 5, 1994 (the first new BBS in Maryland for 1994!)

Call today. Of course, I have a vested interest in this...

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VERSION HISTORY

1.0 Uh, yeah. Not officially released. Shot to heck with bugs.
Disgrace to the AR/Soft name.

1.1 Showed my father (who hired me to do this), who offhandedly
commented that he wanted it to be able to handle more than
one load at a time. Why didn't I think of that?

2.0 OK, fine, Dad. Here you go. Only problem is, it crashes
on every computer in the house.

2.0 Hallelujah! Bug fixes galore, a little cleaner LISTBOOKS,
and so on to glory. You are witnessing it as we, uh, write
and read, respectively.

2.1 Who knows? Please feel free to mail me your suggestions
3.0 at any locations listed in the "How to Contact the Author"
: section. Without your comments, LibServ will stagnate and
: eventually be left behind by myself and LordOptic (and don't
: forget Technicolor Dreamer, either).

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REGISTRATION INFO (PLEASE READ)

OK, now the sticky stuff. I've considered this for awhile,
constantly barraged by LordOptic's little hackerish whinings about
how everyone's information should be free, including your and my
credit information. I don't know if it's LordOptic on the brain
or what, but I have decided to release LibServ into the public
domain. Therefore, THIS IS FREE SOFTWARE. However, I am still
dubious as to the wisdom of this idea, so if you were to send
a little money (no more than $10 is expected of you), I might
be a little more inclined to make future AR/Soft products public
domain as well.

How to show your kindness:

Send cash if you really really want to, but there's a chance it
won't get to me, and then I'd never know how much of a saint you
are. So, I'd rather if you made out a check to Evan Johnson and
sent it along to the following, slightly modified address:

AR/Soft Registration
c/o Evan Johnson
5800 Deal Place
Chevy Chase, MD 20815.

Thanks alot, and remember, if you don't pay a little now out of the
goodness of your heart, you'll have to pay more later out of the
emptiness of your wallet. Thank you.

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All of the source code to LibServ and this documentation is Copyright
(C) 1994 by Asphyxiated Rooster Software, All Rights Reserved. I don't
really care if you distribute this software (in fact, please do), but
just don't try to pass it off as your own.