Article View: news.admin.misc
Article #204Changes to USENET Software: History and Sources
From: Gene Spafford
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 05:02
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 05:02
335 lines
17165 bytes
17165 bytes
Archive-name: usenet-software/diff1 Original from: spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford) Comment: edited until 5/93 by spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford) Last-change: 25 Apr 1993 by spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford) *** old/software.n Mon Feb 1 00:47:40 1993 --- ./src/software.n Sun Apr 25 23:15:51 1993 *************** *** 5,7 **** Original from: spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford) ! Last-change: 31 Jan 1993 by spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford) --- 5,8 ---- Original from: spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford) ! Comment: edited until 5/93 by spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford) ! Last-change: 25 Apr 1993 by spaf@purdue (Gene Spafford) *************** *** 21,22 **** --- 22,30 ---- + The material contained in this post is probably not 100% up-to-date. + Many of the software packages described in this posting are undergoing + constant development, and it is not always possible to know when new + releases have been made. Should you discover that information in this + post has been superseded by a new release, please send mail to the + poster of this article with the corrected information. + History *************** *** 60,65 **** by a number of people, including Rick Adams, and is unlikely to be ! upgraded further; most new UUCP sites are using C News (see next ! paragraph). ! A new version of news, known as C News, was developed at the University of Toronto by Geoff Collyer and Henry Spencer. This --- 68,98 ---- by a number of people, including Rick Adams, and is unlikely to be ! upgraded further; most new UUCP sites are using C News or INN (see ! next paragraphs). ! In March 1986 a package was released implementing news transmission, ! posting, and reading using the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) ! (as specified in RFC 977). This protocol allows hosts to exchange ! articles via TCP/IP connections rather than using the traditional ! uucp. It also permits users to read and post news (using a modified ! news user agent) from machines which cannot or choose not to install ! the USENET news software. Reading and posting are done using TCP/IP ! messages to a server host which does run the USENET software. Sites ! which have many workstations like the Sun and SGI, and HP products ! find this a convenient way to allow workstation users to read news ! without having to store articles on each system. Many of the Usenet ! hosts that are also on the Internet exchange news articles using NNTP ! because the load impact of NNTP is much lower than uucp (and NNTP ! ensures much faster propagation). ! ! NNTP grew out of independent work in 1984-1985 by Brian Kantor at U. ! C. San Diego and Phil Lapsley at U. C. Berkeley. NNTP includes ! support for System V UNIX with Excelan Ethernet cards and DECNET under ! Ultrix. NNTP was developed at U. C. Berkeley by Phil Lapsley with ! help from Erik Fair, Steven Grady, and Mike Meyer, among others. The ! NNTP package was distributed on the 4.3BSD release tape (although that ! was version 1.2a and out-of-date) and is also available from the ! various authors, many major hosts, and by anonymous FTP from ! lib.tmc.edu, mthvax.cs.miami.edu and ftp.uu.net. ! ! One new version of news, known as C News, was developed at the University of Toronto by Geoff Collyer and Henry Spencer. This *************** *** 71,73 **** Winter 1987 Usenix Technical Conference proceedings. The most recent ! version of C News is the 2 May 1992 "performance release." C News can be obtained from its official archive site, cs.toronto.edu, using FTP. --- 104,106 ---- Winter 1987 Usenix Technical Conference proceedings. The most recent ! version of C News is the 20 Feb 1993 "performance release." C News can be obtained from its official archive site, cs.toronto.edu, using FTP. *************** *** 87,89 **** ANU-NEWS is news package written by Geoff Huston of Australia for VMS ! systems. ANU-NEWS is complete news system that allows reading, posting, direct replies, moderated newsgroups, etc. in a fashion --- 120,122 ---- ANU-NEWS is news package written by Geoff Huston of Australia for VMS ! systems. ANU-NEWS is a complete news system that allows reading, posting, direct replies, moderated newsgroups, etc. in a fashion *************** *** 105,108 **** iraun1.ira.uka.de, info.rz.uni-ulm.de, and ftp.spc.edu (contact Bernd ! Onasch <onasch@ira.uka.de> for details). A port of C News for the Commodore Amiga under AmigaDOS (NOT Unix), is --- 138,148 ---- iraun1.ira.uka.de, info.rz.uni-ulm.de, and ftp.spc.edu (contact Bernd ! Onasch <uranus@pilhuhn.ka.sub.org> for details). + Reader NNTP clients for VMS are also available, including VMS/VNEWS + (current release 1.4) and an upcoming reader only version of ANU-NEWS. + VMS/VNEWS is available via anonymous ftp from arizona.edu (contact + jms@arizona.edu for more information) or at any site which archives + vmsnet.source. Although the current release of ANU-NEWS is usable as + a reader it can be difficult when used with a UNIX server. + A port of C News for the Commodore Amiga under AmigaDOS (NOT Unix), is *************** *** 130,132 **** full-screen display with direct positioning, but it includes many ! other useful features and is very popular with many regular net readers. The interface includes reading, discarding, and/or --- 170,172 ---- full-screen display with direct positioning, but it includes many ! other useful features and has been very popular with many regular net readers. The interface includes reading, discarding, and/or *************** *** 134,139 **** ability of the user to develop customized macros for display and ! keyboard interaction. "rn" is currently at release 4.4. It is being ! maintained by Stan Barber of the Baylor College of Medicine. "rn" is ! not provided with the standard news software release, but is very ! widely available because of its popularity. The software can be obtained from its official archive site, lib.tmc.edu, using FTP, and --- 174,179 ---- ability of the user to develop customized macros for display and ! keyboard interaction. "rn" is currently at release 4.4.3. It is ! being maintained by Stan Barber of the Baylor College of Medicine. ! "rn" is not provided with the standard news software release, but is ! very widely available because of its popularity. The software can be obtained from its official archive site, lib.tmc.edu, using FTP, and *************** *** 142,144 **** A variant of "rn" is "trn" by Wayne Davison. Trn adds the ability to ! follow "threads of discussions" in newsgroups; its latest version 2.2 is based on rn 4.4. It uses a Reference-line database to allow the --- 182,184 ---- A variant of "rn" is "trn" by Wayne Davison. Trn adds the ability to ! follow "threads of discussions" in newsgroups; its latest version 2.5 is based on rn 4.4. It uses a Reference-line database to allow the *************** *** 181,183 **** So up to 110% of your news spool is the amount of space news and the ! nn database will take.) The current version of nn is 6.4.16. nn can be obtained via anonymous FTP from dkuug.dk, uop.uop.edu, or various --- 221,223 ---- So up to 110% of your news spool is the amount of space news and the ! nn database will take.) The current version of nn is 6.4.18. nn can be obtained via anonymous FTP from dkuug.dk, uop.uop.edu, or various *************** *** 191,193 **** available from Iain Lea (iain%anl433.uucp@Germany.EU.net). The current ! release of tin is 1.1 PL6. Tin is based more on the Notes and tass systems than "rn". There is an extensive list of features, including --- 231,233 ---- available from Iain Lea (iain%anl433.uucp@Germany.EU.net). The current ! release of tin is 1.1 PL19. Tin is based more on the Notes and tass systems than "rn". There is an extensive list of features, including *************** *** 195,229 **** - In March 1986 a package was released implementing news transmission, - posting, and reading using the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) - (as specified in RFC 977). This protocol allows hosts to exchange - articles via TCP/IP connections rather than using the traditional - uucp. It also permits users to read and post news (using a modified - version of "rn" or other user agents) from machines which cannot or - choose not to install the USENET news software. Reading and posting - are done using TCP/IP messages to a server host which does run the - USENET software. Sites which have many workstations like the Sun and - Apollo products find this a convenient way to allow workstation users - to read news without having to store articles on each system. Many of - the Usenet hosts that are also on the Internet exchange news articles - using NNTP because the load impact of NNTP is much lower than uucp - (and NNTP ensures much faster propagation). - - NNTP grew out of independent work in 1984-1985 by Brian Kantor at U. - C. San Diego and Phil Lapsley at U. C. Berkeley. It is now in - release 1.5.11 dated 11 february 1991, with the next planned release - at 1.6. NNTP includes support for System V UNIX with Excelan Ethernet - cards and DECNET under Ultrix. NNTP was developed at U. C. Berkeley - by Phil Lapsley with help from Erik Fair, Steven Grady, and Mike - Meyer, among others. The NNTP package is distributed on the 4.3BSD - release tape (although that is version 1.2a and out-of-date) and is - also available from the various authors, many major hosts, and by - anonymous FTP from lib.tmc.edu, mthvax.cs.miami.edu and ftp.uu.net. - - Reader NNTP clients for VMS are also available, including VMS/VNEWS - (current release 1.4) and an upcoming reader only version of ANU-NEWS. - VMS/VNEWS is available via anonymous ftp from arizona.edu (contact - jms@arizona.edu for more information) or at any site which archives - vmsnet.source. Although the current release of ANU-NEWS is usable as - a reader it can be difficult when used with a UNIX server. - An NNTP newsreader for Macintoshs is available called HyperNews. It --- 235,236 ---- *************** *** 231,233 **** available from many Mac archives, including ftp.apple.com and ! sumex-aim.stanford.edu --- 238,243 ---- available from many Mac archives, including ftp.apple.com and ! sumex-aim.stanford.edu. A newsreader preferred by many Macintosh ! users is NewsWatcher, currently maintained by a group headed (defacto) ! by j-norstad@nwu.edu (John Norstad). The current version is 1.3d6 and ! is available in ftp.acns.nwu.edu:/pub/newswatcher. *************** *** 264,267 **** ! Details on RN, a newsreader for systems running "Waffle", may be ! obtained by sending mail to kafka@desert.hacktic.nl. --- 274,280 ---- ! Details on several newsreaders for systems running "Waffle" may be ! found in the FAQ posted to the comp.bbs.waffle newsgroup on a regular ! basis. At least 3 different readers are available, and all can be ! obtained via ftp and mailserver from halcyon.com (look in ! /pub/waffle/news). *************** *** 300,302 **** [129.69.1.12] in the directory ! soft/kommunikation/news/beginner/software/vm-cms/*. --- 313,315 ---- [129.69.1.12] in the directory ! soft/comm/news/beginner/software/vm-cms/*. *************** *** 307,309 **** ftp.uni-stuttgart.de under the directory ! /soft/kommunikation/news/beginner/software/nnmvs. The current release is Version 2 Release 3 Modification Level 1 (in pseudo-IBM parlance). --- 320,322 ---- ftp.uni-stuttgart.de under the directory ! /soft/comm/news/beginner/software/nnmvs. The current release is Version 2 Release 3 Modification Level 1 (in pseudo-IBM parlance). *************** *** 313,353 **** ------------------------------------------------ ! Users of these systems may note problems in their interactions with the ! Usenet. In particular, postings may be made by "notes" users to ! moderated groups but they will not usually propagate throughout the ! entire Usenet. The same may happen to users of old B news software. ! The "notes" software package uses a different internal organization of ! articles, and a different interchange format than that of the standard ! Usenet software. It was inspired by the notesfiles available in the ! PLATO system and was developed independently from the Usenet news. ! Eventually, the "notes" network and Usenet were joined via gateways ! doing (sometimes imperfect) protocol translation. The interface for ! "notes" is similar to "rn" but implements different features, many of ! which are dictated by its internal organization. "notes" was written ! in 1980-1981 by Ray Essick and Rob Kolstad, (then) grad students at ! the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The first public ! release of "notes" was at the January 1982 Usenix conference. The ! last release of notes was version 1.7; it is no longer being ! actively maintained. - Users of "notes" or old B news software wishing to post to moderated - groups should either mail their submissions to the moderator, as - listed in the monthly posting of "List of Moderators" in the group - "news.lists", or else they should post from a system running - up-to-date news software (i.e., C news or INN). "notes" users may - obtain some patches from the comp.sources.unix archives which enable - the most recent versions of "notes" to interact with moderated groups - properly. - Users of old B news and "notes" are also not able to take advantage of - some other current B news features, such as the "checkgroups" message. - "notes" continues to be a "foreign" system and B news versions are - considered "obsolete." The various maintainers of the Usenet software - have never expressed any commitment to maintain backwards - compatibility with "foreign" or obsolete news systems and are unlikely - to do so; it is the responsibility of the users to maintain - compatibility of such software if they wish to continue to interact - with the Usenet. - - Software versions & availability --- 326,348 ---- ------------------------------------------------ ! Many years ago, there was another distributed "news" system called ! "notes". The "notes" software package used a different internal ! organization of articles, and a different interchange format than that ! of the standard Usenet software. It was inspired by the notesfiles ! available in the PLATO system and was developed independently from the ! Usenet news. Eventually, the "notes" network and Usenet were joined ! via gateways doing (sometimes imperfect) protocol translation. ! "notes" was written in 1980-1981 by Ray Essick and Rob Kolstad, (then) ! grad students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The ! first public release of "notes" was at the January 1982 Usenix ! conference. The last release of notes was version 1.7; it is no ! longer being actively maintained. ! "B" news software is currently considered obsolete. Unix sites ! joining the Usenet should install C news or INN to ensure proper ! behavior and good performance. Most old B news software had ! compiled-in limits on the number of newsgroups and the number of ! articles per newsgroup; the increasing volume of news means that B ! news software cannot reliably cope with a moderately-full newsfeed. Software versions & availability *************** *** 367,369 **** munnari kre@munnari.oz.au ! osu-cis postmaster@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu philabs usenet@philabs.philips.com --- 362,364 ---- munnari kre@munnari.oz.au ! osu-cis postmaster@cis.ohio-state.edu philabs usenet@philabs.philips.com *************** *** 373,374 **** --- 368,370 ---- watmath usenet@watmath.waterloo.edu + uunet info@uunet.uu.net *************** *** 378,379 **** --- 374,379 ---- from their nearest Eunet backbone site. + + The "archie" service can be used to locate ftp archives containing + various news software packages. There are regular postings in the + comp.answers newsgroup about how to use the "archie" service. -- Gene Spafford Software Engineering Research Center & Dept. of Computer Sciences Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398 Internet: spaf@cs.purdue.edu phone: (317) 494-7825
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!eff!news.kei.com!ub!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!purdue!not-for-mail From: spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford) Newsgroups: news.admin.misc,news.misc,news.software.readers,news.software.b,news.answers Subject: Changes to USENET Software: History and Sources Message-ID: <spaf-c_software_735800578@cs.purdue.edu> Date: 26 Apr 93 05:02:59 GMT Followup-To: news.misc Organization: Dept. of Computer Sciences, Purdue Univ. Lines: 335 Approved: spaf@cs.purdue.edu Supersedes: <spaf-c_software_728545656@cs.purdue.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: ector.cs.purdue.edu