WARNING: Use at your own risk....

****************************************************************************
This is a beta version of an eventual freeware program. I Michael O'Connor,
DSO Enterprises, any of it's parent/subsidiary companies, or employees can NOT
be held LIABLE for any damages. Running, using or even thinking about this
program is at your own risk. I will not even guarantee that it will take up
space on your hard disk.
***************************************************************************

        Welcome to my grandest adventure in FIDOnet(tm) programming.If
you are reading this you have been selected,volunteered or were coerced
in to beta testing this puppy. I've done most of the testing I can. I
can't seem to break it. I do have every confidence that you somehow you
will. Do be kind enough to give me some idea what you were doing; what
combination of things set it off etc.

Command line options:

/Test    - Tests & accepts new inbound segments. (deflault)
/All     - Tests All & accepts new inbound segments.
/Process - Processes all segment files and submits changes, if needed.
/Display - Displays what is read from the *.ctl file. (debug)
/Force   - During a production run, Forces submission to submit address
/Compile - Refresh Database with FLAGS.CTL.
/Stats   - Saves stats to TESTERR.TXT.
/Merge=  - Creates a merged nodelist [Nodelist + Segment]
/Mame=   - Network Name.\n");

Examples

NLMAKE REG12.CTL /P /F

Will process segments and force a submit changes or not. (using REG12.CTL)

NLMAKE REG12.CTL /T /A

Will test all received segments.

NLMAKE REG12.CTL /T /A /S

Will test all received segments, and save output to TESTERR.TXT

NLMAKE ? <or> /H

Will display comand line options.

NLMAKE REG12.CTL /T

Will receive and test inbound segments only.
those in UPDATE (and or) UPLOADS


Key Changes from MakeNl.

Executable : NLMAKE.EXE
Shipped as : NLMAKE.DOS  (16bit Dos)
             NLMAKE.D32  (32bit Dos Dos4Gw.exe) (not currently available)
             NLMAKE.WIN  (32bit Win95/98 what ever!)
             NLMAKE.OS2  (32bit OS/2)

Default CTL File now named NLMAKE.CTL (if your's was MAKENL.CTL guess what?!)

New Tokens or Verbs

Token/Verb      Description
LOGLEVEL        Controls the level of logging (debug=9 default=2 lowest=0)
                The Number after the date/time in the log file is the
                level of that message.
COMPRESS        Set default compressor (in accordance with new FTS)
                *.A?? = ARC *.J?? = ARJ *.Z?? = ZIP *.R?? = RAR
                Example: COMPRESS ARC

FLAGS           Turns on Flag Checking
AUTO-FLAG       Turns on Flag Checking and Auto Corrects outfile
WARNINGS        Issue Warnings only on all non critical errors
                Line is not deleted (commented out with ;E) unless
                the error is in either Field1 or Field2.
                Examples : Duplicate NodeNumber is a critical error.
                           Typing Dow instead of Down...

---

NOTE: Token -> NOTIFY   (if notify is not set no email will be generated!)

NOTIFY errors crash    ; Will crash errors back to the submitter
NOTIFY recept crash    ; Will crash recept/warnings back to the submitter

---

Modified token/verbs

ARC       remains for compatability, actually controlled from COMPRESS.CTL
          and does nothing.

FILES <example>

Net  163 SMOOTH    163/0 <SysOp Guy>

Will address the email generated to SysOp Guy instead of Coordinator.

New Files

COMPRESS.CTL    File Compressor config file. (See contents of file)
FLAGS.CTL       Valid Flags Control File. (See contents of file)
NLMAKE.LOG      A real time-stamped log file.
QUICK.LST       Used for Fast Flag checking.

Ignore anything with a *.TMP exten.

COMPRESS Config File
Archiver ARC                   ; Archiver Name
Add             arc2 a %a %f   ; <executable> <parameters> <archive> <filename>
Extract         arc2 e %a %f
Extension       A??            ; Extension to IDENTIFY this type of Archive
Ident           0,1a           ; Currently not used (yet!)
FILENAME                       ; Some Archivers wont uncompress files to a path
End                            ; with out appending a *.* Use only if decompress
                               ; does not work.

All Archivers begin with ARCHIVER and end with END. (self evident eh?)

WARNING: If you put in the parametres to PKZIP -MEX -RP M.ZIP \*.* it
will upon first execution zip up everything on that drive and erase it.

FLAGS

Token/Verb     Description
FLAGS          Regular flags
UFLAGS         UserFlags (must not begin with U the system will take care of it)
RFLAGS         Redundant flags
               Redundant listing must not appear as a regular flags
               example:
               V42b is redundant with V42 and not the other way around.
               (V42b implies V42 but V42 does not imply V42b)

               So  (confused good!)

               V42 is a regular flag
               V42b is a redundant flag.

RFLAGS         V42b,<V42>
RFLAGS         V32b,<V32>

as long as V32b and V42b are not listed as FLAGS will cause a redundancy
warning/error

OFLAGS         Suggest New flags to replace old or outdated ones.

              (old)  (new)
OFLAGS        ISDNA,<V110L>

               will send a Flag has changed message.


                  (this section is still a work in progress)

This was really a brief description. I hope that someone will volunteer to
do the docs; if indeed it does get used. I still consider this a work in
progress. I will be spending some time on optimization, the flags checker
and stats output. Here's your chance to get the features you wanted in on the
ground floor. If your suggestion is feasible I will do my best to implement it.

Mike

