NAME

OurNet::BBS - Component Object Model for BBS systems

VERSION

This document describes version 1.64 of OurNet::BBS, released February 7, 2002.

SYNOPSIS

    use strict;
    use OurNet::BBS;

    my $BBS = OurNet::BBS->new({
	backend	=> 'MELIX',		# use the Melix BBS backend
	bbsroot	=> '/home/melix',	# where to find the BBS data
    });

    my $brd = $BBS->{boards}{sysop};	# the sysop board
    my $mtime;

    printf (
        "This BBS has %d boards, %d groups.\n",
        scalar keys(%{$BBS->{boards}}),
        scalar keys(%{$BBS->{groups}}),
    );

    eval { $mtime = $brd->{articles}->mtime };
    die "Error: cannot read board $board -- $@\n" if $@;

    printf (
        "The $board board has %d articles, %d top-level archive entries.\n",
        $#{$brd->{articles}}, $#{$brd->{archives}},
    );

    # A simple Sysop board article monitor
    print "Watching for new articles...\n";

    while (1) {
        print "=== wait here ($mtime) ===\n";
        sleep 5 until ($brd->{articles}->refresh);

        foreach my $article (@{$brd->{articles}}) {
            print "Found article: $article->{title}\n" 
		if $article->btime > $mtime;
        }

        $mtime = $brd->{articles}->mtime;
    }

DESCRIPTION

OurNet-BBS is a cross-protocol distributed network, built as an abstraction layer over telnet BBS-based systems used in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. It implements a flexible object model for different BBS backends, along with an asymmetric authentication and remote procedure call protocol.

This project aims to become a protocol agnostic middle ware solution for identity-based information storage & retrieval, much like the Project Jabber's goal toward instant messaging, or Project JXTA's aim toward distributed services.

If you are new to the telnet-bbs platform, please download a copy of Melix BBS software (in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese) at http://melix.elixus.org/.

For some of its practical uses, search for OurNet::BBSApp on CPAN, and the sample scripts in the eg/ directory in this module's distribution.

HISTORY

v1.64 Thu Feb 7 05:31:37 CST 2002

Better parsing of NNTP-style BBSAgent articles.

The bbsboard utilitiy now respects the board's {permit} settings.

Reconnection is supported in OurNet::Client.

New -s (non-forking) flag for bbscomd.

New -G flag for bbscomd to allow login as any user.

Hash components now has the KEYS method.

Major overhaul in UserGroup work to provide consistent behaviour.

Introduces experimental Firebird3 backend (User and Board only).

Relaxed Makefile.PL requirements; no install of MailBox by default.

Removed ExtUtils so it has to be fetched from CPAN manually.

The eg/ directory now contains some sample scripts.

Prefers the use of hashref by-name new() syntax in examples and tests.

The hashref constructor syntax is accepted by OurNet backend.

Split documentation about roadmap to OurNet::BBS::Roadmap.

v1.63, Mon Dec 10 20:21:38 CST 2001

Added three simple diagrams in OurNet::BBS::Tutorial.

A longer timeout (60 sec) is now used by BBSAgent.

Fixed installation glitches reported by pudge.

Remove unused MELIX toplevel fields usershmkey and maxuser.

Group semantic in MAPLE3 and MELIX finally worked.

The dependency to Test::More 0.31+ is now handled.

Better diagnostics from the test process.

Updated document to cut down sales-talk and beef up spelling.

New ciphers Crypt::DES_EDE3 and Crypt::Rijndael_PP are supported.

The NNTP backend now handles id and title predicably.

Fixed a bbscomd bug of not detecting wrong passphrases.

Secure communication via CIPH_PGP is restored.

If the gnupg keyring is suddenly unavailable, Server can now accomodate.

The auto-installer ExtUtils::AutoInstall is now less buggy.

MIME QuotedPrint handling of bbsboard/bbsmail has been improved.

v1.62, Mon Oct 15 07:48:58 CST 2001

No longer depends on GnuPG::Interface to run.

The OurNet protocol has been updated to 0.4 with callback support.

Assigning a coderef directly (but not inside refs) via OurNet now works.

New, write-only External backend to utilize sendmail and the like.

Tainting check should now work on bbsboard and bbsmail.

GC stability on perl v5.6.x is much better.

A revised, more flexible Makefile.PL.

v1.61, Fri Sep 28 00:53:46 CST 2001

Adds a read-only, experimental Cola backend.

Implements re-authentication for Server.

Bundles bbsboard and bbsmail utilities.

The BBSAgent backend now has a logfile property for debugging use.

Permission model and group support for CVIC.

Fixes various Base namespace pollution bugs.

Public key-based login is working now.

Additional Server options could be set in %OurNet::BBS::Server::Options.

Introduced the Bundle::OurNet namespace.

v1.6, Mon Sep 3 23:07:36 CST 2001

Changed Server and Client's default port from 7978 to 7979.

Complete ArticleGroup permission model for MELIX.

A <-g> options now enables bbscomd to accept guest-privileged connections.

Delete board / articles now works in file-based backends.

Changed DBI to RAM; it has nothing to do with DBI anyway.

Integrated the new set of design documents into manpage.

v1.6-delta, Mon Aug 28 01:47:18 CST 2001

Session support for MELIX backend.

Purged LWP support from tree; nobody's using it anyway.

Fixed context problems of NNTP and OurNet backends.

The OurNet protocol could now pass back arguments by reference.

Passes tests on Win32 now.

Post-back of BBSAgent and SessionGroup fixed.

v1.6-gamma, Thu Aug 16 17:37:12 CST 2001

The test cases in t/ are now numbered, and OurNet-based tests added. For the first time, all tests pass.

Implemented {'owner'} fetch for CVIC groups.

The chrono-ahead algorithm now works correctly for all backends, so there will no longer be duplicate Message-IDs.

Fixed the MAPLE3 backend's incestuous relationship with MELIX.

Upgraded the Authen protocol to v0.3. Setting the flag $OurNet::BBS::BYPASS_NEGOTIATION now bypasses handshaking altogether.

v1.6-beta, Tue Aug 14 03:31:10 CST 2001

A streamlined t/stdtest base now applies to all three file-based backends.

The {''} = ... STORE-as-PUSH semantics is fully supported.

Group metadata unified into hash-based {owner|title|id}.

Compatibility for perl 5.7.x, including line disciplines.

The long-timed 'extra test' heisenbug has been eliminated.

v1.6-alpha, Sun Aug 12 19:03:08 CST 2001

Added the HISTORY section in manpage.

Rewritten Base to be overload-based.

Eliminated ArrayProxy and pseudohashes.

Uses Test::More instead of Test.

Improved MIME and mail address parsing regexes.

A much faster and robust NNTP backend.

The DBI backend rewritten to indicate style change.

v1.56, Mon Jul 23 02:12:06 2001

File access via FileGroup components.

Group support for MAPLE3 with a twisted API.

Proper permission control for nearly all components.

Unix-style mailbox support via the MailBox backend.

CR/LF bug on Win32 eliminated.

v1.55, Wed Jun 20 06:17:16 2001

The full OurNet authentication model.

Fixed UserGroup for MAPLE* backends.

A new Message-ID formula.

Fixed core dump in various, but not all, places.

Massive speed increase.

v1.54, Wed Jun 13 11:43:12 2001

This version implements the new OurNet (formerly known as PlClient) asymmetric-key based authentication model, article/board permission model for M3 backends, numerous bug fixes, win32 support, and much, much more.

v1.53, Sat Jun 9 11:09:26 2001

Full bbscomd support; PlClient is now a valid backend. (autrijus)

Finally fixed the internal object model; using multiple backends was broken due to back-propagation of initvar() variables. (autrijus)

STORE into MAPLE* backends should now update shm correctly. (autrijus)

Improved BBSAgent error handling for fail-safe operations. (clkao)

Fixed hazard caused by remote empty (or deleted) articles. (clkao)

Nickname support for MAPLE2/CVIC is reimplemented. (clkao)

BBSAgent now matches nickname even in pathetic cases. (smartboy)

v1.52, Wed Jun 6 05:53:54 2001

Clean-up release to fix many 1.51 glitches, with added documentation and test cases added.

v1.51, Sat Jun 2 07:05:18 2001

Forked out from libOurNet distribution.

Vastly improved support for BBSAgent backend to support ebx, with many parsing enhancement and templates from smartboy.

v1.4-alpha4, Fri Mar 23 03:21:14 2001

Integrated the MAPLE3 backend.

v1.4-alpha3, Fri Jan 12 04:57:17 2001

First Win32 (ppm) release.

v1.4-alpha2, Mon Jan 15 07:39:00 2001

Adds LWP::Protocol support and Session components.

v1.4-alpha, Fri Jan 12 04:54:29 2001

First CPAN release, featuring the BBSAgent backend.

v1.3, Fri Dec 29 05:40:11 2000

Provides simple remote access via OurNet::BBS::PlClient.

v1.2, Thu Dec 7 05:02:39 2000

Backend abstraction revised; added PTT backend by gugod.

v1.1, Tue Nov 21 19:00:33 2000

Initial commit, with CVIC as the only backend.

SEE ALSO

OurNet::BBS::Tutorial for a general overview of the OurNet::BBS model.

OurNet::BBS::Roadmap for the design goals, components, and related discussions.

http://melix.elixus.org/ for development news, new releases, and binary distributions.

AUTHORS

Chia-Liang Kao <clkao@clkao.org>, Autrijus Tang <autrijus@autrijus.org>

COPYRIGHT

Copyright 2001-2002 by Chia-Liang Kao <clkao@clkao.org>, Autrijus Tang <autrijus@autrijus.org>.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

See http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html