ROS 4.0 It's been a long (too long!) time coming, but ROS 4.0 is finally released! For almost two years, ROS 3.8 has undergone several updates, but the primary work has gone into version 4.0. I hope that you and your users find the new version worth waiting for. Since the software that you and I are running will again be in sync with the software that's being developed, updates and corrections should be along a little more quickly. In the following few paragraphs, you'll get a brief overview of what's happened with ROS 4.0. As always, your comments are more than welcome, and your suggestions for improvements will be greatly appreciated. First, some insight as to why 4.0 has taken so long to get to this stage. Most of all is a significant increase in complexity. ROS is now about 40,000 lines of Turbo Pascal code and several hundred lines of assembler. That's almost 3 times the size of version 3.8. The executable has increased almost 50%. Almost all of the support software was changed which required a complete rewrite of the low-level internals. Now, on to what these changes mean to you and your users: One of the most noticeable changes is the use of external file transfer protocols. In fact, the built-in file transfer protocols have been completely removed (for now at least). This means that ROS can be more quickly adapted to changes and improvements in file transfer and modem technology. Unfortunately, since the transfer from within archives was part of the built-in Xmodem support, that feature of ROS has been lost. Since users can still type text from within archives, the inability to Xmodem a file shouldn't be too bad. In fact, some authors explicitly prohibit the transfer of portions of their archives. Besides external file transfer protocols, ROS also uses external archive programs to list the contents of catalogs and to ype text files to the user's screen. If these two external "hooks" don't suffice, you can install a door - sometimes called a "live program" - to do just about anything you want. Games are certainly the most popular type of door, but many other programs are available too. To allow you to run large external transfer protocol drivers, doors, and archive programs, ROS can be set (using ROSSETUP) to get almost completely out of the way. If EMS memory is available, ROS will quickly swap itself to memory and then start the external program. If EMS memory is not available or if there is not enough, ROS will build a swap file on the default drive. While the external program is running, ROS will consume less than 5000 bytes of RAM. After the external program is complete, ROS will swap back in and continue running. With EMS memory, you won't even know all this work is going on. In addition, ROS closes all its files while this work is going on, just in case you need to work with them, e.g. running a backup or updating your ROS-SYSM file. ROS now uses FOSSIL as its port driver instead of LCOMX. The main reason for this change is to allow ROS to work with mailers and doors that use FOSSIL. In spite of using FOSSIL, no attempt has been made to make ROS compatible with all machines running FOSSIL. In particular, ROS still uses the keyboard and screen drivers unique to IBM PC and compatible machines. This was done to keep ROS DESQview aware. Due to restrictions imposed by other authors, ROS is being shipped without a FOSSIL driver. Three drivers that have been tested with ROS are all available on the Albuquerque ROS at (505) 299-5974. They are as follow: BNU170.ZIP X00V122.ZIP OCOM_530.ZIP For complete information on FOSSIL drivers in general, I recommend downloading and reading FOSSILV5.ZIP. ROS is now fully multi-user! You can run multiple boards in DESQview windows or on a network and still login locally without taking your modems off hook. There are a many minor changes that should make ROS a little less "long in the teeth." For example, NULLS are no longer sent after a new line. This was a holdover from the days of the TTY. Also removed is the BELL after the prompt. It was used so seldom and with users becoming more computer literate, it's no longer really needed. Finally, notice the change from ibrary to oom. Very few systems have libraries any more and "Zoom" seems pretty descriptive when you think in terms of a zoom lens on a camera. Even though the system files are more tighly packed now, they're still slightly bigger due to the additional data being stored. For example, ROS now maintains - for each user - byte counts of uploads and downloads, by day and total. This will let you better monitor what's actually taking place on your system. One of the greatest benefits of this new version is the built-in setup utility. Instead of trying to remember or look up the right command for CONFIG.ROS, ROS now uses a menu driven system. Included are several of the more commonly used modems to make setup a real snap. If you're using a modem other than what's listed, PLEASE help other future sysops by sending me the information about your modem so I can include it in this menu. I'll need the same info that's listed in the menu (name, command strings, etc). Your help will be greatly appreciated by all. Of course, if you have a better way of using a modem that's already in there, please let me know that too. Several subtle changes have been made to the catalog processing to improve the system operation now that file uploads can carry the actual file date. During the reconcile process, ROS no longer checks the file date for a match against its own catalog. The catalog now reflects the date the file was uploaded to the system, regardless of its DOS date. For example, a file is uploaded using DSZ: the date of the file (from the remote system) is September 17, 1987, but the date of the upload is December 3, 1990. In its catalog, ROS keeps the latter date permanently, though the sysop can explicitly change the date. To make finding new uploads easier, ROS now puts all uploads in an area called "UPLOAD" that should normally have a high (>=250) access level. When you "release" a file, ROS simply moves it to the "NEWIN" area. For the user, the process is transparent. To the sysop, the method is much easier since all unreleased files are in one place. In addition, disk optimizers will no longer skip over the hidden uploads. One caution though: during the reconcile process, ROS will now only include "normal" files. Consequently, files that have the DOS attribute "HIDDEN" will be marked as missing instead of hidden. The results to the user, again, are transparent since he won't see the file, but you as sysop, need to be aware of what's happening in case there are still hidden files on your disk when you bring up the new version of ROS.