On Wed, 15 Apr 1992 12:26:30 EST Scott Mattes said:
>...deleted...
>
> How do I use the PUT command? I want to take a file on my disk,
>transmit it via TCPIP to a list I am now part 'owner' of and stash it so
>that others on the list can retreive it.
>
Scott,
I hope this isn't overkill, but I wrote the following for someone using
our LISTSERV here at Virginia Tech. I welcome comments and criticisms
from all. Hope you find it useful.
--Greg Kroll
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ cut here ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Updating a LISTSERV FILELIST via electronic mail (e-mail)
By: Gregory Kroll
Senior Programmer/Analyst
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Va. 24060
USDGK@VTVM1, [log in to unmask]
Preface
_______
LISTSERV users on non-VM hosts can maintain a FILELIST file via e-mail with the
following restrictions.
o E-mail necessarily limits the record length of any stored file to 80 char-
acters or less.
o You must include a PUT command in the body of the e-mail. It will be used
to store the file. The entire PUT command must fit on one 80-character
line; no line wrapping is allowed.
Introduction
____________
I will assume you have at least scanned the LISTSERV document File Server Func-
tions, to familiarize yourself with LISTSERV FILELIST's. If not, you can ob-
tain this document, from any handy LISTSERV, with the command "INFO FILES".
The only significant problem in maintaining a LISTSERV FILELIST file from a
non-VM host is handling records greater than 80 characters. This limitation
means the amount of text used to describe the contents of the file (i.e., which
appears in the "File description..." area of the FILELIST file) is limited to
as many characters as are left on the line after all required PUT keywords are
entered. With this procedure you are limited to approximately 30 characters
for any file description. However, the benefit of remote updating (i.e., from
a non-VM host) is that LISTSERV does all the work; you simply send it e-mail
and LISTSERV does the rest.
You begin by entering a LISTSERV PUT command as the first line of your e-mail
message. The PUT command names the file to be stored, identifies the FILELIST
file with which it is associated, secures the transaction with a password, and
gives a brief description of the file contents. The remainder of your e-mail
becomes the contents of your stored file. Upon receiving this e-mail LISTSERV
extracts the PUT command and creates a CMS file with the name given in the PUT
command. LISTSERV then automagically updates the FILELIST creating an entry
for this new file.
Preliminaries
_____________
The LISTSERV administrator at the site hosting the list (e.g., Virginia Tech)
must set up a FILELIST template with an agreed on file naming convention for
all stored files. The file naming convention is a character pattern match on
the filename or filetype, or any portion thereof. Although use of "generic"
entries (a FILELIST template) is not mandatory, their use is strongly encour-
aged as it makes the update process much easier. More on this later.
You must tell the LISTSERV administrator the e-mail address of everyone author-
ized to store files to the FILELIST. Authorized userids can be different from
the owner's of the list.
You must use a LISTSERV password for authentication of the PUT command. Use
your LISTSERV "personal password" (established with the PW ADD command), or the
password of the associated LIST, or a separate one created just for the
FILELIST.
Procedure
_________
1. Send e-mail to LISTSERV@<node>
e.g., LISTSERV@VTVM1 or [log in to unmask]
2. The first line of e-mail text (body) must be the required PUT command. The
syntax is:
PUT filename filetype filelist PW=password "TITLE=...file description..."
where:
o "filename" and "filetype" can be up to 8 characters long, consisting of
letters (A-Z), and numbers (0-9). Some special characters are allowed
($,#,@,+,-,_) but I would avoid using any of them except for the hyphen
(-). The filename and filetype (or both) must conform to the character
pattern defined in the FILELIST.
For example, let's say the FILELIST template is defined as follows:
> *XYZ* * PRV OWN . . 0 ........ ........ Template, not a real file.
This means the filename of the stored file must contain the characters
XYZ, in that order, anywhere in the name. The filetype, designated by
an asterisk, can be anything desired. Examples of valid PUT commands
could be:
- PUT XYZ MEMO ...
- PUT MYXYZ FILE ...
- PUT XYZ9112 SCRIPT ...
- PUT ABCXYZ35 PASCAL ...
As another example:
> * EXEC PRV OWN . . 0 ........ ........ Template, not a real file.
Files stored for this FILELIST can have any filename, but must have a
filetype of EXEC. Examples of valid PUT commands could be:
- PUT A2E EXEC ...
- PUT LOOKSEE EXEC ...
- PUT DOITALL EXEC ...
o "filelist" is the FILELIST name.
o "password" is one of the password's noted above.
o "...file description..." is the text used to describe the file.
NOTE: You must enclose in double quotes, as shown, the TITLE keyword and
associated text. The amount of text allowed for the file description is
whatever will fit on the remainder of the line. DO NOT WRAP THIS TEXT TO
THE NEXT LINE.
3. Follow the PUT command IMMEDIATELY with the text to be stored. There
should be no blank lines between the PUT command and the first line of
text.
NOTE: ALL lines following the PUT to the end of the mail become part of the
file, including your signature. Unless you want your signature to appear
as part of the stored file, remember to turn off any automatic signature
feature of your mail software.
4. Send the file and await confirmation mail from LISTSERV similar to:
File "<filename> EXEC" has been successfully stored.
5. You may confirm that the file was stored and the FILELIST properly updated
by sending the following commands as the body of an e-mail message.
GET <filename> <filetype>
(e.g., to get a copy of the file, use: GET LOOKSEE EXEC)
INDEX <filelist> (or, GET <filelist> FILELIST)
(e.g., to get an updated copy of the FILELIST, use: INDEX TEST-L)
Replacing files
_______________
To replace (overwrite) a file, enter the filename and filetype on the PUT com-
mand so it matches an existing file in the FILELIST. When LISTSERV receives
this e-mail it will replace the existing file and update the FILELIST to re-
flect the new file characteristics.
Deleting files
______________
To delete a file (this procedure can also delete NOTEBOOKS), send a PUT command
as the ONLY line of text in your e-mail message. Include the filename and
filetype of the file to delete, the filelist name, and your password (you can
omit the TITLE keyword). Be sure this is the ONLY line of text in the file.
If anything appears after the PUT command, LISTSERV will replace the file with
the remaining contents of your e-mail message, even if this is a blank line
(put there by you or your mail software). Remember to turn off any automatic
signature feature.
Upon receiving this e-mail LISTSERV will:
o Erase the file.
o Update the FILELIST and remove the line referencing this file. A very nice
feature, meaning you do not have to GET the FILELIST and remove this line
yourself (which is the usual way of doing it on VM).
WARNING to the host LISTSERV site regarding FILELIST templates
______________________________________________________________
The remainder of this document is intended for the LISTSERV administrator
(e.g., POSTMASTER or NAD) of the site hosting the LIST. It is included for
completeness and taken from my own experience with LISTSERV FILELIST templates.
Because of the tree structure of LISTSERV FILELISTs and the sequential nature
in which they are searched, it is possible for an authorized person to:
o be prevented from saving files to a FILELIST.
o be unable to GET a saved file.
Three conditions must be met for this to happen.
1. The user DOES NOT explicitly name the FILELIST on a PUT or GET command, or
as an option when using the LSVPUT exec.
2. The FILELIST with a template defined must appear in the LISTSERV FILELIST
file BEFORE the target FILELIST, i.e., appears first in sequential order.
3. The CMS filename or filetype of the desired file, happens to match the tem-
plate defined in another FILELIST.
An example will clarify.
UserA is the owner of list LIST-A, at node NodeX. UserA maintains his list
(and FILELIST) from a remote VAX host. The LIST-A FILELIST has the following
template defined:
> * *I* ALL OWN . . 0 ........ ........ Template, not a real file.
This means UserA can create any file as long as an "I" appears somewhere in the
filetype (e.g., MYLIST DIRECTRY, in CMS terms).
Now NodeX also has many local list owners with their own FILELISTs. Local
user, UserB, maintains a FILELIST for his list called LIST-B. Today, UserB
wishes to save a file called "920312 FASTLINE" to his FILELIST. Following a
well established procedure, UserB retrieves the LIST-B FILELIST, creates an
entry for the new file, then sends the FILELIST back to LISTSERV for storage.
UserB then attempts to save the file by placing the following PUT command in
the file and sending it to LISTSERV for storage.
PUT 920312 FASTLINE PW=<UserB_password>
Notice that UserB does not explicitly name his FILELIST and that the filetype
of the file contains an "I" (i.e., FASTL*I*NE).
Now suppose further that UserA's and UserB's FILELIST entries appear as follows
in the LISTSERV FILELIST file.
/F/ LIST-A FILELIST ALL OWN V 79 63 92/03/11 16:45:22 ...
/F/ LIST-B FILELIST ALL OWN V 122 82 92/03/10 08:45:43 ...
With this setup, when UserB saves the file, he will receive the message (from
LISTSERV)
You are not authorized to store file "920312 FASTLINE".
It appears as if LISTSERV searches its LISTSERV FILELIST file, finds the tem-
plate defined for UserA's FILELIST, because it comes to it first sequentially,
and rightfully tells UserB he cannot store files in this FILELIST. LISTSERV
never gets to LIST-B FILELIST.
Let's now suppose that UserB finally gets the file stored, all other conditions
above remain as described. Someone wishing to retrieve this file enters the
following GET command:
GET 920312 FASTLINE
LISTSERV responds with:
File "920312 FASTLINE" is not yet available.
Again, LISTSERV apparently finds the template entry for UserA's LIST-A
FILELIST, does not find the indicated file and responds with the not yet avail-
able message.
There are several solutions to this predicament.
1. Try to make the character pattern match in the template (the "generic"
entry) something unique that cannot easily be used in other filenames
(i.e., probably never make it one character as the above example illus-
trates).
2. Switch the order of the FILELIST definitions in the LISTSERV FILELIST file.
That is, always make sure a FILELIST with a template defined appears last
(sequentially) in the LISTSERV FILELIST file.
3. Make sure everyone always names the target FILELIST explicitly in GET and
PUT commands, and when using the LSVPUT exec. For example:
GET filename filetype filelist
and
PUT filename filetype filelist PW=password
and
LSVPUT filename filetype (FILELIST filelist
In practice, this is very hard to implement and enforce.
--Greg Kroll
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