Alles Voor Internet / Tout Pour Internet/alles voor internet.iso/MacInternet™/Info/how-do-i-find.txt

Internet Message Format | 1992-01-06 | 18KB

Date: Mon, 6 Jan 92 08:32:17 -0500
From: [e-mail] (Bruce E. Wilson, ECCR-PA, B95-A, X8886
Subject: [*] Answering "Where do I find ..." questions

A number of recent questions have asked "Where do I find a program ...".
Others have asked questions about archie, which I suspect have gotten
answered off line.  Let me take a moment of bandwith to comment on
both questions.  Archie is a program/database which contains very up
to date listings of where to find programs.  Send a message containing
the subject line "Help" to [e-mail] for more info.  To
find all archives with copies of e.g. CAP (Columbia AppleTalk Package)
you could send the message with the line "prog ^cap", for programs
starting with the letters cap.

I am also enclosing an (edited) copy of a "how do I find" report from
the Usenet comp.sources.wanted newsgroup.  This contains perhaps more
detail than might be required for some Mac folks, but it was useful
info to me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

(from comp.sources.wanted)

This posting discusses the resources available to people who are
looking for source code.  Please read it before posting source code
requests to comp.sources.wanted, alt.sources.wanted or any other
newsgroup.

Comments about, suggestions about or corrections to this posting are
welcomed.



               How do you find sources?

The method you use for locating sources depends on exactly what you
are looking for.  Here are several possible routes to follow; pick the
one that best suits your needs.  The descriptions below mention
general techniques (e.g. "Check the Usenet source newsgroup indices.")
which are described in detail later in this posting.  These
descriptions are listed in order from most preferred to least
preferred solution.  You will notice that "Post in
comp.sources.wanted" is listed last.  This is because posting
a message in comp.sources.wanted should only be used as a last resort
when you have exhausted all other alternatives.

Once you have located your source code using the instructions below,
you can retrieve it via E-mail or anonymous ftp (depending on what is
accessible to you and on where the code is archived); this is
described in detail later in this posting.

Before following *any* of the routes below, the first thing you should
do is exhaust the local resources that are available to you.  Often, a
program that you are looking for will already be accessible somewhere
on your system.  Since each site has different local resources, it's
impossible to give details here about the resources at any specific
site.  All that can be said is, "Find someone at your site to ask."
Nearly every site has someone whose job it is to answer questions from
other users, and the sites that don't have someone doing it officially
often have someone doing it unofficially.  If you cannot find what you
want after checking things out locally, or if you can't find anyone to
ask, then proceed as follows.

1. "I know the name of the program I want, but I don't know where to
   get it."

   a. Check the indices for the various main Usenet source newsgroups.

   b. Check with archie.

   c. Check Jon Granrose's anonymous ftp directory.

   d. Check comp.archives.

   e. Post to comp.sources.wanted.

2. "I know the name of the program I want, and I know which newsgroup
   it was posted in, but either (a) I didn't get some of the parts of
   it, or (b) I didn't save it when it was posted and now I find that
   I need it."

   DO NOT post a message to comp.sources.wanted saying, "I didn't save
   all of this when it was archived, could someone please send it to
   me?"  If the code was posted in a source newsgroup, then it is
   archived somewhere.  Follow the instructions below for retrieving
   code from Usenet source newsgroup archives.

3. "I am looking for source code that does <x>."

   Follow the same process as (1) above, but instead of searching for
   the name of the program, search for keywords in your description of
   what you're looking for.  For example, if you're looking for
   graphical clocks that run under the X window system, you might
   search for the word "clock" in the index for comp.sources.x.

4. "I am looking for source code that does <x>," where <x> is
   something algorithmic or mathematical that is commonly solved with
   computers.

   Check AT&T's "netlib" archive, and if that doesn't work, proceed as
   in (3) above.

5. "I am looking for source code that does <x> under the X window
   system."

   As in (3), but after checking the Usenet source newsgroup indices
   (most importantly, that of comp.sources.x), check the anonymous ftp
   archive on export.lcs.mit.edu.

   See also the postings entitled "Frequently Asked Questions about X
   with Answers," posted monthly in comp.windows.x and various other
   X-related newsgroups.  Those postings discuss in detail how to get
   X sources of various sorts.  If these postings have expired at your
   site, see the documentation below about retrieving postings from
   the periodic posting archive.

6. "I'm looking for neat programs to run on my <x> machine."

   Don't post questions like this.  The amount of source code
   available on the Usenet is incredible; you are essentially asking
   for a summary of all of it.  Browse through the various archives
   mentioned in this posting if you want to find something like this.

7. "I'm looking for NetNews software <x>."

   See the posting entitled "USENET Software: History and Sources,"
   posted periodically in news.admin and news.announce.newusers.  If
   it has expired at your site, see the documentation below about
   retrieving postings from the periodic posting archive.

8. "I'm looking for the source code for Unix."

   Most implementations of Unix contain source code that is, at least
   to some extent, proprietary and not freely redistributable.  If you
   are looking for the source code to a particular Unix utility, you
   may have better luck looking for a public-domain reimplementation
   of that utility, using (1) or (3) above.  Furthermore, the Free
   Software Foundation may distribute a freely redistributable version
   of the utility, protected by the Gnu Public License (Jon Granrose's
   list mentions many anonymous ftp archive sites for FSF software;
   furthermore, the hrc mail server archives some FSF software).
   Finally, if the utility was written by the folks who do the BSD
   variant of Unix, then it might be available in the various BSD
   source archives (the best one is probably gatekeeper.dec.com;
   ftp.uu.net has a bsd-sources directory too, and it contains some
   sources that are not in the gatekeeper archive, but the sources
   there are for 4.3reno BSD and might be difficult to compile under
   other types of Unix) on the net (see Jon Granrose's list to find
   them).

9. "I'm looking for a dictionary," or, "I'm looking for a thesaurus."
   There aren't any freely redistributable dictionary or thesaurus
   databases.  If you've already got the database (e.g. on a NeXT
   machine), you may be able to find sources for code to manipulate
   it; see (3) above.  If you don't, then you probably aren't going to
   get any useful answers if you ask this question.



               Things not to do

1. Don't post messages to source newsgroups (e.g. comp.sources.unix,
   comp.sources.misc, etc.) asking for sources.

   There are newsgroups specifically for source requests.  If you post
   a request to a moderated source newsgroup, then the moderator has
   to deal with it (and he probably doesn't want to have to deal with
   source requests from all over the Usenet), and if you post a
   request to an unmoderated source newsgroup, then archives of that
   newsgroup end up with cruft (i.e. your request) in them.



            Searching techniques in detail

1. Usenet source newsgroups

   There are many Usenet newsgroups in which source code is posted,
   and most of them are archived.  They include:

    alt.sources
    comp.sources.3b1
    comp.sources.acorn
    comp.sources.amiga
    comp.sources.apple2
    comp.sources.atari.st
    comp.sources.games
    comp.sources.mac
    comp.sources.misc
    comp.sources.sun
    comp.sources.unix
    comp.sources.x
    vmsnet.sources
    vmsnet.sources.games

   If you're looking for software for a particular machine or
   operating system, you should check the source archives that are
   appropriate (e.g. checking "comp.sources.mac" if you're looking for
   programs to run under SunOS probably wouldn't be very profitable),
   as well as the general archives such as alt.sources or
   comp.sources.misc.

   Sites that archive Usenet source newsgroups usually provide some
   method of getting an index of the files in each newsgroup's
   archive.  If you are accessing an anonymous ftp archive, then this
   index will usually appear as a file called "index" or "Index" in
   the top-level archive of the newsgroup, or in each volume of the
   newsgroup's archive.

   If you are accessing a mail archive, then the instructions for
   using that archive should explain how to get indices of the
   newsgroups that are archived.

   If you are accessing an anonymous UUCP archive (see below), you are
   usually told when you are given the phone number and password for
   the archive how to get the top-level index for the archive, which
   will tell you how to get other indices and files.

   To find anonymous ftp archives of Usenet newsgroups, check Jon
   Granrose's anonymous ftp directory (see below).  The most
   well-known Usenet newsgroup archive is probably ftp.uu.net, which
   archives comp.sources.3b1, comp.sources.amiga, comp.sources.games,
   comp.sources.misc, comp.sources.sun, comp.sources.unix, and
   comp.sources.x, among other things.  Another large Usenet archive
   site is wuarchive.wustl.edu, which archives alt.sources,
   comp.sources.mac, and comp.sources.apple2, in addition to most of
   the newsgroups archived on ftp.uu.net.

   The vmsnet newsgroups are archived on black.cerritos.edu and
   acfcluster.nyu.edu.  See also the posting "Monthly info posting:
   vmsnet.sources archive sites" in vmsnet.sources.d and comp.os.vms;
   if it has expired at your site, see the documentation below about
   retrieving postings from the periodic posting archive.

   The mail archive server on hrc.UUCP (see below) archives
   alt.sources, comp.sources.unix, comp.sources.games,
   comp.sources.misc, comp.sources.x, and comp.sources.sun, among
   other things.

2. The "archie" database

   "Archie" is a database of anonymous ftp sites and their contents.
   The software for it was written by the "Archie Group" at McGill
   University in Montreal, Canada, and they maintain the database as
   well.

   "Archie" keeps track of the entire contents of a very large number
   of anonymous ftp sites, and allows you to search for files on those
   sites using various different kinds of filename searches.  Archie
   also has a software description database (with contents similar to
   the output of the "whatis" command under Unix), on which you can do
   keyword searches.

   If you have Internet access, then you access archie by telnet'ing
   to the host quiche.cs.mcgill.ca (132.206.2.3 or 132.206.51.1) and
   logging in as "archie" with no password.  Type "help" at that point
   for more information.  You can also send mail to [e-mail]
   with the subject line "help" for more info.

   If you do not have Internet access, then send a mail message to
   [e-mail] with "help" in the body of the message
   to find out how to access archie via mail.  Note that the mail
   interface to archie does not currently provide all of the
   functionality that the interactive interface provides; for example,
   the software description database is not accessible through the
   mail interface.

3. Jon Granrose's anonymous ftp directory

   Jon Granrose maintains an extensive list of anonymous ftp sites and
   overviews of their contents.  The list is posted monthly to
   comp.misc, comp.sources.wanted and alt.sources.wanted.  If it has
   expired at your site, see the documentation below about retrieving
   postings from the periodic posting archive.

4. Comp.archives

   The comp.archives newsgroup, moderated by Ed Vielmetti, contains
   announcements of archive sites and their contents.  If you cannot
   find what you're looking for in the comp.archives postings
   available at your site at any given time, then you can read the
   newsgroup for a while and watch for new postings that are of
   interest to you, or you can try to find an archive site that
   archives the postings in comp.archives.  One such site is the
   anonymous ftp archives on wuarchive.wustl.edu.

5. Comp.sources.wanted

   When you post a message to comp.sources.wanted or
   alt.sources.wanted, the important thing to remember is to BE
   SPECIFIC.  If you're working under Unix, make sure to mention that;
   possibly, mention even what type of Unix.  If you're not working
   under Unix, make sure to mention what operating system and machine
   type you *are* working under.

   Remember to choose a meaningful Subject line for your message;
   something like, "Can you help me?" is very unhelpful to people who
   ARE willing to help, and may just cause some of them to not bother
   reading your posting.  Try to summarize what you're looking for
   meaningfully in your Subject line.

   Also, it is usually a good idea to ask for people to send you
   E-mail rather than posting responses.  Say that if enough people
   write to you and ask for copies of whatever responses you get, then
   you'll summarize the responses in a later posting to the newsgroup,
   and if that happens, then DO post the summary.

   Finally, don't say, "Would someone please mail me <x>?"  Say,
   "Would someone please tell me where I can get <x>, or what's
   available that does <x>?  If you can mail it to me, please let me
   know, and I'll let you know if I want you to."  This avoids the
   problem of several people mailing you what you requested and
   overflowing your mailbox.



         File retrieval techniques in detail

1. Anonymous ftp

   If you are on a site that is connected to the Internet and allows
   its users to ftp out to other Internet sites, then you have
   anonymous ftp access.  The usual procedure for using anonymous ftp
   is to type the command "ftp machine-name", where "machine-name" is
   the name of the machine to which you want to connect, and then to
   use "anonymous" as the username and "user@host" (i.e. your E-mail
   address) as the password when you are prompted for it by ftp.

   Type "help" inside ftp to get a list of commands, and/or read the
   man page for ftp, or any other documentation about it available at
   your site for more information.  If they don't answer your
   question, then ask someone at your site for help.

   If you don't have Internet and ftp access, then you can use the
   BITFTP server to retrieve files from anonymous ftp archives.
   However, you should only use BITFTP when the same files are not
   available form a dedicated mail archive server.  See the BITFTP
   instructions below.

2. Hrc mail archive

   As mentioned above, the UUCP host "hrc" maintains an archive of
   Usenet source newsgroups and other things.  To find out how to use
   it, send mail to "hrc!archives", or "[e-mail]", or
   whatever format your site uses to send mail to the user "archives"
   on the machine "hrc", and include the following commands in the
   body of the message:

    send path <address>
    send help

   You should replace <address> with a path from hrc to you.  If you
   know a prominent UUCP site that has you in its path, then your path
   can start at that site, e.g. "uunet!mit-athena!jik" (PLEASE don't
   use that address, or I'll get the responses to your requests!).  If
   you're on a site that has a name registered with the Internet name
   servers, you can use "uunet!athena.mit.edu!jik".

3. Uunet mail archive

   Uunet.uu.net provides E-mail access to the sources it archived (see
   the discussion about ftp.uu.net above for some idea of what is
   available).  The address to which to send requests is
   "[e-mail]".  You can send a message containing "help" in
   its body for more information.

4. BITFTP

   The BITFTP server, run by Princeton University, allows you to
   retrieve via E-mail files at anonymous ftp archive sites.  To find
   out how to use it, send mail to "[e-mail]" with
   "help" in the body.

5. Anonymous UUCP archives

   There are various UUCP sites on the net that publish their modem
   telephone numbers and a public username and password that can be
   used to transfer files from the sites via UUCP.  For more
   information about doing this, see the documentation for the "uucp"
   command on your system.

   One place to find information about anonymous UUCP archives is the
   Nixpub listing of public access Unix sites, maintained by Phil
   Eschallier and posted in comp.misc and alt.bbs.  If that posting
   has expired at your site, you can get copies of it from the
   Periodic posting archive described below.

6. Periodic posting archive

   As mentioned above, The machine pit-manager.mit.edu (18.72.1.58)
   maintains an archive of periodic Usenet postings.  You can access
   it via anonymous ftp, or via mail server.  To find out how to use
   the mail server, send a message to
   "[e-mail]" with Subject "help".

Jonathan Kamens                          USnail:
MIT Project Athena                11 Ashford Terrace
[e-mail]                Allston, MA  02134
Office: 617-253-8085                  Home: 617-782-0710