---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash SMCC, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA UNVEIL INTERACTIVE REPOSITORY FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SOFTWARE SunFLASH Vol 47 #22 November 1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article has two parts. The first is a press release describing a new ftp service and the second is an automatic reply from that same ftp service. -johnj ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- New, Easy-To-Use Technology Enables Quick Retrieval of Software CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina -- October 28, 1992 -- Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) and the Office of Information Technology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today unveiled a new interactive information repository for the education and research communities that lets users of Sun SPARC(R)/Solaris(R) systems easily access public domain software, shareware and other material such as research articles and images. The repository, called SunSITE(TM) (Sun Software, Information, and Technology Exchange), resides on a dedicated SPARCserver(TM) 2 donated to the university by SMCC. Users access SunSITE from the Internet, a global wide-area network that includes a myriad of regional and local college and university networks. In contrast to similar repositories, SunSITE features an easy-to-use interface that allows users who have little or no experience with the UNIX operating system to quickly locate and retrieve information in a variety of formats. "The nature of the education and research markets is that they are based on the unhindered exchange of ideas," said Michael Majdalany, group manager for education and research marketing at SMCC. "For researchers in academic environments, the accessibility of free or low-cost software is extremely important. The SunSITE project not only gives researchers a central source of electronic information but also gives them a free and easy distribution channel for posting research papers or software packages of their own." Accessing Information on SunSITE SunSITE is based on a UNIX process called "anonymous ftp," which permits files to be retrieved from properly configured systems by any user on the Internet. In contrast to previous anonymous ftp servers that require users to master complicated, nonintuitive UNIX commands, SunSITE features a user interface based on a new standard protocol, the Wide Area Information Server (WAIS). WAIS accepts queries in plain English and retrieves information from other systems on a wide-area network that match the descriptions in the queries. Developed by Brewster Kahle, WAIS project leader at Thinking Machines, Inc. in Cambridge, MA, WAIS is an open protocol, meaning that its specifications are publically available to developers who want to implement it in their software. "The development of open, standard wide-area network protocols such as WAIS and the integration of these protocols into new and existing services such as ftp are critical to our success in accessing, publishing and managing electronic information," said Judson Knott, SunSITE project leader at the University of North Carolina. SunSITE is one of more than 1,000 anonymous ftp servers worldwide that provide a wealth of information, including archived public-domain software, shareware and technical documentation. Users who want information about how to access SunSITE can send a request over the Internet to info@sunsite.unc.edu. [[see attachment - johnj]] SMCC: The Workstation Leader in Education The SunSITE project benefits the many users of Sun systems in the education and research communities. Over the past 10 years, Sun has become the top vendor of UNIX-based desktop workstations for the education and research marketplace, with more than 65,000 Sun systems installed in educational institutions worldwide. In addition, more than 10 percent of the company's annual revenue comes from this market. The nearly 200-year-old University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the nation's first state university. The university's Computer Science Department is internationally recognized for its contribution to the development of virtual reality, and staff members of the Office of Information Technology were early implementers of the WAIS protocol. Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems, Inc., is the world's leading supplier of client-server computing solutions, which feature networked workstations and servers that store, process and distribute information. Used for many demanding technical and commercial applications, SMCC's products command the largest share of the computer industry's fastest-growing market segment: workstations and servers. Sun Microsystems, Inc., founded in 1982 and headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., is a multibillion-dollar corporation doing business worldwide. ### Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Solaris and SunSITE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant Logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCstation is licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. For further information, please contact Robert Manetta at (415) 336-0979. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >From info@SunSite.unc.edu Fri Nov 13 16:23:51 1992 Date: Fri, 13 Nov 92 16:21:29 EST From: Info Subject: Automated INFO response for SunSITE Thank you for your interest in Sun Microsystems' anonymous ftp archive, SunSITE.unc.edu, operated by the Office of Information Technology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This letter includes three different documents, explaining (1) how to use SunSITE's anonymous ftp service, (2) how to use the Wide-Area Information Server, and (3) how to submit things that you think would be of interest to the Internet community. Please direct comments to ftpkeeper@SunSITE.unc.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Short Guide to Anonymous ftp on SunSITE.unc.edu 152.2.22.81 Introduction A great deal of useful information is stored in files at computers throughout the world. Many of these file are freely available to you as a member of the Internet. A simple method for transferring such files from a remote computer to a user's computer is anonymous ftp. Anonymous ftp allows a user to transfer files without having an account on SunSITE (i.e. the user is anonymous.) SunSITE uses a special version of the ftp program from Washington University - St. Louis that displays README files that describe each directory level of the archives as you move through the archives' file directory. This will help you find the programs, documents, and data items that you want to retrieve fairly easily. How Do I Access the Anonymous ftp files at SunSITE.unc.edu? An example of connecting to the SunSITE.unc.edu anonymous ftp site follows: ================================================================== EXAMPLE: % ftp sunsite.unc.edu (you type this at your local computer) Connected to sunsite.unc.edu. 220 calypso FTP server (Version 6.9 Tue Aug 25 13:46:21 EDT 1992) ready. SunSITE.unc.edu is a service of Univ of North Carolina & SUN Microsystems. Read DISCLAIMER.readme for a statement of legal responsibility. Contributions, Complaints and questions should be sent to . For Name: use anonymous Name (sunsite.unc.edu:pjones): anonymous (you type anonymous) 331 Guest login ok, send e-mail address as password. Begin your password entry with a - (dash) to suppress the helpful messages. Password: pjones@lambada.oit.unc.edu (please use your own mail address) 230- WELCOME to UNC and SUN's anonymous ftp server 230- University of North Carolina 230- Office of Information Technology 230- SunSITE.unc.edu < a few introductory lines deleted> 230- An OpenLook FTPtool can be found in 230- /pub/X11/Openlook/Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z 230- This is the top directory!! cd pub will take you to the good stuff. 230- 230-Please read the file README 230- it was last modified on Thu Aug 20 23:14:18 1992 - 7 days ago 230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply. ftp> =================================================================== Once you have gained access to SunSITE, the ftp> prompt returns and acknowledges that the system is ready to use. Listing the Directories and Changing Directories Once you have connected to Sunsite, to transfer a file, you may have to change directories to reach the directory that includes the files in which you are interested. In the example below the user has typed in the commands that follow the ftp> prompt in order to retrieve a file named Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z from SunSITE. Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z is an OpenLook Graphical User Interface for FTP. You may use Ftptool instead of the line mode ftp command described here once you retrieve it. ================================================================== EXAMPLE: ftp> cd pub 250- UNC Sun Archive - /pub - top level directory 250- 250-X11/ interesting packages that run under X-Windows 250-academic/ software written by researchers in different disciplines 250-archives/ archives of mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups 250-bbs/ the source to utilities running on the internet bbs 250-docs/ a large selection of documents, books, speeches, papers, etc. 250-gnu/ Unix Software written by the Free Software Foundation. 250-books/ entire books for download 250-sun-fixes/ patches to Suns from the Computer Emergency Response Team 250-sas/ programs and drivers for SAS (particularly those for SUNs) 250-sun-managers/ archives of the sun-managers newsgroup 250-sun-sounds/ sounds that you can play on SUNs 250-sunflash/ archives of SunFlash, a Florida-based SUN newsletter 250-sunspots/ archives of the SUNSPOTS mailing list 250-wais/ wais clients for accessing archived databases on this host 250- 250 CWD command successful. ftp> ls 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for /bin/ls. README sun-sounds docs DISCLAIMER.readme micro sas X11 terminal-emulators 226 Transfer complete. 231 bytes received in 0.051 seconds (4.4 Kbytes/s) ftp> cd X11 250-Openlook clients that run under the Openlook window manager 250-4va-1.21.tar.Z program to view and manipulate 4 dimensional objects 250-xfract106.shar.Z xfractint. program to calculate and view fractals 250 CWD command successful. ftp> cd Openlook 200 PORT command successful. ftp> ls (this lists the contents of the directory) 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list. xvnews.tar.Z olvwm3.tar.Z workman1.0b.tar.Z Ftptool4.3.tar.Z Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z 28507 bytes received in 1 seconds (28 Kbytes/s) ftp> binary (this lets you retrieve binary information -- see notes) 200 Type set to I. ftp> get Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z (this grabs the file for you) 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z (609253 bytes). 226 Transfer complete. local: Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z remote: Ftptool4.3.unc.1.tar.Z 609253 bytes received in 2.7 seconds (2.2e+02 Kbytes/s) ftp> quit 221 Goodbye. Now you have the Ftptool. Use uncompress and tar -xvf to uncompress and unarchive the file. You will have created a directory called Ftptool4.3. cd Ftptool4.3 and type make. You will have made a program called ftptool. By running ftptool, you may easily access SunSITE and other ftp reposities all over the world. ================================================================== Some Useful ftp Commands for SunSITE Unix directories are hierarchal. In the example above some simple Unix commands were used to change directories and list possible directories or files (i.e. move up or down the hierarchy.) the ls command lists the contents of the active directory the cd command enables the user to change directories (move up or down the hierarchy) the cd .. command allows the user to return to the previous directory, using this command it is possible to return to the initial directory the get command retrieves files from SunSITE the put command places files on SunSITE. Note that this will ONLY work within the uploads directory. the binary command sets the transfer type for binary files. You should always issue the binary command before retrieving compiled programs or files with endings of tar or Z. A Note About Special File Types in the SunSITE Archives You will notice that many of the files on SunSITE have special endings such as .Z .tar .zip .hqx and .sit Such files have been compressed and/or specially encoded to allow them to be more quickly and easily transfer in working order via ftp. It is a good idea to use the binary command before attempting to retrieve any of these file types. .Z files have been compressed using the UNIX compress command. Once you have retrieved a file with the .Z suffix, you should use the UNIX uncompress command which will create a new file (uncompressed and larger than the original) without the .Z ending. .tar files are usually a collection of several related files and directories combined as one file for transfer or archiving by the UNIX tar (tape archive) command. Once you have retrieved such a file, you should use the tar -xvf command to extract the files and directories from tar format. The file will remain on your local computer even after the extraction has successfully completed. It is a good idea to remove the tar file after extraction. .zip files are usually files for pcs running DOS or Windows that have been processed by the zip program. Use the unzip program (or pkunzip) to make such files usable. .hqx files are usually Macintosh files that have been converted to binHex format for files transfer or archiving. Use the binHex program's download option to convert .hqx files to a usable format. .sit files are usually Macintosh files and folders that have been combined and compressed for transfer and archiving (much like tar files in UNIX). Use the StuffIt program to unpack such files and folders. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- WAIS - The Wide Area Information Server WAIS is pronounced "ways", and was developed at Thinking Machines Corporation. WAIS is a database system that exploits two recently popularized computer science concepts: the client-server model, and full-text databases. It gives the ability for users to search existing databases of articles, books, references, abstracts and specialist information (such as genome databases, usenet group archives, ftp-site listings, etc), and for people with information to publish it at little expense and effort over the Internet. The client-server model is a commonly used method of providing services over a network. The end-user uses a client program to access information by communicating with a server program. Typically the server and client are running on different machines and communicate over the network. You need not have a server of your own to be able to use the client. The full-text database is a model designed explicitly to search documents on any word that appears in those documents. The old approach was to have a set of keywords which you could search on, and these words represented a small subset of all the words in the documents. It is the WAIS client that lets you search databases. Databases are provided over networks by WAIS servers. Servers are available to run under System V and BSD releases of Unix, VMS, the IBM RS/6000, and the NeXT. Client software is available for dumb terminal Unix, curses on Unix, GNU Emacs, Macintosh (with MacTCP), the NeXT, MS-DOS machines with and without Windows, as well as VMS, RS/6000, X Windows, OpenLook, Motif and Sunview. You can get these clients and servers from SunSITE.unc.edu via anonymous ftp. Look in the pub/wais directory. The fundamental concepts in WAIS are the database, the document, the source and the hit. A source is a short text file that describes how a client can access a database that is provided by a server. It typically lists the database name, the machine the server program is running on, a brief description of the database, the name of the maintainer of the database, and the cost (if any). A document is the basic unit - when you perform a search and look at results, you will be looking at documents. Databases hold lots of documents, and the server will search all the documents in the database. When the server finishes the search, it sends the client a list of hits - the names of documents that looked like they matched what you were searching for. A hit is one document name. To try out WAIS, without compiling anything, you have to be on the Internet. The following is a brief guide to the curses-based Unix client. Telnet to SunSITE.unc.edu and log in as "swais" (do not type the quotation marks). You will not need a password. Then enter your terminal type when prompted for it (most will be vt100). You will then be connected to a simple terminal window client program, and will be presented with a list of names of databases to search (each name of a database corresponds to a source). You can move through the list of sources with your arrow keys or the j and k keys. The question mark (?) key gives you help. To search for a word in the database names, use the / key. For example, /sun will move you quickly to the databases relating to Sun computers. A database fo selection will be highlighted. (For instance, SunSITE.unc.edu offers the "sun-fixes" database. Use the arrows or j keys to highlight that database name if you wish to search it). Once your cursor is on the source you wish to search press Return and you will be asked for keywords to search on. (Notice that an * has been placed beside the selected source). Enter the keywords, separated by spaces (for instance, "mail sendmail", without quotation marks, would search for the words mail and sendmail). The client then gives you a list of hits - the names of documents that match your request. You can move through the list with the same commands as before. To view a document, press Return when the name of the document is highlighted. Press H for help while viewing the document. Press 'q' to leave from the list of documents. Nat (gnat@kauri.vuw.ac.nz -- Nathan Torkington -- is the electronic text and MS-DOS archivist for the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) Modified and extended for Sunsite by Paul_Jones@unc.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBMISSION PROCEDURES FOR SUNSITE Any large archive requires a clearly defined set of policies regarding submissions. These guidelines are designed to allow the maintainers to quickly and efficiently provide access to materials submitted to the archive, and to ensure that only the most recent versions of all submissions are provided. If you have any questions about these guidelines, send them to ftpkeeper@SunSITE.unc.edu. Submission procedures for the SunSITE archive are quite simple, but must be followed by all submitters. We have three broad "package" areas; software, documents, and data. SOFTWARE PACKAGE SUBMISSION POLICY a) The software must be provided as a single archive file with a clear name containing the version number of the package. If the software consists of more than one file, a standard archival program must be used to create a single file. All archives must be "system friendly", i.e. they must create a subdirectory for the software they contain. b) The archive must contain sufficient documentation to allow an inexperienced user to compile and operate the software. This documentation must contain at least a users manual and an installation guide. c) A software package description document must be provided and is described below. This document must conform to the standards set forth by the Internet Engineering Task Force Internet FTP Archives Working Group (IAFA). d) The archive file, complete with the IAFA document and all user documentation must be placed in the "uploads" directory at sunsite.unc.edu and a mail message containing the IAFA document must be sent to ftpkeeper@sunsite.unc.edu. This mail message must also contain a telephone number where the author may be reached. This phone number will not be distributed. SAMPLE ARCHIVE FILE Consider a hypothetical statistical analysis package called "analysis". analysis-1.0.tar This package must create a directory and unpack itself into it. tar -xf analysis-1.0.tar analysis/IAFA-PACKAGE` analysis/README analysis/doc/manual.txt analysis/doc/manual.ps analysis/src/main.c analysis/src/parse.c analysis/src/graph.c analysis/src/Makefile analysis/src/README analysis/src/INSTALL The IAFA document must be called IAFA-PACKAGE and contain the following information: Title: Title of the package Version: A version number or string associated with the package Description: A description of the function of the program(s) contained in the package. Author: Name and e-mail address of the author. A telephone number is optional Maintained-by: This field should be included when the current maintainer of the package is known. In most cases, it will be the author. Maintained-at: sunsite.unc.edu. Other sites may also be specified by the submitter. Platforms: Any requirements or restrictions that the package may have in terms of hardware or software (OS) platforms. The programming language the package is written in must be included. Copying-Policy: The status of the package for copying purposes. This field must contain one of the following entries: "Public Domain" "Freely Redistributable" "Voluntary Payment" (shareware) Keywords: Keywords appropriate for users trying to locate this package. DOCUMENT SUBMISSION POLICIES a) Single documents are acceptable, but we prefer that documents be submitted as a package containing: 1) The document in plain ASCII text format. 2) The document in PostScript format. 3) The document in the author(s) preferred word processing format. 4) An IAFA document description abstract called IAFA-ABSTRACT. The description of this IAFA document follows. The filenames of the documents must be descriptive, with the file extension defining the document format. Examples: 1) ASCII Text - .TXT 2) PostScript - .PS 3) SGML - .SGML 4) HTML - .HTML 5) TEX - .TEX These examples are not meant to limit the acceptable formats. SunSITE will maintain a list of formats that may be found in the archive. b) Each document must have the name of the author, and while we prefer that the author(s) provide an e-mail or postal address in the document, it is not required. c) Document packages should be created using standard archival software such as TAR. The document packages must be "system friendly", as discussed in the software submission policies. d) The document package, complete with the IAFA document and all user documentation must be placed in the "uploads" directory at sunsite.unc.edu and a mail message containing the IAFA document must be sent to ftpkeeper@sunsite.unc.edu. This mail message must also contain a telephone number where the author may be reached. This phone number will not be distributed. Format of IAFA-ABSTRACTS Document-Name: Filename containing the document, without extension Title: Title of the document Authors: Names of authors, with e-mail and/or postal addresses. Authors: Names of authors, with e-mail and/or postal addresses. Please separate these name/address entries with a semicolon. Example: Jim Fullton 310 Wilson Library, UNC Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3460, USA; Paul Jones Revision-Date: Date of last document revision Category: A "author defined" category into which the document might fall. Example: "User Guide", "Conference Proceedings", "Technical Report", etc. Abstract: Summary of the document, in plain text. Format: A list of formats in which the document is available. Citation: The official bibliographic entry for the document. Publication-Status: Current status of the document (draft, published, etc). Keywords: Keywords relevant to the document Size: Size of document in pages. DATASET SUBMISSION POLICIES Datasets may be submitted to the SunSITE archive. No restrictions are placed on dataset format. a) Datasets must be submitted as an archived package (see above) containing the following: 1) The dataset itself, with a descriptive name. 2) An IAFA document (IAFA-DATASETS) describing the dataset. The description of this document follows. b) The dataset package, complete with the IAFA document and all user documentation must be placed in the "uploads" directory at sunsite.unc.edu and a mail message containing the IAFA document must be sent to ftpkeeper@sunsite.unc.edu. This mail message must also contain a telephone number where the author/creator may be reached. This phone number will not be distributed. Format of IAFA-DATASETS Dataset-Name: Name of the file containing the dataset. Title: Title of the dataset Version: Any version number associated with the dataset Revision-Date: Date of last dataset revision Source: The group or organization providing the source for the dataset. Email or postal addresses must be provided. Compiled-by: The group or organization responsible for compiling the datasets into the format for which this description applies. Email or postal addresses must be provided. Size: The size of the dataset in octets (bytes) or records. If records are specified, a record size must be provided as well as other relevant record information. Format: The format in which the dataset is distributed. Software: A list of programs used to manipulate the dataset. Contact names and postal/email addresses should be provided if available. The SunSITE administrators will attempt to locate and retrieve non-commercial software if it meets SunSITE standards. Otherwise, pointers to appropriate sites will be provided, if available. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu, paris.cs.miami.edu, uunet.uu.net, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770. TRACE: To: sunflash@suntri Errors-to: owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com