IP-PUB - Infopeople Public Service Archive: (Fwd) Re: Lynx software

(Fwd) Re: Lynx software

Infopeople PUB List (ippubman@library.berkeley.edu)
Thu, 1 Aug 1996 16:45:14 -0700

Two messages from Cary Gordon have been concatenated herein. They
are separated by the original posted message from Chris
Stensvold.--Dean C. Rowan, Co-moderator

Sender: Cary Gordon <cgordon@CERF.NET>
Subject: Re: Lynx software

Lynx is more or less a dead issue although you might try ftp://luddite.com
<g>. You could always load up Linux or BSD and compile a version <g redux>.

>Sender: Chris Stensvold <libthou1@CERF.NET>
>Subject: Lynx software
>
>I have spent some time trying to download a copy of the Lynx software for
>our Discovery terminal, with no luck. I have tried several sites. When
>I tried to unzip the files there were error messages. It appeared that
>what I received was corrupted or incomplete. I tried downloading both
>from a terminal with dial-up access and a networked terminal.
>When I asked one of our
>community partners to try for a good copy, he came back saying he found 5
>sites but they had been "shut down" - he believed because the software is no
>longer being supported. I tried to find a copy I could purchase,
>unsuccessfully. Our network consultant was unable to provide the software
>either. Is it true that Lynx will not be updated and is no longer available?

Happy Lynxing. I will email you a copy in a self extracting file.

>
> DOSLYNX V0.8 ALPHA RELEASE INFORMATION
>
>Contents:
>
> Introduction
> System Requirements
> Obtaining DosLynx
> Required Files
> Installing DosLynx
> Configuring DosLynx
> Command Line Options
> Using DosLynx
> Special Notes on Usage
> New DosLynx Features
> Distributing DosLynx
> Credits
>
>
>
>Introduction
>
> This is an alpha release of DosLynx for DOS compatible computers written
> by Garrett Arch Blythe for The University of Kansas.
>
> DosLynx is a distributed hypertext browser with some World Wide Web
> capabilities.
>
> This file provides information about installing, configuring, and using
> DosLynx v0.8a.
>
> DosLynx is copyrighted by the University of Kansas and is free for
> instructional and research educational use. Non-educational use will be
> licensed at a later date.
>
> DosLynx is available in its source and binary forms.
>
>
>
>System Requirements
>
> One of DosLynx's goals is to provide support for as many DOS users as
> possible. We have scaled DosLynx towards this end.
>
> The known system requirements are:
>
> CPU 8086 compatible.
>
> Memory 512 kilobytes free or more recommended.
>
> Hard Drive
> Required. 2 megabytes free or more recommended.
>
> Monitor
> Monochrome, Black and White, and Color supported.
>
> Graphics capability
> Optional.
>
> Mouse Optional.
>
> Network
> None, or Class 1 (ethernet) packet driver connected to
> a TCP/IP network. You may, of course, emulate a Class 1 packet
> driver
> if you have the required software for your particular system
> (i.e.
> PPP, ODI, SLIP, etc).
>
>
> DosLynx is known not to work on the following systems:
>
> DOS Versions below 3.0 will not work properly.
>
>
> Release 0.7a stated erroneously that computers using Lan Workplace for
> DOS (or any other comparable TCP/IP stack) were not compatible with
> DosLynx. See the Installating DosLynx section on how to properly setup
> your computer when running an existing TCP/IP stack like Lan Workplace
> but would like to use DosLynx.
>
> If your system is also not supportable, we would very much like to know
> your system configuration. Please mail the DosLynx developer at this
> Internet address:
>
>
> lynx-help@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
>
>
>
>Obtaining DosLynx
>
> DosLynx v0.8a is available via binary anonymous FTP at ftp2.cc.ukans.edu
> in the pub/WWW/DosLynx directory. DosLynx version 0.8 alpha will be the
> file named DLX0_8A.EXE which is a self-extracting archive.
>
> URL notation is ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/WWW/DosLynx/DLX0_8A.EXE
>
> DosLynx will be updated periodically as new changes are made to the
> application. You will be able to find the new versions via binary
> anonymous FTP to ftp2.cc.ukans.edu in the pub/WWW/DosLynx directory
> under an appropriately named archive.
>
> URL notation for the directory is
> ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/WWW/DosLynx/
>
>
>
>Required Files
>
> DosLynx version 0.8 alpha has the following files shipped with it. If
> you do not have all of the files listed below we suggest obtaining a
> complete release from the Internet address listed above.
>
>
>
> DOSLYNX.EXE
> The DosLynx v0.8a executable.
>
> DOSLYNX.CFG
> The DosLynx v0.8a configuration file.
>
> README.HTM
> The HTML equivalent of this file.
>
> README.TXT
> The text equivalent of this file.
>
> ERROR.HTM
> The default DosLynx HTML error page.
>
> HOTLIST.HTM
> The default DosLynx HTML hotlist.
>
>
>
>
>Installing DosLynx
>
> This section assumes that you have not already installed DosLynx version
> 0.8 alpha on your hard drive. If you already have, you may skip this
> section.
>
> Obtain a copy of DosLynx and place it in an appropriately named
> directory on your hard drive.
>
> Enter the command "DLX0_8A" from your DOS prompt in the directory which
> you placed the DosLynx v0.8a archive.
>
> The required files should be written by the self-extracting archive into
> the directory. You may now remove the DLX0_8A.EXE from the directory if
> you wish by entering the command "del DLX0_8A.EXE".
>
> For those users with a TCP/IP stack already loaded (such as Lan
> Workplace for DOS) you will need to configure your computer so that you
> can unload the TCP/IP stack at your convienience. When you are ready to
> run DosLynx, you must first unload your TCP/IP stack; for LWP, the
> command is "tcpip /u". Next, if need be, load a packet driver emulator
> for your system configuration. You should now be ready to run DosLynx.
> After using DosLynx, you may want to return your system to its previous
> configuration. Do this by unloading the packet driver emulator if one
> was loaded. Load your TCP/IP stack again to finish this process.
>
>
>
>Configuring DosLynx
>
> Edit the DosLynx v0.8a configuration file named DOSLYNX.CFG with any
> text editor. Go through each keyword and provide the appropriate value.
> Ample configuration instructions are included in the distribution
> configuration file. Once finished, save the modifed file as ASCII text.
> If you wish to save your hotlist which was used in your old version of
> DosLynx, simply change the hotlist keyword in the configuration file to
> point to your old hotlist file.
>
>
>
>Command Line Options
>
> DosLynx has the following command line switches and options. All command
> line options supercede their configuration file equivalents. All command
> line options are case insensitive except for URLs.
>
>
>
> /B This option will hide the clock, socket activity, free
> free temporary disk space, free heap space, and message window
> for the duration of the current DosLynx session. This option
> was added to not clutter the screen for blind users as this
> causes some problems with screen readers, but makes for an
> all around cleaner display for all users if you wish to use /B.
>
> /P This is the most important command line option. If you will
> be executing DosLynx from a directory other than the one you
> installed DosLynx in, you must use the /P option. /P specifies
> the directory in which DosLynx may find its configuration file
> DOSLYNX.CFG and the errorhtml file ERROR.HTM. If you installed
> DosLynx in the directory C:\DLX then you should use the /P option
>
> as follows:
> doslynx /PC:\DLX
> To avoid having to retype the /P option every time you wish to
> use DosLynx, create a DOS batch file automatically specifying
> the /P option for you and place the batch file a directory
> specified in your DOS PATH environment variable.
>
> /T This option specifies the temporary directory where DosLynx
> will create its temporary files. If you wanted to use the
> directory C:\TEMP as the place to store temporary files, then you
>
> would use /T in the following manner:
> doslynx /TC:\TEMP\
>
> /L This option tells DosLynx how many loaded documents to keep
> in memory before it starts releasing the oldest unviewed file. If
>
> you wanted DosLynx to keep the last 5 ready in memory, then you
> would use the /L option in the follwing way:
> doslynx /L5
>
> /V This option tells DosLynx what text mode to begin in. /VLOW
> tells DosLynx to use the 25 row text mode. /VHIGH tells DosLynx
> to attempt to use the 43 or 50 row text modes available to EGA
> and
> VGA compatible video adapters.
>
> /H This option tells DosLynx if it should load the home page
> you specified in the configuration file. /HON tells DosLynx to
> load the home page on startup. /HOFF tells DosLynx to not load
> the home page on startup. /HOFF is automatically assumed if you
> also use a URL on the command line unless /HON follows the
> command
> line URL.
>
> /N This option tells DosLynx if it will allow network access.
> To turn off network access, use /NNO. To allow network access,
> use /NYES.
>
> URL This command line option is actually any URL that you would
> like DosLynx to load from the command line. It can be any valid
> URL or it can be a DOS path to a file. Once a URL is specified on
>
> the command line, your home page will not be loaded unless you
> also append the /HON to your command line following the URL. To
> have DosLynx load this document on startup, execute one of the
> following commands from the directory in which you installed
> DosLynx:
>
> doslynx readme.htm
>
> doslynx file:///readme.htm
>
>
>
>
>Using DosLynx
>
> DosLynx is a straightforward menu driven application.
>
> A user has several ways to activate the DosLynx menu; pressing F10,
> pressing ALT and one of the highlighted menu letters, and by a single
> left button mouse click.
>
> Following are a listing of all menu items and their functionality. Menu
> titles and the appropriate menu choice are presented side by side with
> the '|' character as a separator.
>
>
>
> File|Open URL
> Allows you to enter a user specified URL. Once
> entered, DosLynx will attempt to load the URL.
>
> File|Open Local
> Allows you to select a local file from an
> available DOS path. DosLynx will convert the file name into
> a URL and attempt to load the file.
>
> File|Close
> When this menu item is selected, DosLynx will close
> the currently active window so that it is no longer viewable
> on your display.
>
> File|Save Rendering
> When selected, DosLynx will prompt you
> for a local file name in which to save the document in the
> currently
> active window as ASCII text exactly as seen on your display.
>
> File|Print Rendering
> When selected, DosLynx will prompt you
> for a DOS device to which to print the rendering. The appropriate
>
> DOS device to enter is the one to which your line printer is
> connected, such as LPT1.
>
> File|Dos Shell
> DosLynx spawns your command interpreter so that
> you may take action outside of DosLynx while it is still
> running. After selecting this item, you should always exit
> the command interpreter and return to DosLynx after you are
> finished.
>
> File|Exit
> This will cause the DosLynx application to exit
> therefore ending your session inside DosLynx.
>
> Navigate|Find
> Allows you to enter a search string that
> DosLynx will find in your currently active window.
>
> Navigate|Find Again
> DosLynx will again find the last
> entered search string from the find command.
>
> Navigate|Next Anchor
> This will move you to the next selectable
> anchor in the active window.
>
> Navigate|Previous Anchor
> This will move you to the previous
> selectable anchor in the active window.
>
> Navigate|Activate Anchor
> This will cause DosLynx to attempt to
> load the destination URL of the currently active anchor.
>
> Navigate|Prior Document
> This will cause DosLynx to attempt to
> load the last visited URL in the currently active window.
>
> Navigate|Search Index
> Some loaded documents are searchable
> indexes. To cause DosLynx to search the index of the currently
> active window, select this command. This command will not
> be active if the window contains no searchable index.
>
> Navigate|Show Destination URL
> Select this if you desire to
> view the URL of the currently active anchor.
>
> Options|Toggle Low/High Text Mode
> Allows you to switch back
> and forth between the default 25 line text mode and the 43 or
> 50 line text mode of EGA or VGA video adapters.
>
> Window|Messages
> This will cause the window containing all
> DosLynx message to appear as the active window.
>
> Window|Clone Window
> Use this if you wish to create a duplicate
> of the currently active window. The window should be the
> same in every respect except for window number and size.
>
> Window|Zoom
> Use this command to switch a window to its maximum
> possible size and its previous size before Zoom.
>
> Window|Cascade
> Use this command to organize all open windows
> in a cascading arrangement on your display.
>
> Window|Tile
> Use this command to organize all open windows
> in a tiled arrangement on your display.
>
> Hotlist|View
> This command causes DosLynx to load the user
> specified HotList file for easy access to anchors which you
> speicify.
>
> Hotlist|Add current to Hotlist
> This command will add the URL
> of the currently active window to your hotlist file and then
> prompt you for a name by which to remember the URL.
>
> Hotlist|Home Page
> Use this command to open a new window with
> the user specified home page loaded within.
>
> Help|About DosLynx
> Miscellaneous information regarding DosLynx.
>
> Help|Mail Developer
> Use this command to send a suggestion or
> bug report to the developer of DosLynx if you are connected
> to a network.
>
>
> DosLynx also has many other ways of obtaining user input.
>
> All hotkey equivalents are listed beside the menu choices while running
> DosLynx.
>
> In addition to the listed keys, you can use the UNIX vi keys (HJKL) or
> your numeric keypad with your number lock on for anchor navigation. This
> differs from the 0.7a release of DosLynx that allowed the user to use
> the Lynx arrow keys for anchor navigation which is no longer supported
> as the arrow keys are reserved for scrolling only.
>
> Page up, page down, the arrow keys, and the space bar allow you to look
> through a document that is longer than your display itself. Further, if
> you utilize a mouse with DosLynx, you can select an anchor by using a
> single left button click, and activate an anchor by using a double left
> button click. A special case arises when attempting to select an inline
> image which also is has a destination; see the Special Notes section.
>
> Items contained in the status bar (the bottom line of your screen while
> running DosLynx) correlate directly with items in the navigate menu
> which are selectable by the mouse only. In addition, the right mouse
> button is the same as issuing the Window|Clone Window command.
>
>
>
>Special Notes on Usage
>
> As of the DosLynx v0.8a release, only the following URL types are
> supported:
>
>
> file
> ftp
> gopher
> http
> news
> wais
>
>
> If you notice extremely poor system performace, such as the hard drive
> being continually accessed, install a disk cache such as SMARTDRV.
>
> When attempting to select an inline image with a mouse, it may not work
> as you expect. Some inline images also have destinations, in which case
> you will be taken to that destination. Use the keyboard to specifically
> select an inline image which also has a destination.
>
> For the best DosLynx performance, specify the temporary file directory
> in your configuration file or on the command line to be a directory on a
> RAMDRIVE. See your DOS documentation for setting up a RAMDRIVE specific
> to your system.
>
> DosLynx is a MDI (multiple document interface) application. This may
> confuse new users that are used to other World Wide Web clients. As a
> rule of thumb, when you open any URL or document through DosLynx's menu
> or equivalent hotkeys, then it will exists in it's very own window.
> Windows are numbered in their upper right corner and you can switch
> between windows by pressing the ALT key and the window number
> simultaneously.
>
> Each window represents an open file at any given time. If you open more
> windows than you have FILES specified in your CONFIG.SYS file then
> DosLynx may crash. Increase the number of open files your machine can
> have if you plan to use multiple windows a lot.
>
> When DosLynx has used most of your computer's memory attempting to use
> the File|Dos Shell command will not work. Your computer simply does not
> have enough memory to execute your command interpretor.
>
> When you ftp a file or activate an anchor that DosLynx cannot display as
> text, you are asked to give a file name to save the information in; a
> filename is now suggested by DosLynx. These files are not removed by
> DosLynx when you exit the application. This allows you as the user to do
> what you will with such files after exiting DosLynx. If you are prompted
> to save a file that is already on your hard drive (such as a local
> image) do not use the same name in the same directory. This option is
> being left in since some users may wish to use DosLynx on a LAN and copy
> the selected files to their workstation's hard drive.
>
> DosLynx has been known to crash when it encounters a file containing a
> large number of selectable anchors in it. This is due to an unavoidable
> memory limitation. Large files with few anchors will be loaded fine.
> Future releases of DosLynx will address this problem in a more stable
> manner.
>
> When DosLynx terminates unexpectedly, the temporary files it creates
> remain in the temporary file directory you specified in the
> configuration file or on the command line. The temporary files follow
> the pattern of DLX*.$$$. You will have to remove these files yourself if
> this occurs. As DosLynx is improved upon you can expect it to become a
> more stable application and prevent you from having to worry about this
> temporary file problem.
>
> If you are wondering, the menu bar contains the current time in the
> upper right had corner. In the status bar are three numbers in the lower
> right corner. The numbers are from left to right the current network
> activity in bytes, the size in bytes of the temporary drive you
> specified, and the amount of available heap memory in bytes. These were
> originally run-time debugging tools for the developer of DosLynx but
> were left in as they are harmless and give the user some information of
> what is currently happening when DosLynx is at work. They can be turned
> off with the /B command line option.
>
> If your computer does not use a packet driver, which DosLynx requires,
> to access the network, ask your local network administrator if there is
> a packet emulator available for your particular workstation
> configuration. For instance, if your computer utilizes an ODI driver for
> network access, in order to use DosLynx you will need to install the a
> packet driver emulator if one is available to you.
>
> Once one program is utilizing your computer's packet driver, like
> DosLynx, no other program may do so at the same time. If you have need
> to run more than one packet driver utilizing program at the same time,
> we suggest asking your local network administrator if your computer can
> be configured to use a packet multiplexor. If so, you will need to find
> a suitable packet multiplexor and install it on your computer.
>
> To correctly view the ISO Latin I characters supported by HTML, you must
> configure DOS to use multilingual code page of 850. Consult your DOS
> manuals on how to specify the appropriate code page for your computer.
>
> To force DosLynx into a supported black and white video mode, type "mode
> BW80" at your DOS prompt. Consider doing this if you monitor is black
> and white but DosLynx considers it a color monitor (monochrome EGA
> monitors).
>
> If you are interested in registering with the DosLynx development
> listserv group, send a mail message to listserv@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu.
> Please do not send subscribe requests to the doslynx-dev list directly.
> In the body of the message, send only the following information where
> username@node is your internet mailing address:
>
>
> subscribe doslynx-dev Your Name Here
>
>
> Remember that this version of DosLynx is an alpha and has been released
> as a feedback tool only. Expect problems, and when you encounter one
> please mail the developer at the following address and inform the
> creator of the problem you encountered and your system configuration.
>
>
> lynx-bug@falcon.cc.ukans.edu
>
>
>
>New DosLynx Features
>
> The following new features were added in this release of DosLynx:
>
> Inline Images
> DosLynx can now download any inline image and
> display inline GIFs.
>
> Blind Support
> The /B command line option was implemented to
> aid blind users using DosLynx with a screen reader.
>
> Mail Developer
> The mail developer command now takes much less
> time to send the message you enter, and no longer hangs your
> computer.
>
> Local GIFs
> Local GIFs will now load correctly.
>
> Suggested Filenames
> DosLynx will now suggest a
> filename when prompting the user to save a file.
>
>
>
>
>Distributing DosLynx
>
> You may distribute DosLynx version 0.8 alpha at your convenience so long
> that you distribute the orignal self-extracting archive obtained by the
> means listed in the Obtaining DosLynx section of this document.
>
>
>
>Credits
>
> The University of Kansas would like to thank the following organizations
> and people for their aid in the creation of DosLynx.
>
>
> Generous financial assistance given by O'Reilly and Associates
> and Intel Corporation.
> Fundamental GIF display routines by David Koblas
> GIF support and dithering routines by Thomas Boutell
> World Wide Web Source Library by CERN
> Waterloo TCP by Erick Engelke
> FTP code from James W. Matthews, Dartmouth Software Development
> Borland C/C++ and TurboVision by Borland International
>
>
> Further, The University by Kansas recognizes the following:
>
> Borland C/C++ and TurboVision
> Trademarks of and Copyright by Borland International.
>
> World Wide Web Source Library
> Copyright by CERN, Geneva, Switzeralnd.
>
> Waterloo TCP Library
> Copyright by Erick Engelke.
>
> FTP code
> Portions Copyright 1994 Trustees by Dartmouth College.
>
> GIF display routines
> Copyright by David Koblas along with the following notice:
>
>
>
>/* +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ */
>/* | Copyright 1990, David Koblas. | */
>/* | Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software | */
>/* | and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby | */
>/* | granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all | */
>/* | copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission | */
>/* | notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is | */
>/* | provided "as is" without express or implied warranty. | */
>/* +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ */
>
>
> Last Modified: 08-11-94 by Garrett Arch Blythe
>
> Report errors to the following address:
>
>
> lynx-bug@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
>
> Request help from the following address:
>
>
> lynx-help@ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
>
>

-------------------------------------------------------
Cary Gordon cgordon@cerf.net
Community Partner 72477.62@compuserve.com
Sherman Oaks Branch
Los Angeles Public Library