Re: ASR FAQ

Re: ASR FAQ

[Rolf EBERT]

In article <1993May6.223304.5887@sei.cmu.edu>, connr@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu (Richard 
Conn) writes:

[description of the ASR deleted]

|> ============================================================================
|> 4. How do I get a copy of the resources it offers?
|> 
|> The ASR is split between the <ADA> and <MSDOS.ADA> directories on
|> SIMTEL20.
|> 
|> SIMTEL20 allows only nine ANONYMOUS FTP logins during weekday prime
|> time, 5am to 3pm Mountain Time (GMT-7), but 27 otherwise.  It is HIGHLY
|> RECOMMENDED to not use SIMTEL20 directly; use the mirror sites instead.
|> 
|> All of the ASR is available on AdaNet, funded by NASA.  Subscriptions to
|> AdaNet are free of charge.  Contact AdaNet directly at 800/444-1458.
|> 
|> Parts of the ASR are available on ASSET, funded by STARS.  Subscriptions to
|> ASSET are free of charge.  Contact librarian@source.asset.com.
|> 
|> All of the ASR is available on the following SIMTEL20 mirror sites in
|> the indicated directories:
|> 
|> oak.oakland.edu (USA, 141.210.10.117)     pub/ada
|> wuarchive.wustl.edu (USA, 128.252.135.4)  mirrors/ada
|> ftp.uu.net (USA, 137.39.1.9)              languages/ada
|> nctuccca.edu.tw (Taiwan, 140.111.3.21)    Computing-Languages/ada/SIMTEL-ada
|> 

There also is an European site that has a whole copy of the ASR and of some oth
er
useful Ada-code and information such as ayacc-aflex, Numerics-Working-Group
papers, Paradise, GNAT-info, AJPO-mirror:

Look in 

	cnam.cnam.fr:/pub/Ada



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rolf Ebert     Groupe Informatique et Systemes Energetiques     GISE EMP-ENPC
Tel: +33 1 43044098 app 3475 FAX: +33 1 43046364            La Courtine Cedex
Internet: ebert@enpc.fr                                F-93167 Noisy le Grand
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

ASR FAQ

[cis.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!howland.]

Ada Software Repository - Frequently Asked Questions
Date: 22 May 1993
Questions/Comments/Suggestions for Improvement?
    Contact connr@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu

1. What is the ASR?
2. Disclaimer
3. Who is paying for the ASR and its sites?
4. How do I get a copy of the resources it offers?
5. How do I find out what the ASR has to offer?

============================================================================
1. What is the ASR?

The  Ada  Software  Repository  (ASR)  is  a  repository  of Ada
programs, software  components, and educational material that has been
established on the SIMTEL20  host computer on the Defense Data Network
(DDN).  This repository has been accessible to any host computer on the
network since November 26, 1984.  The ASR is currently a voluntary
activity without funding.  Disk space is provided on SIMTEL20 on a
space-available basis and is subject to going away without warning
if the need arises.

The  ASR  serves  two  basic  roles:  to  promote  the  exchange  and 
use (reusability)  of  Ada programs and tools (including components) and
to promote Ada  education  (specifically by providing several working
examples of programs in source form for people to study and modify and
by providing courseware on Software Engineering with Ada,
Object-Oriented Design, and Object-Oriented Programming).

The  ASR  is  one of several repositories located on the SIMTEL20 DDN
host computer  at  White  Sands  Missile Range in New Mexico.  SIMTEL20
is owned and operated by the Computer Operations Division of the
Information Systems Command of the U.S.  Army (USAISC).

============================================================================
2. Disclaimer

All software, documentation, and other items of information in the ASR
are in  the  public  domain,  covered  by ACM-style or GNU-style
copyrights, or are shareware.   These  software, documentation, and
information files are provided "AS  IS"  and  without  any  expressed 
or  implied  warranties whatsoever.  No warranties of performance,
merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose exist.

Because  of  the  diversity  of  conditions  and hardware under which
this software  may  be  used,  no  warranty  of  fitness for a
particular purpose is offered.  The user is advised to test the software
thoroughly before relying on it.  The user must assume the entire risk
and liability of using this software.

In no event shall any person or organization of people be held
responsible for  any  direct,  indirect,  consequential  or
inconsequential damages or lost profits.

Documentation  on  or mention of any company or its products in any of
the files in the ASR is provided for the information of the ASR user
community only and does not in any way constitute an endorsement.

============================================================================
3. Who is paying for the ASR and its sites?

The ASR is currently a voluntary activity without funding.  Disk space
is provided on SIMTEL20 on a space-available basis and is subject to
going away without warning if the need arises.

The mirror sites and servers are funded by the local institutions out of
a feeling of shared interest and mutual benefit.  We constitute a
community of users who is interested in serving our own user communities
and are providing a public service in the interest of serving our own
users better.  All services are voluntary, and any service is subject
to change at any time without notice.  Each service is self-supporting
and is occasionally blessed with grants from industry and government
sectors to help it continue providing its service.

If you wish to use a service, please pay attention to the directions
given by that service and adhere to their wishes.  Their directions
are usually not restrictive and are in place for good reason.

============================================================================
4. How do I get a copy of the resources it offers?

The ASR is split between the PD:<ADA> and PD:<MSDOS.ADA> directories on
SIMTEL20.

SIMTEL20 allows only nine ANONYMOUS FTP logins during weekday prime
time, 5am to 3pm Mountain Time (GMT-7), but 27 otherwise.  It is HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED to not use SIMTEL20 directly; use the mirror sites instead.

All of the ASR is available on AdaNET, funded by NASA.  Subscriptions to
AdaNET are free of charge.  Contact AdaNET directly via email to
lacey@adanet.wvnet.edu (this is the AdaNET Client Service) or via phone
at 800/444-1458.

Parts of the ASR are available on ASSET, funded by STARS.  Subscriptions to
ASSET are free of charge.  Contact librarian@source.asset.com.

A copy of the entire ASR and other useful Ada code and information
(aflex/ayacc, Numerics Working Group papers, Paradise, GNAT info,
and a copy of the material on ajpo.sei.cmu.edu) is on the French host
cnam.cnam.fr starting in the directory /pub/Ada.  Access can be made by
anonymous FTP.

If you are a user of CompuServe or GENIE, the MSDOS archives on SIMTEL20
are frequently copied into these services.

All of the ASR is available on the following SIMTEL20 mirror sites in
the indicated directories:

oak.oakland.edu (USA, 141.210.10.117)     pub/ada
wuarchive.wustl.edu (USA, 128.252.135.4)  mirrors/ada
ftp.uu.net (USA, 137.39.1.9)              languages/ada
nctuccca.edu.tw (Taiwan, 140.111.3.21)    Computing-Languages/ada/SIMTEL-ada

All of the MSDOS archive is available on the following SIMTEL20 mirror
sites:
    oak.oakland.edu (USA, 141.210.10.117)     pub/msdos
    wuarchive.wustl.edu (USA, 128.252.135.4)  mirrors/msdos
    archive.orst.edu (USA, 128.193.2.13)
    ftp.uu.net (USA, 137.39.1.9)
    nic.funet.fi (Finland, 128.214.6.100)
    src.doc.ic.ac.uk (United Kingdom, 146.169.3.7)
    nic.switch.ch (USA, 130.59.1.40)
    archie.au (Australia, 139.130.4.6)
    nctuccca.edu.tw (Taiwan, 140.111.3.21)

As a general rule, and ASR and MSDOS archives are at various locations
on these mirror sites.  You have to go looking for them.  It usually
does not take long to find them after a few quick guesses.

SIMTEL20 files are available by e-mail through the BITNET/EARN file
servers, which include:

Location        EARN/BITNET          Internet
--------------  ----------------     ----------------------------------
In USA:         LISTSERV@NDSUVM1     LISTSERV@VM1.NODAK.EDU
In USA:         LISTSERV@RPITSVM     LISTSERV@VM.ITS.RPI.EDU

In Turkey:      TRICKLE@TREARN       TRICKLE@EGE.EDU.TR
In Italy:       TRICKLE@IMIPOLI
In Belgium:     TRICKLE@BANUFS11     TRICKLE@CCS.UFSIA.AC.BE
In Austria:     TRICKLE@AWIWUW11
In Germany:     TRICKLE@DEARN        TRICKLE@VM.GMD.DE
In Israel:      TRICKLE@TAUNIVM      TRICKLE@VM.TAU.AC.IL
In Netherlands: TRICKLE@HEARN        TRICKLE@HEARN.NIC.SURFNET.NL
In France:      TRICKLE@FRMOP11      TRICKLE@FRMOP11.CNUSC.FR
In Colombia:    TRICKLE@UNALCOL      TRICKLE@UNALCOL.UNAL.EDU.CO
In Sweden:      TRICKLE@SEARN        TRICKLE@SEARN.SUNET.SE

Lengthy details on use of these servers is presented below.

SIMTEL20 files are available by uucp from UUNET's 1-900-GOT-SRCS.
See UUNET file uunet!~/info/archive-help for details.

If you cannot access them via FTP or e-mail, most SIMTEL20 MSDOS
files, including the PC-Blue collection, are also available for
downloading from Detroit Download Central (313) 885-3956.  DDC
has multiple lines which support 300/1200/2400/9600/14400 bps
(103/212/V22bis/HST/V32bis/V42bis/MNP).  This is a subscription system
with an average hourly cost of 17 cents.  It is also accessable on
Telenet via PC Pursuit and on Tymnet via StarLink outdial.  New files
uploaded to SIMTEL20 are usually available on DDC within 24 hours.

CD-ROM copies of the SIMTEL20 MS-DOS collection are available from
Coyote Data, Ltd., 1142 N. Main, Rochester, MI 48307, USA, telephone
(800) 451-7093 or (313) 656-8265, or FAX (313) 651-4071.  E-mail:
71756.444@CompuServe.COM  or  CIS 71756,444.  The consumer version of
their Oasis Library CD-ROM re-catalogs the MS-DOS files of SIMTEL20,
adds category and key-word search and retrieval utilities, and provides
on-line file descriptions.  Quarterly update subscriptions are available.

CD-ROM copies of the SIMTEL20 MS-DOS, Macintosh and Unix-C collections
are available from Walnut Creek CDROM, 1547 Palos Verdes, Suite 260,
Walnut Creek, CA 94596-2228, USA, telephone (800) 786-9907 or (510)
947-5996, or FAX (510) 947-1644.  E-mail: rab@cdrom.com.  Quarterly
update subscriptions are available.

If you do not have FTP access to SIMTEL20 or its mirrors, files may be
ordered by e-mail from the servers listed above.

If your mailer wants bang paths: uunet!vm1.nodak.edu!listserv
				 uunet!vm.its.rpi.edu!listserv

If you use bang paths, substitute your nearest neighbor which is also
on the Internet for uunet in the examples above.  Some examples are:
ames, decvax, decwrl, harvard, hplabs, nosc, rutgers, sharkey, sun,
ucbvax, ucsd, udel, uw-beaver, wuarchive.

Send these commands to the server to get its help files:

Use this command for LISTSERV:   GET PDGET HELP
 Use this command for TRICKLE:   /HELP

Sample command (which gets our catalog of MS-DOS files):

/PDGET MAIL PD:<MSDOS.FILEDOCS>SIMLIST.ZIP UUENCODE

These commands should be sent as the body of a regular email message.
Do not include a signature because it confuses the server.  If you
have xxdecode, you may wish to specify XXENCODE instead of UUENCODE to
avoid character translation problems.

SIMTEL20 does *not* run these servers.  Comments, questions, and
suggestions should be directed to the LISTSERV or TRICKLE manager at
one of these addresses, depending on which server you normally use:

                          Internet                  BITNET

        "John Fisher" <FISHER@VM.ITS.RPI.EDU>   <FISHER@RPITSVM>
         "Marty Hoag" <INFO@VM1.NODAK.EDU>      <INFO@NDSUVM1>
"TRICKLE Maintainers" <RED-BUG@EGE.EDU.TR>      <RED-BUG@TREARN>

Please do NOT send your comment or question about the servers to SIMTEL20.
However, if you wish to report a program bug or to request information
on how to upload files to SIMTEL20, you may send e-mail to me at one
of the addresses below.

   [Note: Do not use ftp-by-mail servers without the permission of your
   system administrator and (if fed via uucp) your uucp feed.  Thank
   you.  Justification: many sites simply don't have the disk space
   set up to do this without warning, and mail disruption may result.]

Keith Petersen
Maintainer of the MS-DOS archive at WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil [192.88.110.20]
Internet: w8sdz@TACOM-EMH1.Army.Mil     or      w8sdz@Vela.ACS.Oakland.Edu
Uucp: uunet!umich!vela!w8sdz                         BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND

============================================================================
5. How do I find out what the ASR has to offer?

The  contents  of  the ASR are organized in several different ways to
make finding  software  and  documentation  easier  for the ASR user. 
The following summarizes the information sources.

5.1.  ASR Master Index

The Master Index of the Ada Software Repository (ASR) is a loose-leaf
book that contains details on the software and information in the ASR. 
Each item of software is described by an abstract, information on the
host compiler/operating system and target environment, and a listing  of
all associated files and their locations in the ASR.  Each item of
information  is described by an abstract and a listing of all associated
files. The  ASR  Master  Index can be quickly searched by using its
table of contents, taxonomy, and index.

5.2.  Online Documentation System

The  directory  <ADA>  contains  the files ADA.DB and ADA.HDR.  ADA.DB
contains  a  machine-readable,  comma-delimited ASCII text database that
can be read by several database and spreadsheet programs (such as dBASE
II, SuperCalc, etc.).   This database contains a taxonomy of the ASR,
file specifications, and brief  descriptions  of  each  item  in  the 
ASR.   The file ADA.HDR names the database  record  fields and gives
their size, starting row (on a spreadsheet), and  starting  column  (on 
a  spreadsheet) in a format read by several popular spreadsheet
programs.  These files are updated often.

5.3.  Top-Level File Listings

In <ADA> are several ADA.* files that contain listings of the files in
the ASR in various formats.  These files are updated often.  Some of
them are:

    ADA.CRC - listing of files by directory with byte counts and CRCs
    ADA.UUE - UUENCODED form of ADA.CRC
    ADA.DB  - machine-readable database of the ASR (see elsewhere in
              this document for details)
    ADA.HDR - companion file to ADA.DB
    ADA.RPT - listing of files by directory with line and byte counts
    ADA.SNP - listing of directories (no files) with overall sizes in
              lines and bytes
    ADA.TAX - taxonomy of the ASR
    ADAF.TAX - taxonomy of the ASR with associated ID files referenced
    ADA.TIM - listing of the files in reverse chronological order
              (useful if you get tape updates of the ASR and want to
              see what has changed since your last update)
    ADAID.TIM - listing of the ID files in reverse chronological order
                (useful if you want to see what items have been added or
                changed recently)
    ADA.USE - listing of files by number of accesses

5.4. Old User's Handbook and Other Information

The directory <ADA.GENERAL> contains an out-of-date user's handbook
(ASRUH.DOC and ASRUH.IDX).  It also contains an out-of-date welcome
message (OVWELCOME.DOC).  A lot of information on SIMTEL20 file names
and other topics may still be valid.

-- 
========================================
Richard Conn
Disclaimer: I do not represent the AJPO or any other organization
in my statements made on the Internet.

Re: ASR FAQ

[Gregory Aharonian]

>3. Who is paying for the ASR and its sites?
>
>The ASR is currently a voluntary activity without funding.  Disk space
>is provided on SIMTEL20 on a space-available basis and is subject to
>going away without warning if the need arises.

   Once again, why in a climate where the DoD is funding three software
reuse centers, is space for the ASR provided on an as available basis,
and its organizer a volunteer.

   I would be interesting to measure use of SIMTEL Ada repository versus
the DoD taxpayer funded efforts to measure productivity.

Greg
-- 
**************************************************************************
 Greg Aharonian
 Source Translation & Optimization
 P.O. Box 404, Belmont, MA 02178

Re: ASR FAQ

[Alex Blakemore]

In article <SRCTRAN.93May23124154@world.std.com> srctran@world.std.com (Gregory
 Aharonian) writes:
>    Once again, why in a climate where the DoD is funding three software
> reuse centers, is space for the ASR provided on an as available basis,
> and its organizer a volunteer.

even worse, why is that the only one to poste a FAQ to comp.lang.ada
and allow anonymous ftp?

Greg has a pretty good point here.
-- 
Alex Blakemore       alex@cs.umd.edu        NeXT mail accepted
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Without an engaged and motivated human being at the keyboard,
the computer is just another dumb box."      William Raspberry

Re: ASR FAQ

[cis.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!magnus.]

In article <SRCTRAN.93May23124154@world.std.com> srctran@world.std.com (Gregory
 Aharonian) writes:
>>3. Who is paying for the ASR and its sites?
>>
>>The ASR is currently a voluntary activity without funding.  Disk space
>>is provided on SIMTEL20 on a space-available basis and is subject to
>>going away without warning if the need arises.
>
>   Once again, why in a climate where the DoD is funding three software
>reuse centers, is space for the ASR provided on an as available basis,
>and its organizer a volunteer.
>
>   I would be interesting to measure use of SIMTEL Ada repository versus
>the DoD taxpayer funded efforts to measure productivity.

But SIMTEL _is_ (at least for the hardware and network access) DoD /
taxpayer funded. 

>From the FAQ:
}The  ASR  is  one of several repositories located on the SIMTEL20 DDN
}host computer  at  White  Sands  Missile Range in New Mexico.  SIMTEL20
}is owned and operated by the Computer Operations Division of the
}Information Systems Command of the U.S.  Army (USAISC).

While the Army apparently doesn't make the ASR a very high priority,
it is important enough that they have made the Ada and and other
archives freely and reliably available for over a decade.
   They are saying that if their mission or budget dictates, that
could change.  But that is true of _any_ government-sponsored program.

-- 
|Jon L. Spear (spear@cs.nps.navy.mil) : A man's reach should exceed his |
|Dept of Comp Sci, Code CS/Sj, x2830  : grasp, or what's a metaphor?    |