Extract.c v1.3  © 1992 by Frank J. Perricone

CHANGES:
  1.3: KLUGE option added
       SEENBY added, now doesn't show them unless you ask
       START has become BEGIN
       Separator lines not displayed in TEXTONLY mode
  1.2: TEXTONLY option added
  1.1: START and END options force messages to be in order
  1.0: initial release

This little program takes a bunch of messages in FidoNet format (including
that of any BBS that is Fido-ready, such as Falcon CBCS) and displays them.
You can use redirection to send them to the printer or a file.

To use v1.3 of Extract, you should specify a pathname (ending in / or :)
to the message area, and then two optional parameters: BEGIN and END.
Each one specifies the range of message numbers to be shown.  BEGIN defaults
to 1 and END defaults to the same as whatever BEGIN ends up being.

There is one more flag you can specify, TEXTONLY, which causes the output
to not include headers.  This is useful if you want to edit a text file
and bring it into your system's message editor, edit it, and then save it,
then use Extract to recreate the text file.  The separator lines are not
included in this case (they were in 1.2 rendering this option mostly
useless).

Two more flags, KLUGE and SEENBY, determine whether those lines are shown.
If the flags aren't present the lines aren't shown.

For instance, to view messages 10 to 20 in the area Falcon:msgs/Hobbies, type

  Extract Falcon:msgs/Hobbies/ BEGIN 10 END 10

To just view message 13, try

  Extract Falcon:msgs/Hobbies/ BEGIN 13

Technically the "BEGIN" and "END" are anything beginning with B or E.
And all other params have only their first letters changed.

You get the idea.  Messages are displayed in a pleasing format and are
shown in message-number order (not threaded order, though thread links
are given).

To send any of these dumps to the printer, add >PRT: right after the word
Extract (in AmigaDOS 2.0, add it anywhere).  To send it to a file, say
t:dump, try adding >t:dump instead.

Messages are displayed with their full header information, such as net
addresses, even if those are null.  Maybe someone can use this consistency
in an ARexx program or something.  Anyway, kludge lines are filtered out but
SEEN-BY: lines, tear lines, origin lines, quote lines, and other funky little
Fido-message quirks are printed as-is.  Word-wrapping is done at column 78.

Possible extensions for v1.2 would include the ability to turn kludge line
display on, to turn Seen-By, origin lines, tear lines, etc. off, or to change
the column width.  But not yet.

PLEASE set your stack to at least 15000.  I got consistent crashes at 4000
and irregular crashes at 9000 but no crashes at 15000.  Aren't a few kilobytes
of memory worth piece of mind anyway?

Some possible uses for Extract:

  Lets SYSOPs save messages into files, as if they had a capture buffer.
  Lets SYSOPs dump messages to the printer.
  Set up a menu option that copies all the files in an area into a file
    that the user can then download somewhere.
  Use the MF program (MsgFilter) to generate a list of files and then display
    them with Extract; you virtually have the tools to build your own message
    area system if you were careful with them.
  View messages without signing on.
  Make a script that archives and deletes messages, and makes the archives
    text files that anyone can download later.
  Edit a file using your system's message editor

Extract is hereby in the public domain, unless I infringed on the rights of
someone who had a copyright on something I used (such as the FidoNet tech
specs); in which case, Extract follows those restrictions.  Distribute this
program at will, but keep it together.  If you have improvements or ideas,
or want to say thanks, call the Crystal Ship BBS, 802-223-3257, or send
netmail to 1:325/611.0 and/or JSFJP@acad1.alaska.edu.

I include source code, which compiles under DICE.  The enclosed errorchk.h
file is useful in many situations and corresponds to a few things I find
myself doing in almost all my CLI-based C programs.  Feel free to use it.
If you modify Extract in a useful way, send me a copy.