Hi Neil,
In a message dated 11 Aug 26 you wrote to All :
12/05/26
Onwards .. we are very close to Zeus 1.8 making an appearance.
I haven't got 1.8 out yet but 1.9 is now starting to take shape.
There is definite line here where 1.8 stops and 1.9 starts. I've started packaging 1.8: it needs testing, then I need to write up a press release, then I'll ship it. Also, I guess I'm also bundling a free keyfile with it...
12/08/26
o TelnetConnector - bug fixes to the new GUI listviews.
o Prefs/Lines - added an RSA key size cycle gadget beside the "Generate
a new certificate" button on the Telnet configuration.
Key generation is extremely slow on 68k - a 4096-bit key can take
hours on a 50MHz 68060 and cannot be interrupted once started.
o Documentation - wrote up TelnetListener and TelnetConnector in
zeus.guide section 3.6.0.
o Documentation - added "TelnetConnector ARexx Commands" section to
rexx.guide, matching Connector.
o Connector, TelnetConnector and TelnetListener - closing the window now
iconifies, instead of quiting the apps. Mirroring ZMailer and
most other apps designed to run constantly.
13/08/26
o Documentation - RenumberFiles was not described anywhere in
zeus.guide. Added a "Renumbering the file catalogues" section at
the end of chapter 6.
o fbzeus.library - fixed a few performace bugs.
fbDeleteCatFile() flagged a record deleted but never unlinked it from
that list, so deleted records stayed in the chain forever and every
subsequent insert had to step over all records marked as deleted.
fbSaveFile() itself has a performance fix - it no longer walks
the entire area's 'chain' of files to save one (deleted or not).
fbSaveFile() now also operates atomically and so survives failures
better.
fbQuickSave() now works as intended: it avoids rewriting the area's
whole file map once per file added, and was terrible for performance
when doing bulk uploads. Call fbUpdate() (via zmf.library/UpdateFB()!!)
when the run of saves finishes; File Editor does this for Bulk
Upload - the slow performance seen there is now gone.
o fbzeus.library - implemented fbTrim(), which permanently removes
deleted records from an area Reachable from a script or door as
zmf.library/TrimFB(). This previously did nothing.
o FileRebuild - new PURGE option, the offline form of the above. DEL and
DESCRIPTION are now synonyms for it and FULL includes it.
o fbzeus.library - the fileindex.FileNameCRC field now correctly implemented and used to improve file search performance.
o fbzeus.library - fbEditFile() now overwrites a description in place when
the new text fits the old slot, instead of always appending and
orphaning the old copy. Repeated re-describing (FILE_ID.DIZ
extraction, for instance) caused the FileDesc.<area> data file to
grow with dead data, potentially without limit.
o zmf.library - UpdateFB(), RebuildFB(), OptimiseFB(), TrimFB(),
ConvertFB(), RecountFB() and DeleteFileArea() were not implemented.
They now dispatch to the area's file base library.
o Documentation - new "Maintaining the file catalogues" section in
chapter 6 of zeus.guide explaining why deleted and moved files leave
records behind, and how to reclaim the space.
o ZMP - various fixes to the statistics engine for reliability.
o FileEditor - various usability and reliability fixes.
o FileEditor - file validation flags are honoured correctly, a bugfix.
14/08/26
o SysOpReport - a new SysOp report tool to help run the BBS.
Creates a summary report in text of things on the BBS that need
attention from the SysOp. Avoids having to look at everything
in detail every day, which just doesn't happen!
Lists users pending validation, files pending validation, message
areas that look freshly auto-created and unconfigured, message
areas not in any SIG, runs the new ZMP CONFIGTEST, check the
expiry of certificates assocated with the lines.
o RenewLineCertificates - new command that regenerates the
self-signed certificate configured against one telnet line, in
place, from the command line. Follows the same flow as "Generate
a new certificate" button in Prefs/Lines, with the same warnings,
but fully usable remotely and scriptable with NOQUERY.
o SysOpReport - reusing the new code from RenewLineCertificates, added
an option to automatically renew certificates approaching expiry
with no interaction.
******************* Zeus 1.8 Fixed Feature Set **********************
######################### Zeus 1.9 WIP ##############################
18/08/26
o Event Bus - new v1.9 subsystem letting any part of Zeus, or any
script/compiled tool, publish a message about an event onto a named
channel, and have other parts react to it without either side knowing
about the other. Similar to modern message queue systems like RabbitMQ
but very Amiga and Zeus specific.
Beyond discrete events, the Event Bus also supports data streams:
publish a stream to a channel which other processes can consume.
Event Bus has been built to support other projects, not useful by
itself. 'Bus' chosen as the name to reflect the concept of a shared
hardware bus like Zorro.
Event Bus is the realisation of a idea that started its life in 1999,
when we were thinking of what a BBS could become.
o WebhookPost - a new command in that posts an event to
a Discord/Slack-style webhook over HTTPS. A test for the Event Bus.
o SessionLogger - a new app that transcribes one caller's whole session
to a timestamped log file under <Logs>Sessions/. A test for the
Event Bus.
o ChatDoor - a new cross-node chat door for the BBS. Very basic, but
perhaps can be built into some bigger and better. Built entirely on
an Event Bus channel. A test for the Event Bus.
o IRCBridge - a bridge that connects outbound to a real IRC server
and relays ChatDoor traffic to a configured channel, and vice versa. A
test for the Event Bus. Showing how Zeus can start integrating into
the wider internet.
o CronControl - new crontab-syntax job scheduler. While I still recommend
Ron Schnell's cRon - its quality is amazing, a single bug-free 1.0
release in 1996 and running for 30 years - it has been an itch to
give Zeus it's own Cron. CronControl is at feature parity with
cRon and now starting to add features, such as the ability to publish
to Event Bus channels.
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