Sorry about the kinda off-topic post. If you don't want to read about UUCP
stuff, press 'd'(delete) and skip to the next message.
Unfortunately, djkc didn't include the e-address of Chris and I didn't
save the original message to get it. Otherwise I would have sent this
privately.
From the cyberdesk of djkc:
quoted 11 lines Chris wrote:>Chris wrote:
>>Someone mentioned it was on a 'uucp' network or something .. what is this?
>
>uucp means unix-to-unix-copy.
>
>It's a news and email gateway...not sure whatelse it handles.
>For example, many free access BBS's have this where you have an email address
>and can send email, but must wait until like in the middle of the night when
>the BBS calls up it's SLIP service and transfers everything (up & down).
>That is, there are no real-time connections or services.
>-djkc
Err, not exactly. UUCP is the whole mechanism for performing a copy of a
file from one unix-based machine to another. (unix-to-unix-copy, as you said).
The unix copy command is "cp", hence the name is not quite an acronym.
This also refers to the protocol that is actually used in the transfer,
similar to other protocols like ymodem, zmodem, etc. However, because it
originated in unix-land, all machines have names and permissions can be
controlled based on who is calling (and it can transfer full paths and
permissions for the file, it is error-correcting, and many other features)
There's a package called "UUPC" that is available on the net that allows a
common MessDOS-based PC to sort of pretend it is a unix machine long enough
for this transfer process to happen. You'll probably want to get ahold of
uuencode and uudecode as well (it's a way of mangling/demangling binary
files into alphanumeric only characters for transfer).
So, the next step is whomever you are connecting with must give you
permission to talk to their machine (i.e. contact the sysadm) and what you
can do on it (request files, send files and transfer mail and transfer
news only in the public directories are the usuals). Obviously the machine
you want to connect to is on the net. Then, if your address looks like mine,
you're what's known as "one hop away" from the net.
Example: mike%delta1@rex.cs.tulane.edu
This tells everyone and their dog to send the mail to rex.cs.tulane.edu.
We've had a long relationship with their sysadm and he has graciously
allowed an entry in their Systems file for us (meaning he lets their machine
know about and talk to ours). Because the way the address is structured, the
mailer "at" rex says 'okey-dokey send this stuff to "delta1"'. If it didn't
know about "delta1", then the mail would be rejected (bounced) with 'I don't
know this machine "delta1"'. But, it does, and so the mail goes to our
machine, which knows about "mike" (or me) and I get my mail. Our machine, on
the other hand, for outgoing mail knows that if it ain't connected (not in
the Systems file) to the address in question, it just sends it along to
rex to figure out.
Get on a unix machine and try "man uucp" for the on-line docs (or read the
docs for UUPC (<- note the spelling difference).
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Michael King mike%delta1@rex.cs.tulane.edu
Delta Systems
New Orleans, LA 70002-4938 Voice: 504.837.9835 Fax: 504.837.9838
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One in twelve people is mentally unstable. Think of your eleven closest
friends; if they seem ok . . . . .
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