JRCOST 0.5 BETA =============== What this is: ============= These are the docs for JRCOST 0.5 Beta. (notice the Beta!) What does JRCOST do: ==================== It looks at the jrcomm.log file that jrcomm makes, and calculates for every BBS that is in the jrcomm.log file the number of calls you made to this BBS, the number of tics your telephone company (European) charges you for your calls, and the total online time on the BBS. Naturaly JRCOST can only do this when your system-clock always represents the correct current date/time, so your jrcomm.log is updated with the correct date/time! You can specify a Cheap-rate and a Normal-rate, and specify on which days the Cheap-rate is true (weekends) and on the other days on which hours the Cheap-rate is true! (Tics aren't very usefull for the USA and other countries where the phone company charges you by the time (seconds) that you are calling, but I made this program mainly for my self, and I live in the Netherlands, but it calculates online-time also, so I suppose it is usefull for those countries also.) How does it do this: ==================== Well, it first searches in the jrcomm.log file for a call to a BBS. (don't worry about the different formats that jrcomm used in the jrcomm.log through it's versions because this program should know about them, anyway this program is a Beta version, and you should find out if the program does this correctly! But don't worry to much about it because I tested it thoroughly. BTW: I currently work with jrcomm 1.02.) When it finds a BBS it compares it with the BBS's it already knows of in memory, from a file called jrcost.bbs, where it keeps info on the BBS's, or from your input on a particular BBS. When calculating if the CheapRate is True JRCOST only uses the Connect-date/time. This means that if your session with a BBS overlaps a "CheapRate Start or End" the calculation of the tics is probably not the same as the calculation of your telephone company. Maybe I will fix this in a later version. What lines does it look for in the Jrcomm.log file: =================================================== A jrcomm.log file consist of the following alike lines: 02/16/91 19:10:05 - JR-Comm session started. The program first checks for " - " in the line, than it checks the date and time field, only if all this is correct it continues with the line, otherwise it ignores it. So if you want to edit your jrcomm.log file you can savely do this. Also JRCOST ignores anything after a ";" in jrcomm.log, enabeling you to put comments after a legal line in jrcomm.log! First the program searches for a Connect line like: 02/16/91 19:10:37 - Connected to: BBS-name 04/14/91 23:07:43 - BBS-name: ;jrcomm 1.02 format Than the program searches for a line that tells it jrcomm has logged out of the BBS: 02/16/91 19:25:57 - Disconnected. 02/16/91 19:54:17 - Hang up modem. 02/16/91 19:55:34 - JR-Comm session finished. When searching for a Disconnect-line it finds a Connect-line, jrcost uses the previous-legal-line for the Disconnect-date/time. This means that if your jrcomm.log file isn't correctly updated, like when you reset your amiga in the middle of a Jrcomm session, JRCOST still won't get confused. But don't expect the statistics to be completely correct because in this case JRCOST has not found the absolute correct time that you logged out of the BBS, because the correct time wasn't in jrcomm.log. The file: jrcost.bbs: ===================== Example file: CSL; 65 64800 115200 600 300 NOS Hobbyscoop; 65 64800 115200 94 47 A Comment | || | | | | | || | | || | | | | | || Newline character | || | | | | | || | || | | | | | |Remark | || | | | | | | | || | | | | | 1 or more spaces | || | | | | | | || | | | | Seconds per Tic | || | | | | | || | | | Cheap Seconds per Tic | || | | | 600 secs = 10 minutes | || | | | | || | | CheapTimeEnd (Seconds after midnight) | || | | the program adds 86400 seconds (=1 day) | || | | if it's smaller than CheapTimeStart! | || | | 115200-86400 = 28800 secs = 08:00:00 | || | | | || | CheapTimeStart (Seconds after midnight) | || | 64800 secs = 18:00:00 | || | | || CheapDays (explained below) | || | || (place 1 or more spaces between the numbers) | || | |Zero or more spaces | | | A ";" sign, don't place spaces between the ; and the BBS-name! | Name of the BBS you use in your jrcomm.phones file. The CheapDays number is build in the following way: Sunday = 1 Monday = 2 Tuesday = 4 Wednesday = 8 Thursday = 16 Friday = 32 Saturday = 64 Add the numbers for which you want CheapRate to be true: Weekends: Sunday + Saturday = 1 + 64 = 65 The Supplied jrcost.bbs file is just an example of part of my own file and you better create your own because this one is only usefull if you live in the surroundings of Lisse (telephone numbers starting with 0252n-nnnnn) Input to the program: ===================== When JRCOST finds a BBS which it doesn't recognize, the program opens a window asking for information about the BBS. All of the Gadgets already have a value assigned to them so if everything is correct you only have to click on the OK gadget! The PREF1 and PREF2 gadgets update the gadgets with values you can edit in the file jrcost.bbs. Where are the files lokated: ============================ The files jrcomm.log and jrcost.bbs are searched for in the following places in the mentioned order: the current directory : jrcomm.log jrcost.bbs the JRCOMM: directory (Assign): JRCOMM:jrcomm.log JRCOMM:jrcost.bbs the S: directory : S:jrcomm.log S:jrcost.bbs If it can't find a jrcomm.log file the program stops! It first tries to open the "jrcost.bbs"-file in the current directory than the S: directory and finaly in the JRCOMM: directory. Before the program stops it first tries to write an updated version of the file "jrcost.bbs" in the directory the old version was opened or else in the directories mentioned above but in reverse order. If you want the "jrcost.bbs"-file in a different directory as where the program put it, you have to move it there yourself... History of the program: ======================= 0.1 Beta 0591 -Still programming and removing bugs. 0.2 Beta 0591 -Still programming and removing bugs. 0.3 Beta 060691 -First release to the public 0.4 Beta 070691 -Added the sorting routine: The BBS-list is sorted on Calls, then Tics, and then OnlineTime, with the most called BBS on the bottom of the list. -Added the PrintStats- and WriteJrcostBBS- and Sort-routines together (should be a little faster). -Added check for illegal Disconnect-date/time. -Made Seconds per Tic a float so you can specify parts of a second. Could be usefull for very expensive international calls which "tic" very fast. -Doesn't print BBS's which haven't been cald anymore. -Added some lines, explaining things, to this .doc file. -Second release to the public. 0.5 Beta 100691-150791 -The main thing in this version is the intuition interface for getting info on a bbs from the user: see the chapter on input. -File-io is a little different now, saver too. -Some other changes that I can't remember because of the timespan of this update. (Some side info: I couldn't spend as much time as I wanted to on the program because of my "work" for the dutch army supplying food to Americans working in the Harbour of Rotterdam: Unloading ships with material from the Gulf) -So far I didn't reseave any bug reports, comments or whatever (except from a friend living in the same village as me), so I still call this version "BETA" allthough I'm pretty sure there are no bugs left. Plans for next versions: ======================== -Start and End date: now you have to edit a special jrcomm.log file if you want a specific time period to be examinated by JRCOST. -Statistics on up- and downloads. -Other things that you want? contact me! About the program: ================== This program is a Beta version! So expect some bugs or miscalculations. But to lighten things up a bit I don't know of any bugs or miscalculations and I am using this program to my full satisfaction. ("full"?, well, it works nicely) The status of this program is floppy/share-ware. What does this mean? If you want to become a registerd user of this program you must send me an empty floppydisk or a floppy with some programs of your own, plus a registration fee of the equivalent of 10 dutch guilders, plus if you live outside the netherlands some extra money to pay for the stamps I must use to send the floppy back to you. What do you get back for this? On the floppy you send to me, I will put the latest version of JRCOST plus the C-source (Lattice 5.0) and maybe some other utilities I have written for jrcomm. Also in the future you will be notified of any major updates so you can send me an other floppydisk to get the update. Also I like to ofer my apologies for any typing errors and misspellings in this doccument, and for any dammages or inconveniences this program may cause to your system or anything else, because apologies is all you get.... So, after this heavy legal stuff there are only three things left to be told: Thanks go to Remko Delsman for the only Bug report I had sofar. =============================================================== My adres: ========= For bug reports, registration, comments, correcting my spelling/typing errors or whatever: W. van Velzen Heereweg 296 2161 BT LISSE The Netherlands For dutch users: my phone-number is in the book. Or you might reach me at: CSL-BBS ++31-(0)2521-20481 or: BBS Amiga Sign ++31-(0)71-216180 END OF DOCUMENT: ================