packages icon
		yaps  -or- Yet Another Pager Software
		=====================================

This software is primary designed to send message to so called pager devices
including cellular phones which are able to receive textual messages
(sometimes called SMS, short message system/service.)

This is a simple command line driven program with a global and a personal
configuration file, but the protocol implementation is kept as a seperate
library, with which one may somedays write a client/server system.

Copyright:
~~~~~~~~~~
 Copyright (c) 1997 Ulrich Dessauer
 All rights reserved.
 
 You may distribute under the terms of the GNU General Public
 License.

 IN NO EVENT SHALL ULRICH DESSAUER BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT,
 INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF
 THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ULRICH DESSAUER
 HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

 ULRICH DESSAUER SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
 PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS"
 BASIS, AND ULRICH DESSAUER HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE,
 SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.

Installation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You need a system supporting the Posix system calls and library functions
(every modern Unix like OS should have this support) and you need an install
program, otherwise you have to install the result by hand. Gnumake and GCC
are a plus, otherwise you may have to tweak the Makefile and some source
files a bit.

1.) Edit Config (which will be included by make) & edit config.h
1a.) If you do not have the SLang library installed, comment out
     the line `SLANG = True' in Config or install it somewhere
     the compiler can find it (/usr/local/{lib,include} seems to
     be a not-to-bad place). READ THE ATTACHED COPYRIGHT NOTICE!
1b.) Dito for lua.
2.) Edit config.h. Comments should explain enough.
3.) `make depend'
4.) `make'

  If the program compiles fine:
5.) `make install' as root (if you have permissons). If you do not have
    an install program, install it by hand:
    a.) Copy the executable `yaps' to somewhere in your path
    b.) Install yaps.rc as /etc/yaps.rc or as ~/.yapsrc
6.) edit `/etc/yaps.rc' for global settings
7.) Optional edit ~/.yapsrc for your private settings

An example `yaps.rc' file is included and can be used directly for some
services available in Germany. Others may be added. See the `yaps.doc' file
for a complete description of the configuration files.

Implementation:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The current implementation allows sending messages to pager, where the
service company offers a modem gateway. Paging via Internet or other online
services is currently not supported, as they are mostly quite simple to
realize (sending an e-mail to a specific address, calling an URL, etc.)

Following protocols are implemented:
- ASCII based. This could also be handled by programs like `chat', but is
  included for completness. You can use simple send/expect strings to define
  the communication.

- SCRIPT based. This could be considered as an enhanced ASCII mode and
  depends on the available scripting languages, that are integrated.
  Currently SLang and Lua are supported, others may follow.

- TAP (Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol). This is the result of the earlier
  used IXO and PET protocols. The documentation for this protocol is
  available via the Web: 
  http://www.mot.com/MIMS/MSPG/pcia_protocols/tap_v1p8/table_of_contents.html
  (Thanks a lot to Motorola!)
  
- UCP (Universal Computer Protocol). D2privat has kindly made the
  description available to me, thanks a lot to Mannesmann Mobilfunk! Lots of
  the protocol is NOT implemented, as this makes not much sense on dialup
  lines.

ATTENTION: If someone has the complete documentation for any other used
protocol for pager like devices, I would be glad if she/he could make them
available for me. If I had a testing possibility I'll try to implement that
protocol.

Bugs, Problems, Comments:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please send any bug report, any encountered problem (with a detailed
description as possible) and any comments to <yaps@nitmar.tnet.de> or
<ud@cube.net>.

Files:
~~~~~~
README:				This file
COPYING.GPL, COPYRIGHT:		About distributing the software
INSTALL:			A pointer into the README file
BUGREPORT:			How to report a bug
Makefile, Config:		Make rules
yaps.rc:			Sample configuration file
yaps.c:				The driver program
valid.c, valid.h:		Support routines for the driver program
remaining *.c, *.h:		The paging library
yaps.html, yaps.doc:		Documentation in HTML and plain text
yaps.1:				A minimal manual page
yaps.lsm:			The Linux Software Map entry
contrib/:			Files not supported by the author