ifindex(8)

📦 version 2.14tx8.10, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 ifindex(8) — the FTN mailer glow-up 💖

okay bestie, gather round, because this little icon is part of the FTN mailer crew and she's here to make your nodelist lookups fast. no cap. let's get into it.

✨ NAME ✨

ifindex — she literally exists to create a nodelist index. that's the whole job. main character energy, zero side quests. 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

ifindex [-h] [-x verbosity] [-I file]

three tiny flags. that's it. she's low maintenance fr fr. 🎀

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so like, ifindex creates a nodelist index, and ifcico uses that index to do nodelist lookups way faster. it's giving "I did the homework so you don't have to." 💅

here's the tea though: depending on the OPTIONS that were set when the program was compiled, one of 3 different nodelist indices gets generated — a db-, a (g)dbm-, or a dbz- version.

the dbz type nodelist-index is highkey the bestie of the group — she's got some advantages (smaller indices AND faster index generation) over the other 2 types. BUT. and this is a big but. she's currently only in PRE-ALPHA state 😭 so you should also read the README before you go using this type of nodelist-index. do not skip the README. I'm serious. 🙈

⭐ OPTIONS ⭐

  • -h — shows a short help message. the "hey what do I do" button. cute.
  • -x Verbosity — sets the debug verbosity. Verbosity can be a number from 0 to 32, which sets the 'on' bits from 1 to that number, OR it can be a string of letters, where 'a' = bit 1, 'b' = bit 2, and so on all the way up to bit 26. pick your fighter. 🌈
  • -I File — use the alternate configuration file File. spicy. different config, different vibe. 🔥

💀 RETURN CODES 💀

  • 0 — Successfull ✨ (yes, spelled like that, we don't fix the original's spelling, we respect it)
  • 64 — command line usage error 😬
  • 65 — error reading config file 🫠

🧚 DEBUG VERBOSITY 🧚

here's the decoder ring for what those letters actually mean, iykyk:

  • d — lock files
  • f — aka matching
  • g — outbound directories
  • h — call
  • j — session handshake
  • k — file transfer
  • l — filelist
  • m — nodelist flags
  • r — modem
  • t — nodelist index
  • z — hydra protocol

🍓 FILES 🍓

  • $IFLIBDIR/config — the runtime configuration file. where all the settings live. her home. 🏠
  • nodelist.??? — a list of nodes in an FTN network. yes, the ??? is literally in the name, don't come for me. 🌸

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

ifcico(8), ifinfo(8) — go say hi to the rest of the family. 🫶

💜 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 💜

some ideas were taken from the Fidogate/RFmail package, written by Teemu Torma and hacked by Martin Junius.

some tcp code was taken from the JE version, written by Tsuneo Tanaka <ttan@twics.com>.

1993, 1994 Eugene Crosser

this is free software. you can do what you wish with it as long as this copyright notice is preserved. that's the deal, bestie, take it or leave it. 💅

manpage and dbz-nodelist-index support by Christof Meerwald <cmeerw@mail.htl.fh-sbg.ac.at>

many thanks to the institute of computer science in Salzburg/Austria and especially to Anton Hofmann <hofmann@wst.edvz.sbg.ac.at> who made further work possible during his lecture. iconic behavior honestly. 🎓✨

okay that's the whole page, we ate and left no crumbs 🍽️💅 this was ifindex(8) from 3.0.cm.alpha-2, dated May 29, 1997 — yeah she's vintage, she's an elder, and she still serves. periodt. 🦋💖🌸

📦 where this page comes from