bbs100 by Walter de Jong <walter@heiho.net> (C) 2007

bbs100 COMES WITH NO WARRANTY. bbs100 IS FREE SOFTWARE.
bbs100 is distributed under terms described in the GNU General Public License.


UPGRADING FROM bbs100 3.0 or 3.1

bbs100 3.2 contains a new menu-driven online Help system.
The Help files reside under $basedir/etc/help/
Be sure to update the etc/param file;

add the line:

    helpdir         etc/help/

remove the lines:

    help_std                etc/help.std
    help_config             etc/help.config
    help_roomconfig         etc/help.roomconfig
    help_sysop              etc/help.sysop

You may remove the files etc/help.*, but beware that you haven't
customized them.

If you forget to update etc/param in the way described here, the
BBS will function normally and display the default Help files.


UPGRADING FROM bbs100 2.x

Be sure to update the files under etc/, such as the online Help files.
See the WHATSNEW file and ChangeLog for new features and inform your users
of them.
It is always wise to make a backup before upgrading.


UPGRADING FROM bbs100 1.x

Upgrading from 1.x directly to 3.x is untested. Although it may work, if you
encounter problems, try upgrading to 2.x first.
You should know that you cannot go back to the old version once you have
upgraded. This is because of the file format that the bbs uses from versions
2.0 and up. Therefore, it is wise to make a complete backup copy of your
existing bbs100 site. For example:

    tar cvf backup.tar bbsdir

After installing the new version, check the new configuration options in
the etc/param file. This file is not automatically put in place when
upgrading. You will also need to copy the etc/zoneinfo/ directory by hand.
This directory contains time zone definitions needed by the improved
BBS clock -- every user can be in his own timezone.

As said, this version has a new file format. The BBS is capable of loading
old-format files, and automatically converts them to the new format as the
files are being used. Hence, files that are not being used (eg. because the
user is not logging in anymore), are not converted to the new format.
You have the option of converting the BBS' data files by using a conversion
program. This is done as follows:

    cd bbsdir
    find users -type f -print | bbs100_convert --
    find rooms -type f -print | bbs100_convert --
    echo etc/statistics | bbs100_convert --

Again, you will want to have made a backup before converting the files.
Mind that if you have made any modifications to the data files, or if you
are using site-specific data files, you will have to incorporate the
changes into the BBS and the conversion program first.


UPGRADING IN GENERAL

Following are some standard instructions on how to upgrade any version
of bbs100.

To upgrade from an existing version of bbs100, do the following:
- read the ChangeLog to see what's new
- some versions may come with a WHATSNEW file, but not all
  If the WHATSNEW file is present, read it
- check the files UPGRADING, INSTALL, and README for new information
- check the etc/ directory for new files and changes in files (namely the
  Help files may change)
- check the etc/param file for new parameters

- make the new version:
  * cd src ; ./configure --prefix={your prefix}
  * make install

  This installs the new binaries in ${prefix}/bin-${version}/
  and symlinks it to ${prefix}/bin

- verify that the new binaries have been installed correctly
- inform your users and reboot the BBS
  The new version should come up in a few seconds if all goes well.


CLEANING UP
The make upgrade process leaves the old bin directory of the BBS intact.
If you are satisfied with the new version, you can safely remove the old
bin directory.


ERRORS
If you are running a pre-1.1.2 installation of bbs100, you may get the
following error:

    /bin/rm: /home/bbs/bin: is a directory

Or something like that, at the end of 'make upgrade'. To solve this, do the
following:

    ( cd /home/bbs ; mv bin bin-pre-1.1.2 )

Now try 'make install' again, and you should be alright.


THE PARAM FILE
The etc/param file contains a parameter 'bindir'. People tend to think they
have to update this parameter each time they install a new version. However,
the opposite is true; 'bindir' should be set to 'bin' at all times -- the
symbolic link provides 'bin' for us.
Same goes for the parameters program_main and program_resolver.
You should never have to touch these.


EOB