• What's a listserver
• Mailing list functions
• Batch Database functions

What's a listserver (go top)

LISTSERV was born inside Bitnet network. LISTSERV servers holds lists containing names and e-mail addresses of subscribed users. Any member of a list can send electronic mail messages addressed to the list, which the server will forward to all other members of the list. On Unix systems, there is something like LISTSERV, named MAJORDOMO.

In addition LISTSERV servers holds databases where a copy of every mail message sent to those mailing lists is stored. You can search and retrieve old mail messages stored in those databases.

For a more informations send the command GET LISTPRES MEMO to your nearest LISTSERV server.

MAILING LIST Functions (go top)

Commands are sent via e-mail. You have to put only one command per line.

Options

• Short return a short summary of all the lists managed by a LISTSERV. This is the default.
• Long (or Detailed) return a comprehensive description of the lists managed by a LISTSERV server.
• Global < parameter > without parameter return a complete list of all known LISTSERV mailing lists at all servers at the time the command is issued (warning: HUGE file!). However you can use optional parameters to limit this list. The following command for example: LIST GLOBAL ASTRONOMY will return a list of all known mailing list about 'astronomy'.

Batch DATABASE functions (go top)

You can use batch database functions, by sending a message formatted in a special way to a LISTSERV server. That's, you have to build a 'template'. A template consists of a number of database commands written using CJLI (Command Job Language Interpreter). These commands go into the body of the mail (one per line) in this way:

// JOB DATABASE SEARCH DD=RULES

//RULES DD *

command1

command2

. . . . . . . . .

/*

// EOJ

(Note that databases may not be maintained for every mailing list, this is done at the discretion of a list owner).

To know nore about batch access to LISTSERV databases, send the command:

GET LISTDB MEMO to your nearest LISTSERV.

To know more about the Command Job Language of LISTSERV (CJLI), send the command:

GET LISTJOB MEMO to your nearest LISTSERV.

Commands

Commands may be split over as many lines as desired by putting the '-' (hyphen) continuation character at the end of each line, and keeping up your command on the following line.

optional-rules

• IN db-name where db-name is the database name where you want to search for
• SINCE date < time > FROM date < time > TO date < time > UNTIL date < time > to limit search by date.
• WHERE keyword-tag expression to limit search by keyword. Keyword-tag expressions are:

• IS value
• IS NOT value = value > value >= value < value <= value
• CONTAINS value
• DOES NOT CONTAIN value
• SOUNDS LIKE value
• DOES NOT SOUND LIKE value
• SOUNDS LIKE and DOES NOT SOUND LIKE are used to make phonetic searches on keywords where the value you supply in the expression does not have to match exactly to the information in the keyword-tag.

Examples

SEARCH * IN PROG-L WHERE SUBJECT CONTAINS 'Binary Tree'

SEARCH * IN PSYCH-L WHERE SENDER SOUNDS LIKE 'Smith'

The last example will select mail messages that have been sent by anyone to the PSYCH-L mailing list whose userid could be smith, smythe or even Smithers. It is also possible to use boolean operators:

• NOT or ^
• AND or &
• OR or |

You can use parentheses: SEARCH IN PHYSICS WHERE SUBJECT CONTAINS (Nuclear OR Particle)

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