decent checkgroups message, please?

[Matthias Urlichs]

In news.admin, article <1990Nov7.214526.16594 at ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz>,
  russell at ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Russell J Fulton;ccc032u) writes:
< grady at fx.com (Steven Grady) writes:
< 
< >    c) A couple of checkgroups messages have been issued,
< >       but they complain about lots of reasonable groups,
< >       like comp.lang.perl, news.software.nn, and others
< >       I subscribe to (so I know they aren't bogus), as
< >       well as a number of perfectly good alt groups.
< >       (The last checkgroups I received complained about almost
< >       200 groups.)
< 
< I have the same problem. I think it is the checkgroup message for bionet
< from lear at genbank... This message only lists the bionet groups and so Cnews
< bitches about the rest. Is there anything that can be done about this?
< 

Yes. Use the checkgroups program below. (Perl.) Put it in /usr/newsbin/ctl or
wherever.
(Sorry about semi-wildly crossposting this. Flame with email if you feel that
 that is necessary.)

It has the advantages that it'll only bitch about hierarchies mentioned in the
checkgroups / whatever message, can cope with the "Alternate newsgroup
hierarchies" posting (no need to edit), maintains a reasonable "newsgroups"
file without more than one lines per newsgroup (and proper indenting per
hierarchy), can cope with more than one file on the command line, updates the
comments in your newsgroups file -- well, enough hype.

You'll need a "distributions" file in /usr/lib/news, which lists the
distributions you get, one per line, with an optional description next to it
just like the "newsgroups" file.

Disclaimer: It works here.


#!/usr/local/bin/perl
# checkgroups.pl V0.9

chdir "/usr/lib/news"; ## where "newsgroups" and "distributions" is

## this code performs the following, highly useful functions:
# Read the "distributions" file to find out what hierarchies you want.
#  I didn't want to analyze the sys file...
# Read & analyze your newsgroups file.
# Read & analyze input files (extracting any newsgroups-style lines),
#  discarding anything unintelligible or excluded.
#  stdin is read if no files are specified.
#   newsgroups-style lines are defined as lines with a newsgroup name in front,
#   a sequence of tabs, and a description.
#   Optional: a ! in front means that the newsgroup (or distribution, if there
#    are no dots in the newsgroup name) is to be excluded, the trailer
#    " (Moderated)" means just that, and the tabs+description may be missing.
# Read your active file.
# Output a new newsgroups file, appropriately tabulated (per top-level),
#   sorted, which collects all definitions ever encountered, in case you need
#   them again.
# Writes recommendations as to which groups to delete/add/(un)moderate.
#  The command line option "-del" says don't emit delgroup lines unless
#   they seem to be definite.
# Never complain about hierarchies which aren't even mentioned in the
#  checkgroups message.
#
# Public Domain. -- Matthias Urlichs
#   Changes, additions, pretty-upifications, et al., welcome.

%desc = (); ## textual descriptions
# state
%reject = (); ## !ed out
%mod = ();    ## marked moderated?
%unmod = ();  ## marked unmoderated?
%mentioned=();## distribution was present in input

# actions
%domod = ();  ## change to moderated
%dounmod = ();## change to unmoderated
%add = ();    ## missing
%delete = (); ## present, but superfluous
%there = ();  ## x-ed out, but add it.
%inthere = ();## n-ed out, but add it.

open (DIST, "distributions") || die "No distributions file";

Config:
while(<DIST>) {
   chop;
   s/\s*#.*//; # drop all comments
   next Config if /^$/; # and empty lines
   if (s/^!//) {
      ($dist, $desc) = split(/\s+/, $_, 2);
      $nondist{$dist} = 1;
   } else {
      ($dist, $desc) = split(/\s+/, $_, 2);
      $dist{$dist} = $desc;
   }
}
close(DIST);

if($ARGV[$[] eq '-del') {
   $defdelete = 1;
   shift @ARGV;
}

unshift (@ARGV, "-") if $#ARGV < $[; # required because of next line
unshift (@ARGV, "newsgroups");
$examine = 0;
die "No Newsgroups file" unless -r "newsgroups";

Newsgroups:
while(<>) {
   chop;
   s/\s*#.*//; # remove comments, as usual
   next Newsgroups if /^$/;
   $exclude = ($_ =~ s/^!//); # remember for later
   next Newsgroups unless (($group, $desc, $dummy) = split(/\t\s*/, $_, 3)) < 3;
   next Newsgroups unless $group =~ /^[a-z]/;
   next Newsgroups if $group =~ /\s/;
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   next Newsgroups if $nondist{$dist} || $nondist{$group};
   if ($exclude) { 
      $nondist{$group} = 1;
      $mentioned{$dist} = 1 unless $group eq $dist;
      next Newsgroups;
   }
   next Newsgroups unless $dist{$dist};
   $mentioned{$dist} = 1 if $examine;
   if ($desc =~ /\s*\([Mm]oderated\)$/) {
      $mod{$group} = 1;
   } else {
      $mod{$group} = -1;
   }
   if (length($desc) > 5 && ($mod{$group} == -1 || length($desc) > 16)) {
      $desc{$group} = $desc; # replace old descriptions with new version,
          # taking Moderated flag and non-empty-text-requirement into account
   }
   if ($examine && ($reject{$group} != 1)) {
      $add{$group} = 1;
   }
} continue {
   $examine = 1 if (eof);
}

open(ACT,"/usr/local/news/admin/active") || die "Couldn't open active file";
Active:
while(<ACT>) {
   chop;
   next Active if /^#/;
   next Active if /^$/;
   ($group, $max,$min, $flag) = split;
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   next Active unless $mentioned{$dist};

   if (   $reject{$group}
       || ($add{$group} != 1)
       || $nondist{$group}
       || $nondist{$dist}) {
      $delete{$group} = 1 unless $flag =~ /^x/;

   } elsif ($flag =~ /^x/) {
      $there{$group} = 1;
   } elsif ($flag =~ /^n/ || $flag =~ /^=/) {
      $inthere{$group} = 1;
   } elsif ($flag =~ /^m/) {
      $dounmod{$group} = 1 if $mod{$group} == -1;
   } elsif ($flag =~ /^y/) {
      $domod{$group} = 1 if $mod{$group} == 1;
   }
   if ($flag =~ /^m/ || $flag =~ /^y/) {
      $delete{$group} = 1 unless $add{$group};
   }
   delete $add{$group};
}
close(ACT);

open (NG, ">newsgroups");

$maxlen = 0;
$olddist = "-";
foreach $group (sort keys %desc) {
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   if ($olddist ne $dist) {
      $maxlen{$olddist} = int(($maxlen / 8) + 1) * 8;
      $olddist = $dist;
      $maxlen = 0;
   }
   $maxlen = length($group) if length($group) > $maxlen;
}
$maxlen{$olddist} = int (($maxlen / 8) + 1) * 8; #// last one 

foreach $group (sort keys %desc) {
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   $tabs = int(($maxlen{$dist} - length($group) - 1) / 8) + 1;
   print NG $group, "\t" x $tabs, $desc{$group}, "\n";
}
close(NG);

open (STDOUT,"|mail -s Checkgroups news");

$head = 0; Del: foreach $group (sort keys %delete) {
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   next Del unless $mentioned{$dist};
   print ("\n#** The following groups should (*:definitely) be removed:\n") unless $head;
   print ((($nondist{$group} || $nondist{$dist}) ? "#*" : "# "),
      $group,"\t",$desc{$group},"\n")
     unless $defdelete || $nondist{$group} || $nondist{$dist};
   print ((($nondist{$group} || $nondist{$dist}) ? "addgroup $group x" : "delgroup $group"),
      "\n")
     unless $defdelete || $nondist{$group} || $nondist{$dist};
   $head = 1;
}

$head = 0; Add: foreach $group (sort keys %add) {
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   next Add unless $dist{$dist};
   next Add unless $mentioned{$dist};
   print ("\n#** The following groups should be created (*:moderated):\n") unless $head;
   print ((($mod{$group} > 0)? "#*" : "# "), $group,"\t",$desc{$group},"\n");
   print "addgroup $group ", (($mod{$group} > 0) ? "m" : "y"), "\n";
   $head = 1;
}

$head = 0; DoMod: foreach $group (sort keys %domod) {
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   next DoMod unless $mentioned{$dist};
   next DoMod if $mod{$group} > 0;
   print ("\n#** The following groups should be made moderated:\n") unless $head;
   print "# ", $group,"\t",$desc{$group},"\n";
   print "addgroup $group m\n";
   $head = 1;
}

$head = 0; DoUnmod: foreach $group (sort keys %dounmod) {
   ($dist) = split(/\./, $group, 2);
   next DoUnmod unless $mentioned{$dist};
   next DoUnmod if $mod{$group} == 1;
   print ("\n#** The following groups should be made unmoderated:\n") unless $head;
   print "#  ", $group,"\t",$desc{$group},"\n";
   print "addgroup $group y\n";
   $head = 1;
}

-- 
Matthias Urlichs -- urlichs at smurf.sub.org -- urlichs at smurf.ira.uka.de     /(o\
Humboldtstrasse 7 - 7500 Karlsruhe 1 - FRG -- +49+721+621127(0700-2330)   \o)/