MLL2HTML user manual
NAME
mll2html - reformats an ASCII file containing mailing lists description in HTML.
SYNOPSIS
mll2html [-c|--convert] [options] <source_file> <template-file> [dest-file]
mll2html --version
mll2html --help
DESCRIPTION
The
mll2html purpose is to reformat a ASCII file, containing description of mailing-lists, in a more convenient HTML file. It was part of the job list for the FSF (
http://www.fsf.org/) WEB server, from which it was removed since the FSF use this software.
source-file is the ASCII file containing the mailing-lists description. It has the following structure, which was deduced from a file provided by the FSF.
The first lines constitute the head section. They contains the title, date of update, authors, copyrights, etc. ...
With the first line beginning with a star (*) begins the general sections. They contain general information about the mailing lists. They are divided in items which each begins with a line beginning with a star. Stars and following spaces before the first character are ignored. This line contains the title of the item.
When there is more than one line beginning with a star, then come the mailing-list sections. They are also divided in items. Each item begins with lines beginning with one or more stars, eventually followed by spaces (both stars and spaces are ignored). This lines contain the name of the list, the address of the corresponding newsgroup, e-mails, URL’s, ...
template-file is a file containing the structure of the output file, that is, it is simply copied to the output file, with following tag's replaced by the given values:
- $HEAD$: is replaced by the head section.
- $GENERAL_TOC$: is replaced by the list of the titles from the general sections.
- $LISTS_TOC$: is replaced by the list of titles from the mailing lists sections.
- $GENERAL_BODY$ : is replaced by the general sections.
- $LISTS_BODY$: is replaced by the mailing lists sections.
- $$: is replaced by a unique '$'.
- $COPYRIGHT$: is replaced by the copyright of the software.
- $UPDATE$: is replaced by the date and time when the output file is generated.
- $NAME$: is replaced by the name of the author.
- $_END_$: it's a special tag. What follows this tags is written as is in the output file. It isn't analyze to detect a tag.
For each FTP, HTTP and NEWS address (whatever respectively begins with 'ftp://', 'http://' and 'news://' ), a hypertext link is generated pointing to the given address. A hypertext link is also generated for e-mail addresses (whatever contains a '@' followed by a '.'). Links are generated even after the '$_END_$' tag.
A template file can contain one or more of this tags, and a tag can be put more that once.
dest-file is the output file, in HTML (if none given, then the standard output is used).
Options can take following values (both can be used together):
- -l, --lists-file FILE : FILE is the file name which contains the body of the mailing-list sections. If you generate the TOC from the mailing-lists in another file then the one which contains the body (i.e. '$LISTS_TOC$' and '$LISTS_BODY$' are in separate template file), give for FILE the name of the file where the body of the lists is. FILE will be used for the hypertext links in the TOC.
- -g, --general-file FILE : same as before, but for the general sections ('$GENERAL_TOC$' and '$GENERAL_BODY$' tags).
mll2html --version prints the version of the software. Because this software uses Epeios libraries, you see the version of the sources from the software itself, and the version of the sources of the used Epeios libraries.
mll2html --help prints a help message about how to use the software.
RETURN VALUE
mll2html returns the following values upon completion:
- 0: completed successfully.
- other value: an error occurs.
AUTHOR
STANDARD CONFORMANCE: