BHZ Skeleton Module is a simple boilerplate MajorBBS Module project. It can be used to create new modules for MajorBBS v6.x.

Simple module source that can be used as boilerplate for a new module. Has some simple examples user input handling, msg reading, and database access.

(Note: No affiliation with themajorbbs/Galacticomm/WorldGroup)

Much credit to paladine for his work on the MBBSEMU test module, which is an great resource to help understand how these modules work, and how they are built.

• Mark Seelye (bhz) (c)2023
• burninghorizon.com bhz.co
• [email protected]

• Clone Project
  In a terminal, shell, cmd prompt, gitbash, msys, mingw, what-haveyou; clone the repo using whatever method you like.
  (Not in DOSBox, if this isn't obvious)

C:\> e:
E:\> cd e:\projects\mbbs
E:\projects\mbbs> git [email protected]:mseelye/bhzskln.git

• DOSBox
  Setup DOSBox so it has a mount to the directory with the cloned repo.
  (Assumes you have MajorBBS Free Edition installed and running with DOSBox)
  Something like:
  c:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox-0.74\DOSBox.exe -editconf notepad.exe

Update the [autoexec] section (near/at the end of the config) to have your mounts:

[autoexec]
mount c e:\Dev\DOSBox
mount e e:\projects\mbbs\bhzskln
path=%path%;C:\BORLANDC\BIN;C:\RUN286\BIN;C:\BBSV6\SRC;
c:

In a DOSBox CMD shell run NEWMOD.BAT from the mount point and path with the bhzskln project source cloned from github.
In this example E: is mounted to the host's e:\projects\mbbs\bhzskln directory.

E:\> NEWMOD.BAT DID MODID

• DID (Developer ID)
  This your 3 character MBBS Developer ID.
  You can just make this up, but try choose a unique one and avoid ones you've seen before!
• MODID (Module ID)
  This your 1-5 character Module ID.
  This will be combined with your "Developer ID" to make an 8 character module name, like ABCSTUFF

Note: Run NEWMOD.BAT without arguments to see some usage info (or just look through it).

In this example, while in the DOSBox command prompt, we are running NEWMOD.BAT with the arguments ABC and STUFF which will create a new module project directory with the default path to the bbs, in c:\bbsv6\src\abc\stuff

E:\> NEWMOD.BAT ABC STUFF
Done!
Directory of C:\BBSV6\SRC\ABC\STUFF\.
[.]             [..]            ABCSTUFF.BCR    ABCSTUFF.LNK    ABCSTUFF.MDF
ABCSTUFF.MSG    BATS.INC        DSBXWARP.INC    LICENSE         MAKEFILE.INC
MAKEFILE.MAK    MAKEMOD.BAT     MAKEMSGS.INC    MKHELP.TXT      MODDEFS.H
MODMAIN.C       MODMAIN.H
   15 File(s)            27,597 Bytes.
    2 Dir(s)        262,111,744 Bytes free.

Run make help to get some information on targets and switches/options, or just look at mkhelp.txt.

In this example, while in the DOSBox command prompt, we are running make all to build and deploy the module dll and config files to c:\bbsv6\

E:\> make all
...
[lots of make/build output]
...
Done.
Directory of C:\BBSV6\.
ABCSTUFF.DLL    ABCSTUFF.MCV    ABCSTUFF.MDF    ABCSTUFF.MSG    ABCSTUFF.VIR
    5 File(s)             9,977 Bytes.
    0 Dir(s)        262,111,744 Bytes free.

Tips:
Take a look in MAKEFILE.MAK for more details about how it all works.

The MODMAIN.C file also has information detailing pages in the MBBS Development guide for various GAL/MBBS functions used.

This assumes you have MBBS FREE installed, and running in DOSBox.
This also assumes you have the skeleton module (DIST) deployed to the BBSV6 directory.

• Start the BBS Console (bbs.bat from c:\bbsv6\ directory.)
• MBBS Console: Option 2 "Design Menu Tree"
  • While "TOP" is highlighted, F2 (edit)
  • Arrow down to open option (Fresh install will be #11)
  • Alt-E, Choose open Letter, Enter Description, Key: [leave blank], Page: BHZSKLN, Save: Yes
  • Arrow down to "BHZSKLN"
    Should be under the "TOP" menu, after "QWK, before "REMOTE"
  • F2 (edit), Select: Module Page, Yes, USER, "BHZ Module Skeleton v0.1", Yes, hit enter twice
  • F10 (exit/save)
• MBBS Console: Select 5 "Go!"
  • After BBS Loads hit F7 to log in
    You should see an option in the top menu for the skeleton module matching what you enetered above.

In this example, while in the DOSBox command prompt, we are running make dist to build and deploy the module dll and config files to a dist sub-directory in the module project source directory.

E:\> make dist
[screen clears]

Directory of C:\BBSV6\SRC\ABC\STUFF\DIST\.
ABCSTUFF.DLL              4,245 21-10-2023  11:20
ABCSTUFF.MCV                837 21-10-2023  11:20
ABCSTUFF.MDF                340 21-10-2023  11:20
ABCSTUFF.MSG              2,507 21-10-2023  11:20
ABCSTUFF.VIR              2,048 21-10-2023  11:20
    5 File(s)             9,977 Bytes.
    0 Dir(s)        262,111,744 Bytes free.

Create a directory for these files somewhere along-side/near your MBBSEmu installation, and copy the files from this project's DIST directory into it.

Update your installation's modules.json to have the module, it might look something like:

{
  "Modules": [
    {
      "Identifier": "SOMETHNG",
      "Path": "E:\\Files\\MBBS\\MODULES\\XYZ_SOMETHING",
      "Enabled": 1,
      "Patches": []
    },
    {
      "Identifier": "ABCSTUFF",
      "Path": "E:\\Files\\MBBS\\MODULES\\ABCSTUFF",
      "Enabled": 1,
      "Patches": []
    }
  ]
}

Start MBBSEmu using the modified module.json, log in, and you should see your module!

Enter Username or enter "NEW" to create a new Account
Username: sysop
Password: ****
/SYS to access SYSOP commands

Please select one of the following:

   1 ... XYZ Something Module
   2 ... ABCSTUFF Module

Main Menu
Make your selection (X to exit):

Tips
Another option is to just point MBBSEmu modules.json at the ./DIST sub-directory instead of copying everything. However, there may be unwanted side-effects if you compile while MBBSEmu is running.

I'm not taking pull requests at this time. However, please feel free to open an issue or send me an email.

MIT License

• MBBS 6.x installed at C:\BBSV6 (You can use themajorbbs.com's official free 6.2)
• MBBS 6.x dev files/tools installed in BBS's SRC sub-directory (can be found online)
• Btrieve.exe and butil.exe in path (can be found online)
• BBSMSX.exe somwhere in DOSBox's path (usually installed with mbbs dev)
• BorlandC 3.1 installed (check archive.org and other places)
• Pharlap/phobj installed (can be found online)
• You are building all this within DOSBox, using BorlandC, and BorlandC's tooling!

https://www.themajorbbs.com/download/major-bbs-v6-2-developers-guide/?tmstv=1697295157

https://download.mbbsemu.com/docs/MajorBBS_Developers_Guide_Rev_6.2_Jan_1994.pdf

Great module used to test MBBSEmu (another great project), serves as a nice example:

https://github.com/mbbsemu/MBBSEmu.Module

Disclaimer: You should ALWAYS scan ANY files you get online (even from archive.org) for viruses. I have found quite a few archives, and many of the files had (ancient, but functional) viruses.

• Official MBBS V6.x Free Edition:
  https://www.themajorbbs.com/download/the-major-bbs-v6-25-free-edition/?tmstv=1697295157

• Misc. Other MBBS Files (Dev Source, PHARLIB, Etc)
  http://software.bbsdocumentary.com/IBM/DOS/MAJORBBS/
  https://archive.org/download/pharlap-286-v2.5

• BorlandC 3.1
  https://archive.org/download/bcpp31
  https://winworldpc.com/product/borland-c/30

• Misc Btrieve utilities
  https://www.nomad.ee/btrieve/files/index.shtml

• Emulation
  MBBSEmu https://www.mbbsemu.com/
  VirtualBox (Free Edition)
  https://www.themajorbbs.com/download/installing-the-major-bbs-v6-25-in-virtualbox/?tmstv=1697295157
  https://www.themajorbbs.com/download/the-major-bbs-v6-25-free-edition-virtualbox-files/?tmstv=1697295157

There are 4 groups of files: Makefile, Skeleton Source, Create Module, and Other

• Makefile - These files are for use with make, or are include files for the main makefile MAKEFILE.MAK, or are somehow otherwise related to running make for the project. These files are either copied directly (with some renaming), or generated into a new module project directory.
• Skeleton Source - These files contain the source code, mbbs config, or db config for a module. These files are either copied directly (with some renaming), or generated into a new module project directory.
• Create Module - The are the batch files used to create a new instance of a module project. These files are not copied into a new module project directory.
• Other - Readme files, help files, license files, etc. Some of these files are copied into a new module project directory.

There is a set of demo videos of using this tooling, with some explanation text in the demo directory.

Start the BBS as usual using bbs.bat in the C:\bbsv6 directory.

To Speed up the BBS when using F7 to log in from terminal

• Select option 1 "Hardware Setup":
  Scroll down to Option 7 of ~383, it is named BAUD1.
  Set the value of BAUD1 to 57600 (This is the actual channel group max)
  Hit F10 to save and exit back to the main menu.

To Speed up log in process, shorten the new user survey

• Select option 4 Configuration:
  Scroll down to option 9 of ~252, LANGOP, Hit F3 to set value to AUTO
  Scroll down to option 10 of ~252, ANSIOP, Hit F5 to set value to ON
  Scroll down to or search(F8) for option ASKNAM in the BBSSUP.MSG options section.
  Set EACH of the values for options ASKNAM threough ASKSEX (7 options) to NO (Use F3 to select NO)
  Scroll down to, or search(F8) for option DFTPR2 in the GALMS.MSG options section
  Hit F3 to set DFTPR2's value to Notify
  Hit F10 to save and exit back to the main menu.

To remove the prompt that pasues long text output
This one is especially annoying while playing things like InfinityComplex!

• With each account you log in as:
  Type /GO ACCOUNT, Hit A and then enter
  Cursor over to "Pause output?" and hit space until you select "CONTINUOUS"

To stop the BBS quickly while it is running

• From console to kill the BBS you can quickly hit: F10 F9 F10 F9
  (Then hold Alt-F12 to speed it up/warp in DOSBox)

To speed up DOSBox when it is taking a while to do something

• When waiting for BBS, "Go!", shutting down, or while compiling
  You can press-and-hold alt-F12 to "warp" DOSBox.