Newsgroups: comp.bbs.misc,alt.bbs
Subject: Voicemail BBS a reality
From: cambler@zeus.calpoly.edu (The Squire, Phish)
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 05:00:54 GMT
Organization: Fantasy, Incorporated: Reality None of Our Business.

Okay, perhaps the subject is a little grandious :-)

I've gotten to the point on my voicemail BBS that I'm featurizing the thing.
Up until now it's been low-level things like the user database, sysop features,
and voice prompting editing, as well as the hard part of controlling up to
16 lines without crashing miserably in a heap of tangled phone lines,
interrupts, and a hung computer. But I've done it, with the help of some
pretty fantastic event driven routines courtesy of Borland's Turbo Vision.

So, as promised to some people in email, here are my thoughts on implementing
the hard parts, the easy parts, and what lies ahead. Hopefully some of you
out there can give me some ideas on what to do with this thing.

The hardest part was somthing that a lot of other multiuser applications
run into as well. That is, with only one user database, how do you 
simultaneously allow lookups at login, sysop scrolling, and writes & updates
without having each line own a copy of the database? There are 2 locking
strategies, I suppose. First, as I said, each line owns a copy of the database
and can "check out" a user record, or get appending access. This was thrown
out because the memory involved would have been prohibitive. So the solution
was for each line to keep information on the index, and lock it as such when
it needs to do a disk-based write.

The rest was pretty easy once that was done. Each line owns a "view" in
Turbo Vision that responds to events generated by the card. Each view
knows what to do when it gets a digit in from the card, and when to play
something, record, and what have you. I won't go into TOO much detail, as
a lot of the programming was pretty innovative, if I say so myself, and I'd
rather keep that as "in house secrets." :-)

So, the point I find myself now is with a 2 line system that can answer
the phone, check the user database for a prompted account and password,
or accept a hot-key (a "1") for a demo account with a 10 minute online
timer. Basic views for the main section, mail system (as well as ability
for non-account holders to leave mail for someone with an account), and
public boards (just like a "real" BBS) are completed, as well as some simple
sysop utilities.

What next? :-)

Any ideas, or discussion would be MOST helpful.

I'd also like to give the number out, as well as a quandry.

Suppose, as I am going to, I put this up free of charge, like any other
BBS system. Normally, you dial into a BBS, and leave information that
the system requires for you to register. The system can then let you
right on, with an account. On this system, I can generate an account
number, and ask you to DTMF (tuch-tone, for the non-telecom people) in
a password, but any other information that a BBS would want, like your
name and address and such must be spoken, making work for the sysop
typing it all in. This could get annoying in the case of the one-time
curious caller. What to do? I find I'm somewhat stuck!

Anyhow, the system runs on a Talking Technology Powerline II card. If
you're interested in the card, they can be reached at:

Talking Technology, Inc
1125 Atlantic Ave Suite 101
Alameda, California, 94501

(510) 522-3800

If you're interested in running one of these, I will be selling the software
when it's done, thought I have no idea in what manner. Most of my other
software (FSUUCP and FSBBS, for example) is shareware. I'd make this
shareware as well, but it's not like you can try it out without the card,
and if you've bought the card to do this, you know you want it! So we'll
see how that goes. Source WILL be available.

Okay, and finally the number :-)

There are 2 lines, the first hunting to the second, so I'll only give out
the first. It is: (805) 544-3754.

WARNING: I'm woring on the system quite a bit, so over the next 2 weeks
or so, expect to get a ring-out at times, and to find it in "message mode"
at times as well. But I figured since the lines are installed, I might as
well give the number out.
-- 
If you insist upon living in a  | cambler@zeus.calpoly.edu | Fubar Systems BBS
dream, you may be taken as mad. |                          | (805) 54-FUBAR
  I like my dream.              | Because all you of       | 3/12/24, MNP5, 8N1
Then you *are* mad!             | Earth are IDIOTS!!       | FSBBS 2/FSUUCP 1.3
Newsgroups: comp.bbs.misc