From: v.narinian@IC.AC.UK
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.hellas
Subject: CCITT/CCIR documents online (long)
Date: 6 Nov 92 21:51:09 GMT
Reply-To: v.narinian@IC.AC.UK
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
Comments: To: hellas@auvm.american.edu

**** WELCOME TO THE TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM) ****

TELEDOC is an electronic document distribution service of the
International Telecommunication Union in Geneva, Switzerland.

For help on TELEDOC Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM) commands, send a
message with the line HELP in the message body.

NEWS FLASH: Summaries of CCITT Recommendations are being added to
the ITU Document Store.  Send the command LIST CCITT/REC to see
the Recommendation Series groups now available.  A new TAM help
file is also available (send the command HELP).

REPLY TO COMMAND => HELP

TAM replied on October 19, 1992 at 4:39 PM local time in Geneva.

TAM Help is attached in the next message body part.

********************* END COVER MESSAGE *********************

------------------------------ Start of body part 2

TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM) HELP
LAST REVISION: October 8, 1992

** INTRODUCTION **

TELEDOC is an electronic document distribution
service of the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU).  The ITU is a United Nations agency
based in Geneva, Switzerland.  It consists
organizationally of five permanent organs: the
General Secretariat, the International Frequency
Registration Board (IFRB), the International Radio
Consultative Committee (CCIR), the International
Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee
(CCITT) and the Telecommunications Development
Bureau (BDT).

ITU documents are stored in a database called the
ITU Document Store.  The ITU Document Store
organizes ITU documents into hierarchical groups.
Each group can contain additional groups and/or
documents.  Remote access to the ITU Document Store
is planned via:

- electronic mail (auto-answering mailbox)
- interactive VT interface (planned for early 93)
- Internet FTP (planned for early 93)

This document describes the electronic mail access,
the Teledoc Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM).


** TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX (TAM) **

The Teledoc Auto-Answering Mailbox (TAM) is an
X.400 "robot" electronic mailbox at ITU
headquarters.  The electronic mail address of the
TAM is:

(X.400)

S=teledoc; P=itu; A=arcom; C=ch

or

(Internet)

teledoc@itu.arcom.ch

Electronic mail sent to the TAM should only contain
simple commands described below.  When the TAM
receives a message, it scans it for these commands
which it interprets and processes.  It then
constructs and mails back a reply.

For example, you can ask the TAM to send help
(HELP), a list of groups and/or documents in the
ITU Document Store (LIST) or an actual document
(GET).  Here is a sample message to the TAM:

-----------------------------------------
To: S=teledoc;P=itu;A=arcom;C=ch (X.400)
    or
    teledoc@itu.arcom.ch (Internet)
FROM: (NAME)
SUBJECT: (IGNORED)
-----------------------------------------
HELP
LIST
LIST CCITT
LIST CCITT/REC
LIST CCIR
LIST IFRB
LIST BDT
LIST TIES
GET 1449
-----------------------------------------

The above message to the TAM asks to:

1. Send a help file;
2. Send a list of groups and/or documents at the root
level of the ITU Document Store;
3. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the CCITT
Group (CCITT);
4. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the CCITT
Recommendations group (CCITT/REC);
5. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the CCIR
Group (CCIR);
6. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the IFRB
Group (IFRB);
7. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the BDT
Group (BDT);
8. Send a list of groups and/or documents in the
Telecom Information Exchange Services Group (TIES);
9. Send the document that has the Unique Permanent
Identifier (UPI) of 1449.


** GETTING STARTED **

1. Find out how the electronic mail system you use
in your organization or company can access the TAM
via either the X.400 or Internet mail address
listed above.  Alternatively, you can access the
TAM via various major email service providers (see
below).

2. Send a test message (TEST or HELP) to the TAM.
If you receive a reply then you have established
that your message has reached the TAM and that it
can also reach you.

3. Decide which group of documents in the ITU
Document Store you are interested in.  Send a mail
message requesting a list (LIST) of groups and/or
documents in that group.

4. After you receive a list of available documents
and groups, send a mail message to list (LIST)
other sub-groups or get (GET) the document you
want.  The TAM will send to you the list or
document requested.


** TELEDOC AUTO-ANSWERING MAILBOX COMMANDS **

TAM commands consist of a command word followed, in
some cases, by an argument.  Commands and arguments
can be specified in upper, lower or mixed case.
Every line of your mail message to the TAM should
contain a valid command.  Only commands contained
in the mail message are interpreted.  All other
lines and the mail subject field are ignored (you
can use the subject field to document your request
for your own needs).  Up to 50 lines per message
will be processed by the TAM.  Each valid command
currently generates a separate mail reply.

START
     This optional command tells the TAM to begin
     processing commands after this line.  If this
     command is present, any text in the mail
     message before this command is ignored.

TEST
     This command is used to test that the TAM can
     receive mail from your electronic mail system
     and can also respond back to your mail system.
     The TAM will acknowledge your message and send
     a help file.   Typically, if you have not
     received a reply within 48 hours, there is a
     connectivity problem between your electronic
     mail system and the TAM.

HELP
     This command sends the latest help file listing
     and explaining the commands understood by the
     TAM.

LIST <PATH>
     This command returns a list of groups and/or
     documents in the specified group.  The path to
     a group is defined by its location relative
     from the top of the ITU Document Store.  For
     example:

     LIST
     LIST CCITT
     LIST CCITT/REC
     LIST CCITT/REC/F
     LIST CCIR
     LIST IFRB
     LIST BDT
     LIST TIES

     The first example of the LIST command above
     returns a list of groups and/or documents at
     the root level of the ITU Document Store.

GET <UPI>
     When the TAM sends a list of documents and/or
     groups, it provides a Unique Permanent
     Identifier (UPI) code for every document in
     each available format.  The UPI is the code
     used to retrieve the document that you want.
     For example:

     GET 1449
     GET 1453

     You should only retrieve documents in formats
     that can be handled by your electronic mail
     system (see ENCODE below).

ENCODE
     Most mail systems can handle ASCII documents
     attached to mail messages but may have
     difficulties with non-ASCII (i.e., "binary")
     formats such as word processing and graphics
     files.  With the ENCODE command, you can
     request the TAM to encode non-ASCII files into
     the UUENCODE format which is ASCII.  To decode
     the UUENCODED file back into its original
     binary format, you need a utility program
     called UUDECODE.  This program is widely
     available in different computing environments.
     Enter this command in your mail message before
     any GET commands retrieving binary formats if
     your mail system can only support ASCII
     formats.  For example:

     ENCODE
     GET 2314
     GET 2315

     Internet (SMTP) mail does not typically
     support binary attachments to mail messages.
     Therefore, if the TAM is replying to Internet
     mail, the ENCODE command is automatically
     applied.

HUMAN
     Since the TAM is a "robot", it may not
     understand exactly what you are trying to say
     to it.  If you type the command HUMAN followed
     by any message, the TAM will STOP processing
     commands and automatically forward your
     incoming mail message to a human operator at
     the ITU.  For example:

     HUMAN
     I am having a problem locating a document
     concerning XXXX.  Could you please tell me
     where it is available?
          Thank you,
          Bill

END
     This optional command tells the TAM to ignore
     the rest of the mail message.  This command is
     only required if your mail message contains
     text after your commands you want the TAM to
     ignore (e.g., your signature).


** IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS **

There are problems sometimes with international
mail connections just as there are problems
sometimes with long distance telephone calls.  The
electronic mail circuits between the TAM and your
mail system can fail or be temporarily unavailable.
In this case, email can be delayed or not
delivered.  So, the first advice if you have a
problem is to try again.

The TAM will only reply to valid commands.  If the
argument to a LIST command or GET command cannot be
interpreted then you should receive an error
message explaining why.  If the TAM cannot process
any commands in your mail message, it will return a
message saying so and send back the help file.  If
you have no problems retrieving ASCII documents but
difficulties with non-ASCII formats, your mail
system or the mail gateways to your system may not
support binary messages.   In this case, try using
the ENCODE command.

If you have problems that you can't resolve, you
can use the HUMAN command and then enter your
written description of the problem in the mail
message.  The TAM forwards messages containing the
HUMAN command to an ITU help desk.  If you wish to
make a suggestion on how the service can be
improved, please contact:

Mr. Robert Shaw
TELEDOC Project Coordinator
Information Services Department
International Telecommunication Union
Place des Nations
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

TEL: +41 22 730 5338/5554
FAX: +41 22 730 5337
X.400: G=robert; S=shaw; A=arcom; P=itu; C=ch
Internet: shaw@itu.arcom.ch


** ACCESS TO TAM FROM EMAIL SERVICE PROVIDERS **

If you do not have direct access to either X.400 or
Internet mail, many major email service providers
(e.g., MCI, Compuserve) provide gateway facilities
and can access the  TAM.

ACCESS FROM MCI
MCI users can access the TAM through MCI's
facilities for access to other mail systems (EMS).
TAM can be accessed through either MCI's X.400 or
Internet gateways.  X.400 responses appear faster
and more reliable.

ACCESS FROM MCI MAIL VIA X.400:
1. At COMMAND, type CREATE

2. At TO, type TELEDOC followed by EMS in
parentheses.  For
example,

      TO: TELEDOC (EMS)

3. At the prompt EMS: type ARCOM.  For example,

   EMS: ARCOM

4. At MBX: type PR=ITU.  For example,

   MBX: PR=ITU

5. At the next MBX: type return to end addressing

6. Complete as usual

ACCESS FROM MCI MAIL VIA INTERNET:
1. At COMMAND, type CREATE
2. At TO, type TELEDOC followed by EMS in
parentheses.  For
example,

   TO: TELEDOC (EMS)

3. At the prompt EMS: type INTERNET.  For example,

   EMS: INTERNET

4. At MBX: type TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH.  For example,

   MBX: TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH

5. At the next MBX: type return to end addressing

6. Complete as usual


ACCESS FROM COMPUSERVE
Compuserve mail users can access the TAM through
Compuserve's Internet mail gateway facility.

ACCESS FROM COMPUSERVE MAIL VIA INTERNET:
1. Choose COMPOSE a new message, edit the message
with TAM commands, then choose SEND

2. At SEND TO (NAME OR USER ID), type
INTERNET:TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH  For example,

   Send to (Name or User ID):
INTERNET:TELEDOC@ITU.ARCOM.CH

3. At SUBJECT, type any text (TAM ignores subject
fields)

4. Complete as usual

** END HELP FILE **