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+ <TITLE>The DXSpider Administration Manual v1.47: Databases</TITLE>
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-<H2><A NAME="s6">6. Filtering (New Style v1.45 and later)</A></H2>
+<H2><A NAME="s6">6. Databases</A></H2>
-<H2><A NAME="ss6.1">6.1 General filter rules</A>
-</H2>
-
-<P>Upto v1.44 it was not possible for the user to set their own filters. From
-v1.45 though that has all changed. It is now possible to set filters for just
-about anything you wish. If you have just updated from an older version of
-DXSpider you will need to update your new filters. You do not need to do
-anything with your old filters, they will be renamed as you update.
-<P>
-<P>There are 3 basic commands involved in setting and manipulating filters. These
-are <EM>accept</EM>, <EM>reject</EM> and <EM>clear</EM>. First we will look
-generally at filtering. There are a number of things you can filter in the
-DXSpider system. They all use the same general mechanism.
-<P>
-<P>In general terms you can create a 'reject' or an 'accept' filter which can have
-up to 10 lines in it. You do this using, for example ...
-<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-
-accept/spots .....
-reject/spots .....
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>where ..... are the specific commands for that type of filter. There are filters
-for spots, wwv, announce, wcy and (for sysops) connects. See each different
-accept or reject command reference for more details.
-<P>There is also a command to clear out one or more lines in a filter. They are ...
-<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-clear/spots 1
-clear/spots all
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>There is clear/xxxx command for each type of filter.
-<P>
-<P>and you can check that your filters have worked by the command ...
-<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-
-show/filter
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>
-<P>For now we are going to use spots for the examples, but you can apply the same
-principles to all types of filter.
+<P>Spider allows the creation of local or remote databases. It supports
+chained databases, allowing several different databases to be scanned
+with one simple command. Importing of databases is limited at present
+to the standard AK1A databases such as OBLAST and the DB0SDX QSL
+database but will expand with time.
<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss6.2">6.2 Types of filter</A>
+<H2><A NAME="ss6.1">6.1 Creating databases</A>
</H2>
-<P>There are two main types of filter, <EM>accept</EM> or <EM>reject</EM>. You
-can use either to achieve the result you want dependent on your own preference
-and which is more simple to do. It is pointless writing 8 lines of reject
-filters when 1 accept filter would do the same thing! Each filter has 10
-lines (of any length) which are tried in order. If a line matches then the
-action you have specified is taken (ie reject means ignore it and accept
-means take it)
-<P>
-<P>If you specify reject filters, then any lines that arrive that match the filter
-will be dumped but all else will be accepted. If you use an accept filter,
-then ONLY the lines in the filter will be accepted and all else will be dumped.
-For example if you have a single line <EM>accept</EM> filter ...
+<P>Creating a database could not be more simple. All the commands are
+sent from the cluster prompt as the <EM>sysop</EM> user.
+<P>To create a database you use the command <EM>dbcreate</EM>. It can
+be used in 3 different ways like so ..
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-accept/spots on vhf and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+dbcreate <name>
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>then you will <EM>ONLY</EM> get VHF spots <EM>from</EM> or <EM>to</EM> CQ zones
-14, 15 and 16.
-<P>
-<P>If you set a reject filter like this ...
+<P>To simply create a database locally, you just tell the command the
+name of the database. This does not create the actual database, it
+simply defines it to say that it exists.
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots on hf/cw
+dbcreate <name> chain <name> [<name>...]
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>Then you will get everything <EM>EXCEPT</EM> HF CW spots. You could make this
-single filter even more flexible. For example, if you are interested in IOTA
-and will work it even on CW even though normally you are not interested in
-CW, then you could say ...
+<P>This creates a chained database entry. The first database will be
+scanned, then the second, the third etc...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots on hf/cw and not info iota
+dbcreate <name> remote <name>
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>But in that case you might only be interested in iota and say:-
+<P>This creates a remote entry. the first name field is the database
+name at the remote node, then the remote switch, then the actual
+node_call of the remote node, for example...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-accept/spots not on hf/cw or info iota
+dbcreate buckmaster remote gb7dxc
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>which achieves exactly the same thing. You should choose one or the other
-until you are comfortable with the way it works. You can mix them if you
-wish (actually you can have an accept AND a reject on the same line) but
-don't attempt this until you are sure you know what you are doing!
+<P>Remote databases cannot be chained, however, the last database in a
+chain can be a remote database.
<P>
-<P>You can arrange your filter lines into logical units, either for your own
-understanding or simply convenience. Here is an example ...
+<H2><A NAME="ss6.2">6.2 Importing databases</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>The only databases that Spider can currently import are the standard
+AK1A databases such as OBLAST or the DB0SDX qsl and address database.
+This will be added to with time.
+<P>To import such a database, first put the file somewhere useful like /tmp
+and then issue the following command ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots 1 on hf/cw
-reject/spots 2 on 50000/1400000 not (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+dbimport oblast /tmp/OBLAST.FUL
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>What this does is to ignore all HF CW spots and also rejects any spots on VHF
-which don't either originate or spot someone in Europe.
-<P>
-<P>This is an example where you would use a line number (1 and 2 in this case), if
-you leave the digit out, the system assumes '1'. Digits '0'-'9' are available.
-This make it easier to see just what filters you have set. It also makes it
-more simple to remove individual filters, during a contest for example.
-<P>
-<P>You will notice in the above example that the second line has brackets. Look
-at the line logically. You can see there are 2 separate sections to it. We
-are saying reject spots that are VHF or above <EM>APART</EM> from those in
-zones 14, 15 and 16 (either spotted there or originated there). If you did
-not have the brackets to separate the 2 sections, then Spider would read it
-logically from the front and see a different expression entirely ...
+<P>This will update the existing local oblast database or create it if
+it does not exist.
<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-(on 50000/1400000 and by_zone 14,15,16) or call_zone 14,15,16
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>The simple way to remember this is, if you use OR - use brackets. Whilst we are
-here CASE is not important. 'And BY_Zone' is just the same as 'and by_zone'.
-<P>As mentioned earlier, setting several filters can be more flexible than
-simply setting one complex one. Doing it in this way means that if you want
-to alter your filter you can just redefine or remove one or more lines of it or
-one line. For example ...
+<H2><A NAME="ss6.3">6.3 Checking available databases</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>Once a database is created, you will want to check that it has been
+added. To do this use the <EM>dbavail</EM> command. This will
+output the available databases. For example ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-reject/spots 1 on hf/ssb
+dbavail
+DB Name Location Chain
+qsl Local
+buck GB7ADX
+hftest GB7DXM
+G0VGS de GB7MBC 3-Feb-2001 1925Z >
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>would redefine our earlier example, or
<P>
-<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
-<PRE>
-clear/spots 1
-</PRE>
-</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>To remove all the filter lines in the spot filter ...
+<H2><A NAME="ss6.4">6.4 Looking up databases</A>
+</H2>
+
+<P>To look for information in a defined database, simply use the <EM>dbshow</EM>
+command, for example ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-clear/spots all
+dbshow buckmaster G0YLM
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss6.3">6.3 Filter options</A>
-</H2>
-
-<P>You can filter in several different ways. The options are listed in the
-various helpfiles for accept, reject and filter.
-<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss6.4">6.4 Default filters</A>
-</H2>
-
-<P>Sometimes all that is needed is a general rule for node connects. This can
-be done with a node_default filter. This rule will always be followed, even
-if the link is isolated, unless another filter is set specifically. Default
-rules can be set for nodes and users. They can be set for spots, announces,
-WWV and WCY. They can also be used for hops. An example might look like
-this ...
+<P>will show the information for the callsign G0YLM from the buckmaster
+database if it exists. To make things more standard for the users
+you can add an entry in the Aliases file so that it looks like a standard
+<EM>show</EM> command like this ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-accept/spot node_default by_zone 14,15,16,20,33
-set/hops node_default spot 50
+'^sh\w*/buc', 'dbshow buckmaster', 'dbshow',
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>This filter is for spots only, you could set others for announce, WWV and WCY.
-This filter would work for ALL nodes unless a specific filter is written to
-override it for a particular node. You can also set a user_default should
-you require. It is important to note that default filters should be
-considered to be "connected". By this I mean that should you override the
-default filter for spots, you need to add a rule for the hops for spots also.
+<P>Now you can simply use show/buckmaster or an abreviation.
<P>
-<H2><A NAME="ss6.5">6.5 Advanced filtering</A>
+<H2><A NAME="ss6.5">6.5 Removing databases</A>
</H2>
-<P>Once you are happy with the results you get, you may like to experiment.
-<P>
-<P>The previous example that filters hf/cw spots and accepts vhf/uhf spots from EU
-can be written with a mixed filter, for example ...
+<P>To delete an existing database you use the <EM>dbremove</EM> command.
+For example ...
<P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><CODE>
<PRE>
-rej/spot on hf/cw
-acc/spot on 0/30000
-acc/spot 2 on 50000/1400000 and (by_zone 14,15,16 or call_zone 14,15,16)
+dbremove oblast
</PRE>
</CODE></BLOCKQUOTE>
-<P>Note that the first filter has not been specified with a number. This will
-automatically be assumed to be number 1. In this case, we have said <EM>reject all
-HF spots in the CW section of the bands but accept all others at HF. Also
-accept anything in VHF and above spotted in or by operators in the zones
-14, 15 and 16</EM>. Each filter slot actually has a 'reject' slot and
-an 'accept' slot. The reject slot is executed BEFORE the accept slot.
-<P>
-<P>It was mentioned earlier that after a reject test that doesn't match, the default
-for following tests is 'accept', the reverse is true for 'accept'. In the example
-what happens is that the reject is executed first, any non hf/cw spot is passed
-to the accept line, which lets through everything else on HF. The next filter line
-lets through just VHF/UHF spots from EU.
-<P>
+<P>would remove the oblast database and its associated datafile from the
+system. There are no warnings or recovery possible from this command.
+If you remove a database it ceases to exist and would have to be created
+from scratch if you still required it.
<P>
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