1 =================================
2 STARDATES IN STAR TREK FAQ
3 Computer-Related Addenda
4 Version 1.6.1
5 by Andrew Main <zefram@fysh.org>
6 1997-12-26, stardate [-30]0458.96
7 =================================
8
9
101. TABLE OF CONTENTS
11
121. Table of contents
132. About the Stardates in Star Trek FAQ
143. The `stardate' program
154. Other versions of the `stardate' program
165. Adding a stardate header to email messages
176. Obtaining the latest version of the FAQ
187. Legal notice
19
20
212. ABOUT THE STARDATES IN STAR TREK FAQ
22
23This package is based on the Stardates in Star Trek FAQ available on USENET.
24The FAQ describes a system of stardates, and how it was developed. See
25section 6 for information on getting hold of the latest version.
26
27The version numbers of this package and the FAQ will generally correspond.
28For example, this is version 1.6.1 of the Computer-Related Addenda package,
29and was prepared at the same time as version 1.6 of the FAQ. Consequently, if
30you have differing version numbers, it probably means that whichever item you
31have with the lower version number is out of date.
32
33
343. THE `STARDATE' PROGRAM
35
36The file `stardate.c' is a C program that will manipulate dates in various
37formats. It can display the current date, or a date specified in one of five
38formats. It can display dates in any of these five formats. The date formats
39supported are stardates (of course), the Julian, Gregorian and Quadcent
40calendars, and the traditional Unix form of date specification.
41
42Note that the previous version of this program, distributed in version 1.6 of
43this package, gave the wrong results in some cases when compiled in a 16-bit
44(or in fact anything up to 31-bit) environment (such as DOS). This bug is
45fixed in this version. All versions produce correct results in a 32-bit (or
46greater) environment.
47
48`stardate.1' is the nroff source for the program's Unix-style manual page.
49(On Unix systems, this should be installed in the appropriate man directory.)
50`stardate.man' is a plain text formatted version of stardate.1.
51
52Please do not ask me for an executable of this program. I have the facilities
53to compile only for a few Unix platforms; definitely not DOS. Similarly, do
54not ask me for a version in Pascal or any other language. Some people have
55translated this program's predecessors into Pascal, Java, Haskell and other
56languages, and several people have bolted GUIs onto them, but I haven't kept
57track of these efforts.
58
59
604. OTHER VERSIONS OF THE `STARDATE' PROGRAM
61
62As this stardate program is completely new (at the time of writing), this is
63the only implementation of it. However, if past performances are repeated,
64this will only be a temporary situation. If you are considering translating
65this program into another language, or reimplementing it with a different
66interface, please read this section.
67
68Several people have asked me for permission to write programs based on the
69Stardates FAQ. There is no need to do so. While the FAQ itself is
70copyrighted, the stardate system it describes is not. However, if you write
71such a program, please mention in its documentation that it is based on
72version 1 of the Stardates in Star Trek FAQ, and include some information on
73how to get hold of the FAQ.
74
75In a change from my previous policy, I will now maintain a list of alternate
76versions of this stardate program. So if you write such a program, feel free
77to send me a brief description. Future versions of this package will include
78a list of other stardate programs.
79
80
815. ADDING A STARDATE HEADER TO EMAIL MESSAGES
82
83If you use the Elm electronic mail reader to send email on a Unix system, it
84is possible to have an extra header line added to all your email messages,
85giving the stardate at which the message was sent. To do this, you must make
86sure the `stardate' program is in your command path. Then, add the following
87line to your ~/.elm/elmheaders file, or, if the file doesn't exist, create it
88containing only this line:
89
90X-Stardate: `stardate`
91
92(Note the backquotes.) An extra line will then be added to the header of all
93email messages sent using Elm.
94
95
966. OBTAINING THE LATEST VERSION OF THE FAQ
97
98The Stardates in Star Trek FAQ is posted to the USENET newsgroup
99rec.arts.startrek.tech every 30 days. It is cross-posted to rec.answers and
100news.answers. It can be found by searching any of these newsgroups for the
101subject line "Stardates in Star Trek Mini-FAQ" (without the quotes).
102Depending on the configuration at your site, it is possible that it may be
103expired earlier than intended, and therefore not be available.
104
105It is also available for anonymous FTP from rtfm.mit.edu (18.70.0.209) as file
106/pub/usenet/news.answers/star-trek/stardates. This will contain the last
107version to be distributed via USENET. rtfm.mit.edu also has a number of
108mirrors, in which it is archived as star-trek/stardates. These URLs point to
109a selection of mirrors around the world -- pick the one closest to you:
110
111<URL:ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/star-trek/stardates>
112<URL:ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/usenet/news-faqs/news.answers/star-trek/stardates>
113<URL:ftp://ftp.pasteur.fr/pub/FAQ/star-trek/stardates>
114<URL:ftp://ftp.sunet.se/pub/usenet/news.answers/star-trek/stardates>
115<URL:ftp://hwarang.postech.ac.kr/pub/usenet/news.answers/star-trek/stardates>
116
117If you do not have access to FTP, you can obtain a copy from rtfm.mit.edu by
118email. To do so, send an email message to <mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu>
119containing the line:
120
121send usenet/news.answers/star-trek/stardates
122
123As a last resort, you can obtain the latest version direct from the author by
124email. To do so, send an email message to <zefram@fysh.org>, with the subject
125line "send stardates". Messages for the attention of the author should be
126sent to the same address, using some other subject line.
127
128
1297. LEGAL NOTICE
130
131Copyright (c) 1996, 1997 Andrew Main. All rights reserved.
132
133Redistribution and use, in source and binary forms, with or without
134modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
135are met:
1361. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
137 notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
1382. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
139 notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer
140 in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
141 distribution.
1423. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this
143 software must display the following acknowledgement:
144 This product includes software developed by Andrew Main.
1454. The name of Andrew Main may not be used to endorse or promote
146 products derived from this software without specific prior
147 written permission.
148
149THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
150WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
151MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.
152IN NO EVENT SHALL ANDREW MAIN BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
153INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING,
154BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
155LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
156CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
157LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN
158ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
159POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
160