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Maximus (BBS)
Encyclopedia
Maximus is a bulletin board system
, originally developed by Scott J. Dudley through his company, Lanius Corporation. The software was first written and released for both MS-DOS
and OS/2
, with later versions supporting 32-bit Windows
operating systems. The MS-DOS version interfaced with the serial port (and thus the modem) through a FOSSIL
driver . Version 1.0 was released in 1990, with versions 2.0 and 3.01 following in 1991 and 1995. The source code for Maximus and its companion utilities, such as Squish
, was released under the GNU General Public License
in 2002. It has since been ported to run under Linux
, and other Unix-like
operating systems.
By default, Maximus provides a relatively basic interface for BBS callers rendered in either ANSI
or ASCII
, compared with other BBS software. Menu layout is auto-generated and simply-drawn. With some effort, however, it is very customisable, including a provision for a system operator to supply RIP graphics
for users. When BBS systems were popular, Maximus often appealed to system operators who wanted a system that appeared light-weight, but also to those who wanted great flexibility in their ability to customise their system's looks and behaviour.
Maximus configuration is entirely through editing text files, prior to running a compiler
to convert the text files to binary configuration files. Since the release of version 3.0 of Maximus, in December 1995, Maximus has supported two independent programming languages for system operators to customise their BBS. Both are compiled to Maximus-recognised byte-code before being used:
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
, originally developed by Scott J. Dudley through his company, Lanius Corporation. The software was first written and released for both MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
and OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
, with later versions supporting 32-bit Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating systems. The MS-DOS version interfaced with the serial port (and thus the modem) through a FOSSIL
FOSSIL
FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under the DOS operating system. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus SEAdog Standard Interface Layer. Fido refers to FidoBBS, Opus refers to Opus-CBCS BBS, and SEAdog refers to a Fidonet compatible mailer...
driver . Version 1.0 was released in 1990, with versions 2.0 and 3.01 following in 1991 and 1995. The source code for Maximus and its companion utilities, such as Squish
Squish (FidoNet)
Squish is both the name of a FidoNet mail tossing application originally designed for DOS and OS/2, and the name of the primary mail storage format in which this application stores FidoNet and other local BBS messages. Before Squish, open storage formats for FidoNet and Bulletin Board messages...
, was released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
in 2002. It has since been ported to run under Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, and other Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating systems.
By default, Maximus provides a relatively basic interface for BBS callers rendered in either ANSI
ANSI art
ANSI art is a computer art form that was widely used at one time on BBSes. It is similar to ASCII art, but constructed from a larger set of 256 letters, numbers, and symbols — all codes found in IBM code page 437, often referred to as extended ASCII and used in MS-DOS and Unix environments...
or ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
, compared with other BBS software. Menu layout is auto-generated and simply-drawn. With some effort, however, it is very customisable, including a provision for a system operator to supply RIP graphics
Remote imaging protocol
The Remote Imaging Protocol Scripting Language, more commonly known as the Remote Imaging Protocol or RIPscrip, is a scripting language created by Jeff Reeder, Jim Bergman, and Mark Hayton to enhance bulletin board systems and other applications.RIPscrip was introduced in 1993 and consisted of...
for users. When BBS systems were popular, Maximus often appealed to system operators who wanted a system that appeared light-weight, but also to those who wanted great flexibility in their ability to customise their system's looks and behaviour.
Maximus configuration is entirely through editing text files, prior to running a compiler
Compiler
A compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming language into another computer language...
to convert the text files to binary configuration files. Since the release of version 3.0 of Maximus, in December 1995, Maximus has supported two independent programming languages for system operators to customise their BBS. Both are compiled to Maximus-recognised byte-code before being used:
- The MECCA language is primarily display-oriented, providing basic tokens to indicate actions such as colour changes for text displayed to a user, and simple functionality for designing things such as menus that require user input, or writing certain information to files on disk to exchange information with BBS doorBBS doorA door is a computer program, on a bulletin board system, that runs outside of the main bulletin board program. Sometimes called external programs, doors are the most common way to add games, utilities, and other extensions to BBSes. From the 1990s on, most BBS software had the capability to...
programs.
- The MEX language is a more structured, Turing-completeTuring completenessIn computability theory, a system of data-manipulation rules is said to be Turing complete or computationally universal if and only if it can be used to simulate any single-taped Turing machine and thus in principle any computer. A classic example is the lambda calculus...
programming language, that borrows ideas from CC (programming language)C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
, Pascal, BASIC, and a selection of similar languages. MEX provides supports for functions, structures, arrays, strings, and several additional complex concepts. Using MEX, system operators can write reasonably complex programs to run on their BBS and interact with users.
See also
- SquishSquish (FidoNet)Squish is both the name of a FidoNet mail tossing application originally designed for DOS and OS/2, and the name of the primary mail storage format in which this application stores FidoNet and other local BBS messages. Before Squish, open storage formats for FidoNet and Bulletin Board messages...
- the primary mail format used by Maximus, and Fidonet mail tossing application used to process it. - List of BBS software