[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 at 22:06, David Schmidt via cctalk wrote: > > I ran the Windows reader over the f29al000.boo file, and the results weren't > as good as the ones that IBM printed out in 1992 as available on the Internet > Archive; the main problems I can see is the lack of font support (everything > in my PDF was basically Courier) Agreed -- same here. > and most tables were broken in both (even the old IBM one) TBH I didn't notice that! > So if you want to make the f29bdg00.boo file available I can at least get a > Courier version of it back to you. That would be wonderful -- thank you! Would a ~6.5MB email attachment be OK? > Related to IBM CUA/Workplace Shell stuff... I do have a demonstration floppy > around here somewhere of early CUA ideas that IBM put out BITD, if that's > part of the itch you're trying to scratch.) It's not but it certainly sounds fun. :-) -- Liam Proven ~ Profile: https://about.me/liamproven Email: lpro...@cix.co.uk ~ gMail/gTalk/FB: lpro...@gmail.com Twitter/LinkedIn: lproven ~ Skype: liamproven IoM: (+44) 7624 277612: UK: (+44) 7939-087884 Czech [+ WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal]: (+420) 702-829-053
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
I ran the Windows reader over the f29al000.boo file, and the results weren't as good as the ones that IBM printed out in 1992 as available on the Internet Archive; the main problems I can see is the lack of font support (everything in my PDF was basically Courier), and most tables were broken in both (even the old IBM one). So if you want to make the f29bdg00.boo file available I can at least get a Courier version of it back to you. Related to IBM CUA/Workplace Shell stuff... I do have a demonstration floppy around here somewhere of early CUA ideas that IBM put out BITD, if that's part of the itch you're trying to scratch.) - David
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 at 18:48, David Schmidt via cctalk wrote: > > I have it running in a Windows NT VM, and it prints to PDF using BullZip > just fine. Do you want to point to the library you want to convert, and > I can run this over them? Thank you! I found one on the Internet Archive already -- it's here: https://archive.org/details/sc34-4399-00 This is: f29al000.boo The one I haven't found yet is: f29bdg00.boo I have a local copy but I did not record where I got it... >_< -- Liam Proven ~ Profile: https://about.me/liamproven Email: lpro...@cix.co.uk ~ gMail/gTalk/FB: lpro...@gmail.com Twitter/LinkedIn: lproven ~ Skype: liamproven IoM: (+44) 7624 277612: UK: (+44) 7939-087884 Czech [+ WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal]: (+420) 702-829-053
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
On 12/11/23 1:00 PM, Liam Proven wrote: Does anyone have any experience with the IBM BookManager format and the tools to read it? I've not found any way to open them on a Mac. No joy on Linux yet either; there's an old unmaintained tool that uses a 32-bit Java app. I found 2 Windows tools. One, IBM Library Reader, won't install on Win11. I have it running in a Windows NT VM, and it prints to PDF using BullZip just fine. Do you want to point to the library you want to convert, and I can run this over them?
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
I have quite some experience with this: - I managed to reconstruct the long-lost BookManager Server product for Linux, allowing you to render them as a CGI-bin. Sadly, this got a DMCA takedown, however, the work is trivial to reproduce - you have to download the individual software updates and puzzle them together to get a full-ish install. You will be missing assets, but you can find them in the Internet Archive's wayback machine to complete your efforts (eg .GIF files used to build the UX). You will also have to use ltrace to figure out the last missing bits since it's a cruft that uses dlopen() creatively. Don't expose this CGI to the public internet though; just poking at it to get it to work exposed easy-to-exploit vulnerabilities to get RCX on your machine. - I also have a S/390 and z14, and the S/390 has the OS/390 version of the BookManager Server and Reader. You'd have a much better experience using that one imho since that 3270-based reader is a lot better than the Windows or Web versions. Someone once made a 3390 volume with all .BOO files known to him. I keep quite a few of /400s and my /390 + z14, so I'm often exposed to documentation in this format. It's not that hard to deal with once you have a working reader setup - just make sure to avoid the Java cruft. /y On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 at 10:58, Dave Wade G4UGM via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > > > > -Original Message- > > From: dave.g4...@gmail.com > > Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 9:35 AM > > To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts' < > cctalk@classiccmp.org> > > Subject: RE: [cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format > > > > > -Original Message- > > > From: Chuck Guzis via cctalk > > > Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 12:09 AM > > > To: Liam Proven via cctalk > > > Cc: Chuck Guzis > > > Subject: [cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format > > > > > > On 12/10/23 14:04, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote: > > > > Does anyone have any experience with the IBM BookManager format and > > > > the tools to read it? > > > > > > > > > > Have you looked at http://kev009.com/wp/projects/boo2pdf/ > > > > Sadly it doesn't work, and the source code has gone as well > > Sorry Chuck, the source code does appear to be in github. > It looks like the "transmogrifier" in there might solve the problems I had > with images > > > > > > > > > --chuck > > > > > > > Dave > Dave > > -- Sent using CompuServe 1.22
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
> -Original Message- > From: dave.g4...@gmail.com > Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 9:35 AM > To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts' > Subject: RE: [cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format > > > -Original Message- > > From: Chuck Guzis via cctalk > > Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 12:09 AM > > To: Liam Proven via cctalk > > Cc: Chuck Guzis > > Subject: [cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format > > > > On 12/10/23 14:04, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote: > > > Does anyone have any experience with the IBM BookManager format and > > > the tools to read it? > > > > > > > Have you looked at http://kev009.com/wp/projects/boo2pdf/ > > Sadly it doesn't work, and the source code has gone as well Sorry Chuck, the source code does appear to be in github. It looks like the "transmogrifier" in there might solve the problems I had with images > > > > > --chuck > > > > Dave Dave
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
> -Original Message- > From: Chuck Guzis via cctalk > Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 12:09 AM > To: Liam Proven via cctalk > Cc: Chuck Guzis > Subject: [cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format > > On 12/10/23 14:04, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote: > > Does anyone have any experience with the IBM BookManager format and > > the tools to read it? > > > > Have you looked at http://kev009.com/wp/projects/boo2pdf/ Sadly it doesn't work, and the source code has gone as well > > --chuck > Dave
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
> -Original Message- > From: Liam Proven via cctalk > Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2023 10:04 PM > To: cctalk@classiccmp.org > Cc: Liam Proven > Subject: [cctalk] IBM .BOO format > > Does anyone have any experience with the IBM BookManager format and the > tools to read it? Yes, it’s a pain. > > I've not found any way to open them on a Mac. No joy on Linux yet either; > there's an old unmaintained tool that uses a 32-bit Java app. > It should be possible to run one of the Java viewers on Linux. More info here https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/ibm-book-boo-files.59907/ but you are probably still stuck with the only print one page bug. > I found 2 Windows tools. > > One, IBM Library Reader, won't install on Win11. > > https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-library-reader-windows > I used this :- https://github.com/otya128/winevdm to install this on Windows/11. Its clunky but it kind of works. I can't see why it won't run under Wine, it’s a 16-bit windows app. It will print the whole file but it loses some images. > The other a Java app, IBM Softcopy Reader. > > https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-softcopy-reader > > It installs and runs on Win11 and I can print to PDF -- but only 1 page at a > time. > Selecting multiple pages give me an empty PDF. > Yes, I guess there is a bug in the Java. Never managed to sort this. > I found the original IBM CUA documentation and want to convert it to some > more modern, open format, but I am not having much luck... > It’s a problem with .boo files. Only IBM seem to understand the format. You best bet would be the first app, but you will then need to fix the images in the PDF. A lot of work... actually I wonder if Dave McGuire has a copy of the full Book Manager on a Mainframe. That might have better print options. If you want to send me a link to what you want converting I can try for you... > > -- > Liam Proven - Profile: https://about.me/liamproven > Email: lpro...@cix.co.uk - Google Mail/Hangouts/Plus: lpro...@gmail.com > Twitter/Facebook/Flickr: lproven - Skype/LinkedIn: liamproven > IoM: +44 7624 227612 ~ UK: +44 7939-087884 > ČR (+ WhatsApp/Telegram/Signal): +420 702 829 053 Dave
[cctalk] Re: IBM .BOO format
On 12/10/23 14:04, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote: > Does anyone have any experience with the IBM BookManager format and the > tools to read it? > Have you looked at http://kev009.com/wp/projects/boo2pdf/ --chuck
