From 1.48 onwards it will become increasingly possible to control DXSpider's operation with scripts of various kinds.
The directory /spider/scripts is where it all happens and is used for several things. Firstly it contains a file called startup that can be used to call in any changes to the cluster from the default settings on startup. This script is executed immediately after all initialisation of the node is done but before any connections are possible. Examples of this include how many spots it is possible to get with the sh/dx command, whether you want registration/passwords to be permanently on etc. An example file is shown below and is included in the distribution as startup.issue.
#
# startup script example
#
# set maximum no of spots allowed to 100
# set/var $Spot::maxspots = 1
#
# Set registration on
# set/var $main::reqreg = 1
#
# Set passwords on
# set/var $main::passwdreq = 1
#
As usual, any text behind a # is treated as a comment and not read. To use this file, simply rename it from startup.issue to startup. In our example above there are three options. The first option is the amount of spots that a user can request with the sh/dx command. Normally the default is to give 10 spots unless the user specifies more. Without this line enabled, the maximum a user can request is 100 spots. Depending on your link quality you may wish to enable more or less by specifying the number. If you simply uncomment the line, the maximum would be 1 spot!
The other 2 options are dealt with more fully in the security section.
Secondly, it is used to store the login scripts for users and nodes. Currently this can only be done by the sysop but it is envisaged that eventually users will be able to set their own. An example is included in the distibution but here is a further example.
#
# G0FYD
#
blank +
sh/wwv 3
blank +
sh/dx
blank +
t g0jhc You abt?
blank +
The lines in between commands can simply insert a blank line or a character such as a + sign to make the output easier to read. Simply create this script with your favourite editor and save it with the callsign of the user as the filename. Filenames should always be in lower case.
Commands can be inserted in the same way for nodes. A node may wish a series of commands to be issued on login, such as a merge command for example.
Thirdly, there are 2 default scripts for users and nodes who do not have a specifically defined script. These are user_default and node_default