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From: [email protected] (Mike Heins)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl.announce,comp.lang.perl.misc
Subject: ANNOUNCE: MiniVend V2.03 -- Powerful shopping cart package
Followup-To: comp.lang.perl.misc
Date: 7 Jan 1997 16:29:37 GMT
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Xref: usenet.cise.ufl.edu comp.lang.perl.announce:81 comp.lang.perl.misc:13740

ANNOUNCE: MiniVend V2.03 -- The compatibility release

MiniVend has come out with a new release, Version 2.03.  It should now
be compatible with virtually any Unix system running Perl 5.002 or higher.

It will be available at all Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN)
sites in the directory CPAN/authors/id/MIKEH.

See info at:

              http://www.minivend.com/minivend/

-------------------------------------------------------------

   MiniVend V2.03

   Copyright 1996,1997 by Michael J. Heins <[email protected]>

   Largely based on Vend 0.2 Copyright 1995 by Andrew M. Wilcox
   <[email protected]>

   Portions from Vend 0.3 Copyright 1995,1996 by Andrew M. Wilcox

   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
   modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
   published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
   the License, or (at your option) any later version.


-------------------------------------------------------------

                     W H A T ' S   N E W

MiniVend 2.03 is greatly changed from MiniVend 2.02, though
catalogs should be almost completely compatible.

Changes include:

       * Re-configuring a catalog can now be done on an individual
         basis.  No more server re-starts for a user to change their
         configuration.

       * MiniVend no longer requires DBM, though it is still best to use
         GDBM or DB_File if available. There is a file-based session
         storage message mechanism, and product databases can
         be stored in memory.  This is automatically selected if
         appropriate.

       * Multi-server mechanism changed completely.  Only one
         server runs when in quiescent state -- it forks additional
         servers as necessary, up to a limit you decide.

       * Runs on just about any Unix operating system with
         no changes, providing Perl 5.002 or higher is available.
         This includes IRIX, which formerly would not run MiniVend.

       * Perl subroutines can now be defined on three levels, and
         directly called from MiniVend pages. Two use the Safe.pm module
         for enforcing security, while an administrator-enabled GlobalSub
         routine can run external programs for complete control.

       * mSQL support is now considered stable, and the databases
         can be updated by forms from within MiniVend.

       * The link CGI program may now use TCP-based sockets, which
         allows the link CGI to be located on a different machine than
         the MiniVend server.  Be careful of security, though!

       * Perl link programs are provided for systems without a C compiler.
         (Solaris still needs a C compiler for File::Lock, unless it is
         already installed on Perl.)

       * Search sorting and list parsing can now be done on a named
         field basis for all files.

       * Search sorting can be done right on the page from returned
         fields, and be sorted by field based on form options.

       * Order and search profiles now can be fully evaluated
         for conditionals.

       * The [if ...] conditionals are much improved.  Contained
         HTML can now be deferred until the last interpolation pass
         with the [post] [/post] tag pair.  Fixed problem with
         [if salestax ..].

       * New mv_click and mv_check special variables set multiple
         form parameters with a single form button.

       * Cookies are only sent once if enabled, preventing annoying
         multiple warnings if the user has them turned on.

       * If the user is going through multiple proxy servers (as
         AOL users do), the session will be stable.

       * If REMOTE_USER is present, the IP address will not be
         used for

       * Many other minor bug fixes, improvements, and changes.

-------------------------------------------------------------

                       M I N I V E N D

   MiniVend is a full-featured electronic catalog system (commonly
   known as a shopping cart) with fast and easy online ordering. It
   is designed to provide an interface complete with SSL security
   and full database support. It is as powerful as commercial
   systems costing thousands of dollars.

   MiniVend 2.03 Features

      * Users maintain a "shopping cart" for ordered items
      * Multiple independent or shared catalogs allow one server
        to run many storefronts or a "mall"
      * SSL support means secure and practical credit card ordering
      * PGP support for secure off-site mailing of orders
      * Catalogs can be of almost unlimited size with excellent
        performance
      * Multi-server mode for very high capacity on systems with
        sufficient memory
      * Cookie support allows browsers to leave catalog and come
        back without losing session state
      * Complete addressable database support with virtually
        unlimited rows and columns
      * mSQL support includes form-based inserts and updates
      * Many, many, other features

   Powerful search capability

      * Fast binary search
      * One-click scan and search -- build a whole search in a single HREF
      * Complete Glimpse interface
      * Range searching, numeric and alphanumeric
      * Search sorting with reverse, numeric and case-insensitive options
      * Independent field search selection and return
      * Search any file, build results from any database

   Complete control of appearance

      * Full frames support
      * Catalog pages automatically selected -- either built
        "on the fly" from the database or pre-made for popular items
      * The on-the-fly page is selectable from the database
      * Embedded Perl and conditional HTML allow complex and
        flexible catalog pages to be completely built from
        the database

   Flexible Ordering Process

       * Multi-level order screens with configurable field
         verification
       * Multiple shopping carts per catalog, allows both buy
         and sell operations
       * Shipping calculation, mixed modes, with UPS table lookup
       * Sales tax calculation, with fully independent non-taxable
         item and taxed shipping
       * PGP encryption of credit card information or
         the entire emailed order
       * Fully-configurable discounts with coupons or
         across-the-board discounts
       * Fully-configurable quantity pricing
       * Back end order entry capability
       * Full client-side imagemap support, including frame targets and form
         submits
       * Fully configurable order reports

   Easy Administration

       * Automated installation and configuration
       * Runs under Perl 5 and almost any UNIX
       * Designed to be secure
       * Built-in online help capability
       * Offline database builds
       * Static page build option for high performance
       * Works well with all browsers

   Andrew Wilcox wrote Vend, the copylefted shopping cart software.
   MiniVend is based on Vend V0.2, but enhanced considerably,
   adding support for frames, powerful searching, remote
   administration, superfast server mode, conditional HTML,
   user-customizable help and displays, and much more. This version
   of MiniVend includes an automatic configuration and installation
   utility, and continues to be free under the GNU copyleft.

   To learn more about MiniVend, see the HTML documentation, visit
   the offical MiniVend site, or download it.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

                 A V A I L A B I L I T Y
                         A N D
                C O M P A T I B I L I T Y

MiniVend has been well-tested on Solaris 2, SunOS, Linux, OSF/Alpha,
IRIX 5.3, BSDI, and FreeBSD. It should work on any UNIX with Perl
5.002 or higher.

Please let the author know if you have successfully run MiniVend on
any additional platforms -- patches would be appreciated.

The author is very interested in learning your problems with MiniVend,
and is always interested in improving the documentation.  (He isn't much
interested in BEING your documentation, though, unless you pay well and
promptly.) Please send comments, questions, kudos, and complaints to:

                  [email protected]

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