December 2015 Archives

Mon Dec 21 23:59:59 CDT 2015

Q-Link Rebooted

In July 2015, Cenbe started a rewrite of the Q-Link Reloaded code (now known as Q-Link "Rebooted"). By October, it was stable enough for Cenbe to start running a server.

The rewrite involves new database layer support for Postgres using Java JPA instead of raw SQL as well as massive code cleanup.

If you're interested in helping on the Q-Link Rebooted project, here are some things that need doing:

  • testing The server needs stress testing: as many users as possible online at once, switching rooms, sending emails and OLMs, reading articles, &c.
  • client setup docs We need good documentation on setting up the client, both on a real Commodore 64 and in current versions of the VICE emulator (on various operating systems).
  • menu ID Many of the Q-Link Rebooted menus are, of course, only placeholders. If you were a Q-Link user and remember what some of those stubbed-out menu selections did, drop me a line: cenbe at kolabnow dot com. Maybe I can at least populate some of them with articles describing what they used to do.
  • high-speed client In today's world of fast internet connections and disk images, it makes no sense to implement file transfers in Q-Link unless someone can come up with a high-speed patch for the client disk. We're talking about 19200 or 38400 bps, assuming a device like Dan Mackey's Link232.
  • client disassembly There's probably more that can be learned from a complete disassembly of the client disk. For those of you who are good at this sort of thing, I'm sure it would make an interesting project.

PLEASE NOTE: q-link.net will continue to run the original QuantumLink RELOADED! code.


Posted by Jasmaz | File under: news