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CALENDAR: Your Private Secretary

UNIX is not a heartless operating system, rather, it offers a convenient program to simplify your life and will even assist with keeping your love life running smoothly! The UNIX utility that offers such wonderful help is the calendar program. For more information type "help calendar".

Calendar acts like a private secretary with a phenomenal memory that remembers all your important dates. All you need do is create a file, calendar, in your HOME directory. Into this file place dates you wish to be reminded about. For example, the content of your file might look like this:

• 1/16 Mom's B-day next week, send card
• 1/23 Mom's birthday, call
• 2/14 6 mo anniversary with Chris, buy rose
• 4/3 renew car insurance
• 9/18 10:30 dentist appointment
• 9/19 send B-card to Grandpa

In the wee hours of the morning, the contents of your calendar file will be scanned and if any posting dates (dates appearing within the line) take place in the next 48 hours, the operating system will send you mail from root mentioning this date. This program is even thoughtful enough you give you a warning on Friday of an upcoming Monday event. So, as an example, let's say today is Friday, February 11th, when you log in on the 11th mail from root will be waiting:

     From daemon Fri Feb  11 04:02:37 1988
     Received: by ea.ecn.purdue.edu (5.54/1.9jrs)
        id AA07669; Fri, 11 Feb 88 04:02:34 EST
     Date: Fri, 11 Feb 88 04:02:34 EST
     From: root (ECN System Management)
     Message-Id: <8801080902.AA07669@ea.ecn.purdue.edu>
     Subject: Calendar for Fri Feb 11
     Apparently-To: marian
     Status: R

           2/14  6 mo anniversary with Chris, buy rose

The UNIX cupid has now done its part by reminding you about the upcoming anniversary, buying the rose is up to you!

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