Database upgrade, bug fixes and a feature

This morning I upgraded the master database engine. The upgrade stopped data updates for a few minutes, but the site was viewable during the upgrade.

I also installed new aprs.fi software on the servers. The new version adds support for the APRS equivalent of the email / newsgroups x-no-archive header, "!x!", which can be placed in the beginning of the comment text of a position packet. It prohibits aprs.fi (and findu) from archiving the position packet in the database. This is quite an old feature in findu, and has not really been documented anywhere (except the APRSSIG archives).

The !x! string is different from using NOGATE or RFONLY in the digipeater path. NOGATE/RFONLY prohibit gating the packet to the APRS-IS completely. !x! does not forbid igates from gating the packet on the Internet, it just requests that the packet is not stored in databases for a long time.

Please note that not all igates or databases support these features. Amateur radio transmissions are defined to be in the public domain (by FCC rules in the US, and by respective legislation in most other countries, and I suppose, by international regulations). Anyone can receive them, and retransmit, publish or store them as they wish.

As Steve Dimse put it on the APRSSIG: "if you do not want your data appearing on the internet the only guaranteed way is not to transmit it!"

I also added a search button to message and raw packets browsing views, and fixed a bug in clickable callsign links in digipeater paths. And did a rather massive source code tree reorganisation, making it a bit more tree-like.