split ltgrey (and libltgrey) off from greylist;

put some utility functions into their own file.

9 files changed, 610 insertions, 65 deletions

diff --git a/tools/greylist.c b/tools/greylist.c
index 89396e7..9af70eb 100644
--- a/tools/greylist.c
+++ b/tools/greylist.c
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 #include <string.h>             /* for memset() */
 #include <arpa/inet.h>          /* for inet_ntop() */
 
-
 using namespace std;
 
 const int minute(60);
@@ -33,18 +32,7 @@ const int minimum_age(15*minute);
 const int maximum_age(32*day);
 const int probation(4*hour);
 
-//  error exit codes, mostly as stated in qmail.c
-#define foo(name, num) const int ex_ ## name = num
-#define bar foo(good, 0) ;\
-foo(spam, 21) ;\
-foo(penaltybox, 22) ;\
-foo(badDNS, 23) ;\
-foo(greylisting, 70) ;\
-foo(syserr, 71) ;\
-foo(comerr, 74) ;
-
-bar
-#undef foo
+#include "qq_exit_codes.h"
 
 pid_t mypid;
 string progname;
@@ -58,14 +46,6 @@ void dump(const string var){
   else  cerr << " is not set." << endl;
 }
 
-
-////////////////
-// little utility to help with argument parsing:
-//
-int prefix(const string shorter, const string longer){
-  return shorter == longer.substr(0, shorter.length());
-}
-
 void exeunt(const int sts){
   if (sts == ex_good) exit(sts);
 
@@ -93,6 +73,8 @@ void exeunt(const int sts){
   exit(sts);
 }
 
+#include "utils.h"
+
 class whatsit{
 public:
   string dirname;
@@ -126,12 +108,6 @@ public:
   int check_dns_sub(string &addr, string &host, vector<string> &checked);
 };
 
-string basename(const string path){
-  size_t where = path.rfind("/");
-  if (where != string::npos) return path.substr(1+where);
-  return path;
-}
-
 int whatsit::setup(){
   stringstream foo;
   foo << basename(progname) << suffix
@@ -145,26 +121,6 @@ int whatsit::setup(){
   return 0;
 }
 
-string time_out(const int _ttt){
-  int ttt(abs(_ttt));
-  int sec(ttt % 60);
-  int min((ttt / 60) % 60);
-  int hr(ttt / 3600);
-  stringstream foo;
-  int didsome(0);
-  if (_ttt < 0) foo << "-";
-  if (hr) {
-    foo << hr << ":";
-    didsome++;
-  }
-  if (didsome || min){
-    foo << setw(didsome?2:1) << setfill('0') << min << ":";
-    didsome++;
-  }
-  foo << setw(didsome?2:1) << setfill('0') << sec;
-  return foo.str();
-}
-
 void scan(const string progid, const string p, const int copies=1){
   timeval now;
   gettimeofday(&now, NULL);
diff --git a/tools/libltgrey.c b/tools/libltgrey.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4ec0da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/libltgrey.c
@@ -0,0 +1,343 @@
+#include <stdlib.h>             /* for exit(), getenv() */
+#include <iostream>
+#include <iomanip>
+#include <string>
+
+#include <sys/types.h>          /* for stat(), getaddrinfo() */
+#include <sys/stat.h>           /* for stat() */
+#include <unistd.h>             /* for stat() */
+#include <stdio.h>              /* for perror */
+#include <errno.h>              /* for ENOENT */
+#include <fstream>              /* for ofstream() */
+#include <fcntl.h>              /* for creat() */
+#include <sys/time.h>           /* for gettimeofday() */
+#include <sstream>              /* for stringstream */
+#include <signal.h>             /* for kill(), SIGUSR1 */
+
+// requires apt-get install libboost-filesystem-dev:
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
+
+#include <sys/socket.h>         /* for getaddrinfo() */
+#include <netdb.h>              /* for getaddrinfo() */
+#include <string.h>             /* for memset() */
+#include <arpa/inet.h>          /* for inet_ntop() */
+
+using namespace std;
+
+const int minute(60);
+const int hour(60*minute);
+const int day(24*hour);
+
+const int minimum_age(15*minute);
+const int maximum_age(32*day);
+const int probation(4*hour);
+
+#if 0
+void exeunt(const int sts){
+  if (sts == ex_good) exit(sts);
+
+#ifndef PENALIZE_SPAMMERS
+  if (sts == ex_penaltybox) exit(sts);
+#endif
+
+#ifndef KILL_GROUP
+  exit(sts);
+#endif
+
+  const char* foo = getenv("HI_Q_GROUP");
+  if (!foo) exit(sts);
+
+// No point in signalling ourself:
+  sighandler_t rslt = signal(SIGUSR1, SIG_IGN);
+  if (rslt == SIG_ERR) {
+    cerr << "error setting signal" << endl;
+  }
+  int k = kill(-atoi(foo), SIGUSR1);
+  if (k) {
+    cerr << "kill failed on group " << atoi(foo) << " ... ";
+    perror(0);
+  }
+  exit(sts);
+}
+#endif
+
+#include <sys/time.h>           /* for gettimeofday */
+#include <iomanip>              /* for setw */
+#include <unistd.h>             /* for stat */
+#include <sys/types.h>          /* for stat, creat */
+#include <sys/stat.h>           /* for stat, creat */
+#include <fcntl.h>              /* for creat */
+#include <fstream>              /* for ofstream() */
+
+#include "libltgrey.h"
+#include "utils.h"
+#include "qq_exit_codes.h"
+
+void whatsit::dump(const string var){
+  char* str = getenv(var.c_str());
+  cerr << progname
+    << "[" << mypid << "] "
+    << var;
+  if (str) cerr << " is set to '" << str << "'" << endl;
+  else  cerr << " is not set." << endl;
+}
+
+int whatsit::setup(){
+  stringstream foo;
+  foo << basename(progname) << suffix
+    << "[" << mypid << "]";
+  progid = foo.str();
+
+  ipvar = getenv("TCPREMOTEIP");
+  if (ipvar) ipbase = ipvar;
+  hostvar = getenv("TCPREMOTEHOST");
+  if (hostvar) hostname = hostvar;
+  return 0;
+}
+
+void whatsit::update(const string msg, const timeval new_mod,
+     const timeval new_ac, const int penalty, const int stain){
+  if (verbosity){
+    if (penalty || stain || verbosity>1) cerr << progid << ": ";
+    if (penalty) cerr << " penalty " << penalty;
+    if (stain) cerr << " stain " << stain;
+    if (verbosity > 1) {
+      if (penalty || stain) cerr << "+";         // separation, punctuation
+      cerr << msg << ": " << ipbase;
+      if (hostname.length()) cerr <<  " " << hostname;
+      cerr << "  mod_age: " << time_out(mod_age)
+              << "  ac_age: " << time_out(ac_age);
+    }
+    cerr << endl;
+  }
+  timeval pen_mod(new_mod);
+  timeval stain_ac(new_ac);
+  if (penalty) {
+    pen_mod = now;
+    pen_mod.tv_sec += penalty;
+  }
+  if (stain) {
+    stain_ac = now;
+    stain_ac.tv_sec -= stain;
+  }
+  timeval upd[2] = {
+// beware:  access illogically comes *before* modification here:
+    stain_ac,
+    pen_mod
+  };
+  if (utimes(ipname.c_str(), upd))
+    cerr << "oops" << endl;
+}
+
+int whatsit::doit(const int penalty, const int stain){
+
+  if (!ipvar) {
+    cerr << progid
+      << " TCPREMOTEIP not set???" << endl;
+    // should never happen
+    // although you can make it happen using a weird test-harness
+    return(ex_syserr);
+  }
+
+// see if our directory exists:
+  struct stat dirstat;
+  int rslt = stat(dirname.c_str(), &dirstat);
+  if (rslt != 0){
+    if (errno != ENOENT) {
+      cerr << progid << ": stat failed for '"
+        << dirname << "' : ";
+      perror(0);
+    }
+    rslt = mkdir(dirname.c_str(), 0755);
+    if (rslt != 0) {
+      cerr << progid
+        << "uid " << getuid()
+        << ": mkdir failed for '"
+        << dirname << "' : ";
+      perror(0);
+      return(ex_syserr);
+    }
+  }
+
+  ipname = dirname + "/" + ipbase;
+  struct stat ipstat;
+  rslt = stat(ipname.c_str(), &ipstat);
+  if (rslt != 0){
+    if (errno != ENOENT) {
+      cerr << progid << ": stat failed for '"
+        << ipname << "' : ";
+      perror(0);
+    }
+    ofstream foo;
+    int fd = creat(ipname.c_str(), 0644);
+    if (fd < 0){
+      cerr << progid << ": create failed for '"
+        << ipname << "' : ";
+      perror(0);
+    }
+    close(fd);
+    update("new customer", now, now, penalty, stain);
+    return(ex_greylisting);
+  }
+
+// now for really checking the greylist status:
+  mod_age = now.tv_sec - ipstat.st_mtime;
+  ac_age = now.tv_sec - ipstat.st_atime;
+  timeval mod_orig = {ipstat.st_mtime, 0};
+  if (mod_age < 0) {
+    update("penalty box", mod_orig, now, penalty, stain);
+    return(ex_penaltybox);
+  }
+  if (mod_age < ac_age){
+// when he comes out on parole, he starts over with no reputation:
+    update("paroled spammer", now, now, penalty, stain);
+    return(ex_greylisting);
+  }
+  if (mod_age < minimum_age) {
+    update("early bird", mod_orig, now, penalty, stain);
+    return(ex_greylisting);
+  }
+  if (mod_age - ac_age < minimum_age    // early bird, or completely unused
+    && mod_age > probation) {           // did not diligently resubmit
+    update("disprobation", now, now, penalty, stain);
+    return(ex_greylisting);
+  }
+  if (ac_age > maximum_age) {
+    update("too old, starting over", now, now, penalty, stain);
+    return(ex_greylisting);
+  }
+// if all checks are passed, must be OK:
+  update("returning customer", mod_orig, now, penalty, stain);
+  return 0;
+}
+
+typedef vector<unsigned char> VU;
+
+class VUx{
+public:
+  VU addr;
+  sa_family_t fam;
+  string str();
+};
+
+string VUx::str(){
+    char msgbuf[INET6_ADDRSTRLEN];
+    const char* rslt = inet_ntop(fam, &addr[0],
+          msgbuf, sizeof(msgbuf));
+    if (!rslt) rslt = "";
+    return rslt;
+}
+
+VUx parse_sockaddr(const sockaddr* ai_addr) {
+    void* numericAddress;
+    VUx rslt;
+    int addrsize;
+    rslt.addr = VU(0);
+    rslt.fam = ((sockaddr *)ai_addr)->sa_family;
+    switch (rslt.fam) {
+    case AF_INET:
+      numericAddress = &(((sockaddr_in *)ai_addr)->sin_addr.s_addr);
+      addrsize = sizeof(in_addr);
+      break;
+    case AF_INET6:
+      numericAddress = &(((sockaddr_in6 *)ai_addr)->sin6_addr.s6_addr);
+      addrsize = sizeof(in6_addr);
+      break;
+    default:
+      cerr << "?Unknown address family " << rslt.fam << endl;
+      return rslt;
+    }
+    unsigned char* foo = (unsigned char*) numericAddress;
+    rslt.addr = VU(foo, foo+addrsize);
+    return rslt;
+}
+
+int diff(const VU aaa, const VU bbb){
+  if(aaa.size() != bbb.size()) return 1;
+  for (unsigned int ii=0; ii < aaa.size(); ii++){
+    if (aaa[ii] != bbb[ii]) return 1;
+  }
+  return 0;
+}
+
+int whatsit::check_dns(){
+  string addr("()"), host("()");
+  vector<string> checked;
+  int sts = check_dns_sub(addr, host, checked);
+  if (sts == 0) return sts;
+  if (sts != ex_badDNS) return sts;     // possible ex_syserr
+#if 1
+  sts = 0;      // demote badDNS to just a warning
+#endif
+  cerr << progid;
+  if (!sts) cerr << " (warning)";
+  cerr << " DNS inconsistency: "
+        << addr << " --> "
+        << host << " ==>";
+  if (!checked.size()) cerr << " ()";
+  else for (vector<string>::const_iterator chk = checked.begin();
+        chk != checked.end(); chk++) cerr << " " << *chk;
+  cerr << endl;
+
+  return sts;
+}
+
+int whatsit::check_dns_sub(string &addr, string &host, vector<string> &checked){
+
+  struct addrinfo *result;
+  struct addrinfo *ipresult;
+  struct addrinfo *res;
+  addrinfo hints;
+  int error;
+
+  memset(&hints, 0, sizeof(struct addrinfo));
+#if 1
+  // restrict to TCP only; otherwise we get N records per address
+  hints.ai_protocol = IPPROTO_TCP;
+#endif
+
+  error = getaddrinfo(ipvar, NULL, &hints, &ipresult);
+  if (error == EAI_NONAME) return ex_badDNS;
+  if (error) {          // some unexpected error
+    cerr << progid
+      << " odd error " << error
+      << "  in getaddrinfo for " << ipvar
+      << " : " << gai_strerror(error) << endl;
+    return ex_syserr;
+  }
+  if (!ipresult) {
+    cerr << "should never happen (addr with no addrs?)" << endl;
+    return ex_syserr;
+  }
+  VUx ipAddr = parse_sockaddr(ipresult->ai_addr);
+  addr = ipAddr.str();
+
+  char* hostvar = getenv("TCPREMOTEHOST");
+  if (hostvar) host = hostvar;
+  else return(ex_badDNS);
+
+  error = getaddrinfo(hostvar, NULL, &hints, &result);
+  if (error == EAI_NONAME) return ex_badDNS;
+  if (error) {
+    cerr << progid
+      << " error " << error
+      << " compare " << EAI_NONAME
+      << "  in getaddrinfo for " << ipvar
+      << " :: " << gai_strerror(error) << endl;
+    return ex_syserr;
+  }
+
+// loop over all returned results and check for a match.
+  for (res = result; res != NULL; res = res->ai_next){
+    VUx hostAddr = parse_sockaddr(res->ai_addr);
+    checked.push_back(hostAddr.str());
+    if (!diff(hostAddr.addr, ipAddr.addr)) {
+      ///// cerr << "match! " << ipAddr.addr.size() << endl;
+      goto done;
+    }
+  }
+  return ex_badDNS;
+
+done:
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/tools/libltgrey.h b/tools/libltgrey.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..585ec01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/libltgrey.h
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+#include <string>
+#include <sys/time.h>           /* for gettimeofday(), timeval */
+#include <vector>
+
+class whatsit{
+public:
+  std::string dirname;
+  std::string progname;
+  pid_t mypid;
+  timeval now;
+  char* ipvar;
+  char* hostvar;
+  std::string ipbase;
+  std::string ipname;
+  std::string hostname;
+  int mod_age;
+  int ac_age;
+  std::string suffix;
+  std::string progid;
+  int verbosity;
+
+  whatsit(const std::string name, const std::string _dirname)
+  : dirname(_dirname), progname(name), mypid(getpid()),
+    mod_age(0), ac_age(0),
+    verbosity(0)
+  {
+    gettimeofday(&now, NULL);
+  }
+  int doit(const int penalty, const int stain);
+// access comes after modification:
+  void update(const std::string msg, const timeval new_mod,
+        const timeval new_ac, const int penalty, const int stain);
+  int setup();
+  int check_dns();
+  int check_dns_sub(std::string &addr, std::string &host,
+        std::vector<std::string> &checked);
+  void dump(const std::string var);
+};
diff --git a/tools/ltgrey.c b/tools/ltgrey.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..afdb4c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/ltgrey.c
@@ -0,0 +1,153 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <stdlib.h>     /* for exit(), atoi() */
+
+#include "libltgrey.h"
+#include "utils.h"
+#include "qq_exit_codes.h"
+
+using namespace std;
+pid_t mypid;
+string progname;
+
+#define exeunt exit
+
+// forward reference:
+void scan(const string progid, const string p, const int copies=1);
+
+int main(int _argc, char** _argv){
+  mypid = getpid();
+  int argc(_argc);
+  char** argv(_argv);
+  const string dirname("/var/qmail/greylist");
+  whatsit foo(argv[0], dirname); argc--; argv++;
+  int scanmode(0);
+  int copies(1);
+  int penalty(0);
+  int stain(0);
+  int check(0);
+  while (argc > 0) {
+    string arg = argv[0]; argc--; argv++;
+    if (prefix(arg, "-scan")) {
+      scanmode++;
+    } else if (prefix(arg, "-copy"))  {
+      copies++;
+    } else if (prefix(arg, "-verbose"))  {
+      foo.verbosity++;
+    } else if (prefix(arg, "-check"))  {
+      check++;
+    } else if (prefix(arg, "-penalize")
+        || prefix(arg, "-penalty"))  {
+      if (!argc){
+        cerr << "Option '" << arg << "' requires an argument" << endl;
+        exeunt(ex_syserr);
+      }
+      penalty = atoi(*argv++);  argc--;
+    } else if (prefix(arg, "-stain"))  {
+      if (!argc){
+        cerr << "Option '" << arg << "' requires an argument" << endl;
+        exeunt(ex_syserr);
+      }
+      stain = atoi(*argv++);  argc--;
+    } else if (prefix(arg, "-suffix")) {
+      if (!argc){
+        cerr << "Option '" << arg << "' requires an argument" << endl;
+        exeunt(ex_syserr);
+      }
+      foo.suffix += *argv++;  argc--;
+    } else {
+      cerr << "Unrecognized arg: " << arg << endl;
+      exeunt(ex_syserr);
+    }
+  }
+  if (foo.setup()) return ex_syserr;
+
+  if (scanmode) {
+    scan(foo.progid, dirname, copies);
+    return 0;
+  }
+
+  int sts = foo.doit(penalty, stain);
+  if (sts == ex_syserr) return sts;
+  if (!check) return ex_good;
+
+// check mode ... perform some extra checks.
+// Probably a better design would be to
+//  (a) make more thorough DNS checks, and
+//  (b) move all the DNS checking to a separate module
+
+  int dns = foo.check_dns();
+  if (dns == ex_syserr || dns == ex_spam) return dns;
+  exeunt(sts);
+}
+
+//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// requires apt-get install libboost-filesystem-dev:
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
+#include <iomanip>
+#include <sys/types.h>          /* for stat(), getaddrinfo() */
+#include <sys/stat.h>           /* for stat() */
+#include <unistd.h>             /* for stat() */
+#include <stdio.h>              /* for perror */
+#include <sstream>
+
+const int minute(60);
+const int hour(60*minute);
+const int day(24*hour);
+
+const int minimum_age(15*minute);
+const int maximum_age(32*day);
+const int probation(4*hour);
+
+void scan(const string progid, const string p, const int copies){
+  timeval now;
+  gettimeofday(&now, NULL);
+  using namespace boost::filesystem;
+
+  if (is_directory(p))  {
+    for (directory_iterator itr(p); itr!=directory_iterator(); ++itr) {
+      string basename = itr->path().filename();
+      for (int ii = 0; ii < copies; ii++)
+        cout << setw(20) << left << basename << ' '; // display filename only
+      if (is_regular_file(itr->status())) {
+//        cout << " [" << file_size(itr->path()) << ']';
+        struct stat mystat;
+        string fn = p + "/" + basename;
+        int rslt = stat(fn.c_str(), &mystat);
+        if (rslt != 0){
+            cerr << progid << ": stat failed for '"
+              << fn << "' : ";
+            perror(0);
+        }
+        int mod_age = now.tv_sec - mystat.st_mtime;
+        int ac_age = now.tv_sec - mystat.st_atime;
+        cout << setw(10) << time_out(mod_age)
+                << " " << setw(10) << time_out(ac_age);
+        if (0) {
+
+        } else if (mod_age < 0) {
+          cout << " penalty";
+        } else if (mod_age < ac_age) {
+          cout << " parole";
+        } else if (mod_age - ac_age < minimum_age    // early bird, or completely unused
+          && mod_age > probation) {           // did not diligently resubmit
+          cout << " disprobation";
+          if (mod_age != ac_age) cout << "!";
+        } else if (mod_age < minimum_age) {
+          cout << " young";
+          if (mod_age != ac_age) cout << "!";
+        } else if (mod_age == ac_age) {
+          cout << " unused";
+        } else if (mod_age > maximum_age) {
+          cout << " expired";
+        } else {
+          cout << " OK";
+        }
+      }
+      cout << '\n';
+    }
+  }
+  else {
+    // starting point is not a directory:
+    cout << (exists(p) ? "Found: " : "Not found: ") << p << '\n';
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tools/makefile b/tools/makefile
index 76df23b..f0a3f70 100644
--- a/tools/makefile
+++ b/tools/makefile
@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ qmain = pido.c hi-q.c skrewt.c hi-test.c mail-scan.c greylist.c wripper.c
 qprogs = $(qmain:%.c=%)
 
 # sources for other main programs:
-moremain = wripper.c bash-c.c 
+moremain = wripper.c bash-c.c ltgrey.c
 moreprogs = $(moremain:%.c=%)
 
-nonmain = 
+nonmain = libltgrey.c
 
 sources = $(qmain) $(moremain) $(nonmain)
 
@@ -37,10 +37,14 @@ all: $(qprogs) $(moreprogs)
 show:
 	: --- $(qprogs) +++ $(moreprogs)
 
-greylist: greylist.o
+skrewt: skrewt.o
 	$(CC) $< -lboost_filesystem-mt -lboost_system -o $@
 
-#	$(CC) $< -lboost_filesystem -o $@
+greylist: greylist.o utils.o
+	$(CC) $^ -lboost_filesystem-mt -lboost_system -o $@
+
+ltgrey: ltgrey.o utils.o libltgrey.o
+	$(CC) $^ -lboost_filesystem-mt -lboost_system -o $@
 
 wripper: wripper.o
 	$(CC) $< -o $@
diff --git a/tools/qq_exit_codes.h b/tools/qq_exit_codes.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2af6848
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/qq_exit_codes.h
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+//  error exit codes, mostly as stated in qmail.c
+#define qq_exit_codes \
+foo(good, 0) ;\
+foo(spam, 21) ;\
+foo(penaltybox, 22) ;\
+foo(badDNS, 23) ;\
+foo(usage, 39) ;\
+foo(greylisting, 70) ;\
+foo(syserr, 71) ;\
+foo(comerr, 74) ;
+
+// expand the codes to make some <const int> names:
+#define foo(name, num) const int ex_ ## name = num
+qq_exit_codes
+#undef foo
diff --git a/tools/skrewt.c b/tools/skrewt.c
index a43fd13..3fee644 100644
--- a/tools/skrewt.c
+++ b/tools/skrewt.c
@@ -37,19 +37,7 @@ void usage(const int sts){
   exit(sts);
 }
 
-//  error exit codes, mostly as stated in qmail.c
-#define ErrorCodes \
-foo(good, 0) ;\
-foo(spam, 21) ;\
-foo(permerr, 31) ;\
-foo(usage, 39) ;\
-foo(greylisting, 70) ;\
-foo(syserr, 71) ;\
-foo(comerr, 74) ;
-
-#define foo(name, num) const int ex_ ## name = num
-ErrorCodes
-#undef foo
+#include "qq_exit_codes.h"
 
 
 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
@@ -316,8 +304,8 @@ int main(int _argc, const char** _argv){
       headrec += "\n" + noCR(line);
     }
 // here with a fully assembled header record
+// headrec (unlike line) contains no DOS CR characters
     int len = headrec.length();
-    if (len && headrec[len-1] == '\r') len--;  // reduced length, not counting <cr>
     if (len == 0) {
       saw_blank_line = 1;
       break;            // no more headers in this message
@@ -351,6 +339,7 @@ int main(int _argc, const char** _argv){
     if (0) if (recno <= 6) cerr << progid << "#" << recno
         << " " << headrec << endl;
   }
+  if (saw_blank_line) {/* ignore */}
   cerr << progid <<" Mid '" << message_id << "'" << endl;
 
 // Headers are done.
diff --git a/tools/utils.c b/tools/utils.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3ec6e4c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/utils.c
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#include <string>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <iomanip>
+//#include <stdlib.h>     /* for abs() */
+#include <cmath>
+
+// strip off the directory part of a path, leaving just
+// the basic filename
+std::string basename(const std::string path){
+  size_t where = path.rfind("/");
+  if (where != std::string::npos) return path.substr(1+where);
+  return path;
+}
+
+////////////////
+// little utility to help with argument parsing:
+//
+int prefix(const std::string shorter, const std::string longer){
+  return shorter == longer.substr(0, shorter.length());
+}
+
+///////////////
+// print a time as (-)hh:mm:ss
+//
+std::string time_out(const int _ttt){
+using namespace std;
+  int ttt(abs(_ttt));
+  int sec(ttt % 60);
+  int min((ttt / 60) % 60);
+  int hr(ttt / 3600);
+  stringstream foo;
+  int didsome(0);
+  if (_ttt < 0) foo << "-";
+  if (hr) {
+    foo << hr << ":";
+    didsome++;
+  }
+  if (didsome || min){
+    foo << setw(didsome?2:1) << setfill('0') << min << ":";
+    didsome++;
+  }
+  foo << setw(didsome?2:1) << setfill('0') << sec;
+  return foo.str();
+}
diff --git a/tools/utils.h b/tools/utils.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..450db85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/utils.h
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+std::string basename(const std::string path);
+int prefix(const std::string shorter, const std::string longer);
+std::string time_out(const int _ttt);