====== FTN Nodelist Editor ======

A PyQt6 desktop application for Linux to create, view, edit, and maintain
FidoNet-style (FTN) nodelists, including Fido, FSX, and RetroNet formats.

This tool is intended to assist network coordinators in maintaining
accurate and consistent nodelists, as well as bootstrapping new FTN networks.

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===== Project Goals =====

  * Read existing FTN nodelist files
  * Display nodelist hierarchy in a tree view
  * Edit node information via structured editor fields
  * Validate common FTN constraints
  * Save modified nodelists back to disk
  * Generate new nodelists for new networks

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===== Supported Formats =====

  * Fido-style nodelists
  * FSX extensions
  * RetroNet conventions
  * Comment preservation

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===== Application Layout =====

==== Main Window ====

  * Menu bar
    * File → New
    * File → Open
    * File → Save
    * File → Save As
    * File → Exit

  * Editor panel (top)
    * Address fields (Zone / Net / Node / Point)
    * Sysop
    * Location
    * Flags
    * Misc data

  * Tree view (bottom)
    * Zone
      * Region
        * Net
          * Node
            * Point

  * Action buttons
    * Save
    * Cancel

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===== v0.1 Feature Scope =====

==== Included ====

  * Load and parse existing nodelists
  * Structured in-memory data model
  * Tree-based navigation
  * Field-based editor panel
  * Add / delete nodes via context menu
  * Validation:
    * Required fields
    * Duplicate addresses
  * Unsaved-change detection
  * New nodelist creation

==== Deferred (Post v0.1) ====

  * Undo / Redo
  * Diff preview
  * Multiple output formats
  * Template system
  * NODEDIFF generation

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===== Internal Architecture =====

==== Directory Layout ====

<code>
ftn-nodelist-editor/
├── app.py
├── ui/
├── model/
├── parser/
├── validation/
└── resources/
</code>

==== Design Principles ====

  * UI operates on structured objects, not raw text
  * Parsing and serialization are isolated
  * Errors are non-fatal and reported to the user
  * Future formats supported via parser modules

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===== Development Notes =====

  * Target platform: Linux
  * Toolkit: PyQt6
  * Encoding awareness required (CP437 vs UTF-8)
  * Preserve comments and ordering on save

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===== Future Ideas =====

  * Network-wide statistics view
  * Echomail announcement generator
  * Export node blocks
  * Visual diff viewer
  * Plug-in validation rules

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===== Status =====

  * Planning: IN PROGRESS
  * Initial parser:*