docs/master: ch03.roff annotate

annotate ch03.roff @ 89:83bfb4dbf59f

Spellchecked.

author	markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de>
date	Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:00:43 +0200
parents	30830e3b9e98
children	093ccf39a45e

rev	line source
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1 .H0 "Discussion
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	2 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	3 This main chapter discusses the practical work done in the mmh project.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	4 It is structured along the goals to achieve. The concrete work done
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	5 is described in the examples of how the general goals were achieved.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	6 The discussion compares the current version of mmh with the state of
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	7 nmh just before the mmh project started, i.e. Fall 2011.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	8 Current changes of nmh will be mentioned only as side notes.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	9 .\" XXX where do I discuss the parallel development of nmh?
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	10
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	11
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	12
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	13 .H1 "Stream-lining
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	14
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	15 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	16 MH had been considered an all-in-one system for mail handling.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	17 The community around nmh has a similar understanding.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	18 In fundamental difference, mmh shall be a MUA only.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	19 I believe that the development of all-in-one mail systems is obsolete.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	20 Today, email is too complex to be fully covered by single projects.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	21 Such a project won't be able to excel in all aspects.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	22 Instead, the aspects of email should be covered my multiple projects,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	23 which then can be combined to form a complete system.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	24 Excellent implementations for the various aspects of email exist already.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	25 Just to name three examples: Postfix is a specialized MTA,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	26 Procmail is a specialized MDA, and Fetchmail is a specialized MRA.
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	27 I believe that it is best to use such specialized tools instead of
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	28 providing the same function again as a side-component in the project.
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	29 .P
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	30 Doing something well, requires to focus on a small set of specific aspects.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	31 Under the assumption that focused development produces better results
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	32 in the particular area, specialized projects will likely be superior
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	33 in their field of focus.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	34 Hence, all-in-one mail system projects \(en no matter if monolithic
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	35 or modular \(en will never be the best choice in any of the fields.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	36 Even in providing the best consistent all-in-one system they are likely
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	37 to be beaten by projects that focus only on integrating existing mail
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	38 components to a homogeneous system.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	39 .P
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	40 The limiting resource in Free Software community development
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	41 is usually man power.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	42 If the development power is spread over a large development area,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	43 it becomes even more difficult to compete with the specialists in the
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	44 various fields.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	45 The concrete situation for MH-based mail systems is even tougher,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	46 given the small and aged community, including both developers and users,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	47 it has.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	48 .P
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	49 In consequence, I believe that the available development resources
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	50 should be focused on the point where MH is most unique.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	51 This is clearly the user interface \(en the MUA.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	52 Peripheral parts should be removed to stream-line mmh for the MUA task.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	53
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	54
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	55 .H2 "Removal of the Mail Transfer Facilities
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	56 .P
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	57 In contrast to nmh, which also provides mail submission and mail retrieval
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	58 agents, mmh is a MUA only.
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	59 This general difference in the view on the character of nmh
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	60 initiated the development of mmh.
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	61 Removing the mail transfer facilities had been the first work task
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	62 in the mmh project.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	63 .P
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	64 The MSA is called \fIMessage Transfer Service\fP (MTS) in nmh.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	65 The facility established network connections and spoke SMTP to submit
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	66 messages for relay to the outside world.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	67 This part was implemented by the
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	68 .Pn post
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	69 command.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	70 The changes in emailing in the last years
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	71 demanded changes in this part of nmh too.
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	72 Encryption and authentication for network connections
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	73 needed to be supported, hence TLS and SASL were introduced into nmh.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	74 This added complexity to nmh without improving it in its core functions.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	75 Also, keeping up with recent developments in the field of
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	76 mail transfer requires development power and specialists.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	77 In mmh this whole facility was simply cut off.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	78 .Ci f6aa95b724fd8c791164abe7ee5468bf5c34f226
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	79 .Ci fecd5d34f65597a4dfa16aeabea7d74b191532c3
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	80 .Ci 156d35f6425bea4c1ed3c4c79783dc613379c65b
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	81 Instead, mmh depends on an external MSA.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	82 The only outgoing interface available to mmh is the
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	83 .Pn sendmail
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	84 command, which almost any MSA provides.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	85 If not, a wrapper program can be written.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	86 It must read the message from the standard input, extract the
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	87 recipient addresses from the message header, and hand the message
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	88 over to the MSA.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	89 For example, a wrapper script for qmail would be:
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	90 .VS
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	91 #!/bin/sh
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	92 # ignore command line arguments
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	93 exec qmail-inject
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	94 VE
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	95 The requirement to parse the recipient addresses out of the message header
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	96 is likely to be removed in the future.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	97 Then mmh would give the recipient addresses as command line arguments.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	98 This is clearly the better interface, but mmh does not provide it yet.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	99 .\" XXX implement it
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	100 .P
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	101 To retrieve mail, the
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	102 .Pn inc
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	103 command established network connections
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	104 and spoke POP3 to retrieve mail from remote servers.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	105 As with mail submission, the network connections required encryption and
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	106 authentication, thus TLS and SASL were added.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	107 Support for message retrieval through IMAP will become necessary
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	108 to be added soon, too, and so on for any changes in mail transfer.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	109 Mmh has dropped the support for retrieving mail from remote locations.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	110 .Ci ab7b48411962d26439f92f35ed084d3d6275459c
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	111 Instead, it depends on an external tool to cover this task.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	112 In mmh there exist two paths for messages to enter mmh's mail storage:
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	113 (1) Mail can be incorporate with
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	114 .Pn inc
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	115 from the system maildrop, or (2) with
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	116 .Pn rcvstore
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	117 by reading them, one at a time, from the standard input.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	118 .P
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	119 With the removal of the MSA and MRA, mmh converted from an all-in-one
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	120 mail system to being a MUA only.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	121 Following the Unix philosophy, it now focuses on one job and
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	122 tries to do that one well.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	123 Not only the programs follow that tenet but also the project itself does so.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	124 Now, of course, mmh depends on third-party software.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	125 An external MSA is required to transfer mail to the outside world;
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	126 an external MRA is required to retrieve mail from remote machines.
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	127 There exist excellent implementations of such software,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	128 which do this specific task likely better than the internal
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	129 versions had done it.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	130 Also, the best suiting programs can be freely chosen.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	131 .P
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	132 As it had already been possible to use an external MSA or MRA,
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	133 why not keep the internal version for convenience?
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	134 The question whether there is sense in having a fall-back pager in all
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	135 the command line tools, for the cases when
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	136 .Pn more
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	137 or
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	138 .Pn less
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	139 aren't available, appears to be ridiculous.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	140 Now, an MSA or MRA is more complex than a text pager
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	141 and not necessarily available but still the concept of orthogonal
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	142 design holds: ``Write programs that do one thing and do it well.''
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	143 .[
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	144 mcilroy unix phil
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	145 p. 53
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	146 .]
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	147 .[
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	148 mcilroy bstj foreword
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	149 .]
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	150 Here, this part of the Unix philosophy was applied not only
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	151 to the programs but to the project itself.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	152 In other words:
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	153 ``Develop projects that focus on one thing and do it well.''
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	154 Projects grown complex should be split for the same reasons programs grown
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	155 complex should be split.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	156 If it is conceptionally more elegant to have the MSA and MRA
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	157 separate projects then they should be separated.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	158 This is the case here, in my opinion.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	159 The RFCs propose this separation by clearly distinguishing the different
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	160 mail handling tasks.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	161 .[
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	162 rfc 821
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	163 .]
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	164 The small interfaces between the mail agents support the separation.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	165 .P
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	166 In the beginning, email had been small and simple.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	167 (\c
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	168 .Pn /bin/mail
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	169 had once covered anything there was to email and still had been small
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	170 and simple.)
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	171 Then the essential complexity of email increased.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	172 (Essential complexity is the complexity defined by the problem itself.\0
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	173 .[[
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	174 brooks no silver bullet
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	175 .]])
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	176 Email systems reacted to this change: They grew.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	177 RFCs started to introduce mail agents and separated the various tasks
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	178 because the existing tasks became more extensive and new tasks appeared.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	179 Again, email systems grew, or they split parts off.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	180 In nmh, for instance, the POP server, which the original MH had included,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	181 was removed.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	182 Now is the time to go one step further and remove the MSA and MRA, too.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	183 Not only does this decrease the code size of the project,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	184 but, more important, it unburdens mmh of the whole field of
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	185 message transfer with all its implications for the project.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	186 There's no more need to concern with changes in network transfer.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	187 This independence is received by depending on an external program
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	188 that covers the field.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	189 Today, this is a reasonable exchange.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	190 .P
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	191 Function can be added in three different ways:
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	192 .BU
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	193 Implementing the function originally in the project.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	194 .BU
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	195 Depending on a library that provides the function.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	196 .BU
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	197 Depending on a program that provides the function.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	198 .P
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	199 Whereas adding the function originally to the project increases the
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	200 code size most and requires most maintenance and development work,
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	201 it makes the project most independent of other software.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	202 Using libraries or external programs require less maintenance work
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	203 but introduces dependencies on external software.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	204 Programs have the smallest interfaces and provide the best separation
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	205 but possibly limit the information exchange.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	206 External libraries are stronger connected than external programs,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	207 thus information can be exchanged more flexible.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	208 Adding code to a project increases maintenance work.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	209 .\" XXX ref
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	210 Implementing complex functions originally in the project will add
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	211 a lot of code.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	212 This should be avoided if possible.
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	213 Hence, the dependencies only change in kind, not in their existence.
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	214 In mmh, library dependencies on
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	215 .Pn libsasl2
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	216 and
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	217 .Pn libcrypto /\c
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	218 .Pn libssl
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	219 were treated against program dependencies on an MSA and an MRA.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	220 This also meant treating build-time dependencies against run-time
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	221 dependencies.
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	222 Besides program dependencies providing the stronger separation
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	223 and being more flexible, they also allowed
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	224 over 6\\|000 lines of code to be removed from mmh.
4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	225 This made mmh's code base about 12\\|% smaller.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	226 Reducing the project's code size by such an amount without actually
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	227 losing functionality is a convincing argument.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	228 Actually, as external MSAs and MRAs are likely superior to the
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	229 project's internal versions, the common user even gains functionality.
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	230 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	231 Users of MH should not have problems to set up an external MSA and MRA.
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	232 Also, the popular MSAs and MRAs have large communities and a lot
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	233 of documentation available.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	234 Choices for MSAs range from full-featured MTAs like
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	235 .I Postfix
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	236 over mid-size MTAs like
60 6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	237 .I masqmail
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	238 and
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	239 .I dma
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	240 to small forwarders like
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	241 .I ssmtp
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	242 and
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	243 .I nullmailer .
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	244 Choices for MRAs include
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	245 .I fetchmail ,
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	246 .I getmail ,
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	247 .I mpop
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	248 and
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	249 .I fdm .
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	250
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	251
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	252 .H2 "Removal of non-MUA Tools
6a92e0208de0 Wrote about the removal of the mail transfer facilities. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 58 diff changeset	253 .P
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	254 One goal of mmh is to remove the tools that are not part of the MUA's task.
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	255 Further more, any tools that don't improve the MUA's job significantly
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	256 should be removed.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	257 Loosely related and rarely used tools distract from the lean appearance.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	258 They require maintenance work without adding much to the core task.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	259 On removing these tools, the project shall become more stream-lined
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	260 and focused.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	261 In mmh the following tools are not available anymore:
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	262 .BU
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	263 .Pn conflict
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	264 was removed
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	265 .Ci 8b235097cbd11d728c07b966cf131aa7133ce5a9
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	266 because it is a mail system maintenance tool that is not MUA-related.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	267 It even checked
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	268 .Fn /etc/passwd
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	269 and
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	270 .Fn /etc/group
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	271 for consistency, which is completely unrelated to email.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	272 A tool like
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	273 .Pn conflict
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	274 is surely useful, but it should not be shipped with mmh.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	275 .\" XXX historic reasons?
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	276 .BU
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	277 .Pn rcvtty
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	278 was removed
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	279 .Ci 14767c94b3827be7c867196467ed7aea5f6f49b0
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	280 because its use case of writing to the user's terminal
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	281 on receiving of mail is obsolete.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	282 If users like to be informed of new mail, the shell's
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	283 .Ev MAILPATH
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	284 variable or graphical notifications are technically more appealing.
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	285 Writing directly to a terminals is hardly ever wanted today.
24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	286 If though one wants to have it this way, the standard tool
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	287 .Pn write
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	288 can be used in a way similar to:
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	289 .VS
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	290 scan -file - \| write `id -un`
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	291 VE
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	292 .BU
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	293 .Pn viamail
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	294 was removed
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	295 .Ci eda72d6a7a7c20ff123043fb7f19c509ea01f932
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	296 when the new attachment system was activated, because
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	297 .Pn forw
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	298 could then cover the task itself.
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	299 The program
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	300 .Pn sendfiles
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	301 was rewritten as a shell script wrapper around
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	302 .Pn forw .
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	303 .Ci 0e82199cf3c991a173e0ac8aa776efdb3ded61e6
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	304 .BU
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	305 .Pn msgchk
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	306 was removed
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	307 .Ci bb9360ead7eb7a3fedcce2eeedfc660014e41dbe ,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	308 because it lost its use case when POP support was removed.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	309 A call to
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	310 .Pn msgchk
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	311 provided hardly more information than:
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	312 .VS
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	313 ls -l /var/mail/meillo
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	314 VE
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	315 It did distinguished between old and new mail, but
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	316 this detail information and can be retrieved with
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	317 .Pn stat (1),
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	318 too.
24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	319 A very small shell script could be written to output the information
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	320 in a similar way, if truly necessary.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	321 As mmh's
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	322 .Pn inc
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	323 only incorporates mail from the user's local maildrop,
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	324 and thus no data transfers over slow networks are involved,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	325 there's hardly any need to check for new mail before incorporating it.
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	326 .BU
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	327 .Pn msh
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	328 was removed
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	329 .Ci 916690191222433a6923a4be54b0d8f6ac01bd02
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	330 because the tool was in conflict with the philosophy of MH.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	331 It provided an interactive shell to access the features of MH,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	332 but it wasn't just a shell, tailored to the needs of mail handling.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	333 Instead it was one large program that had several MH tools built in.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	334 This conflicts with the major feature of MH of being a tool chest.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	335 .Pn msh 's
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	336 main use case had been accessing Bulletin Boards, which have seized to
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	337 be popular.
24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	338 .P
24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	339 Removing
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	340 .Pn msh ,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	341 together with the truly archaic code relicts
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	342 .Pn vmh
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	343 and
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	344 .Pn wmh ,
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	345 saved more than 7\\|000 lines of C code \(en
66 4c9f4d05d90e Rework and extension of text from yesterday. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 63 diff changeset	346 about 15\\|% of the project's original source code amount.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	347 .P
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	348 Having less code (with equal readability, of course)
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	349 for the same functionality is an advantage.
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	350 Less code means less bugs and less maintenance work.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	351 As
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	352 .Pn rcvtty
abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	353 and
abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	354 .Pn msgchk
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	355 are assumed to be rarely used and can be implemented in different ways,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	356 why should one keep them?
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	357 Removing them stream-lines mmh.
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	358 .Pn viamail 's
abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	359 use case is now partly obsolete and partly covered by
abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	360 .Pn forw ,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	361 hence there's no reason to still maintain it.
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	362 .Pn conflict
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	363 is not related to the mail client, and
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	364 .Pn msh
abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	365 conflicts with the basic concept of MH.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	366 Theses two tools might still be useful, but they should not be part of mmh.
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	367 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	368 Finally, there's
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	369 .Pn slocal .
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	370 .Pn slocal
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	371 is an MDA and thus not directly MUA-related.
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	372 It should be removed, because including it is a violation
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	373 of the idea that mmh is a MUA only.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	374 It should become a separate project.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	375 However,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	376 .Pn slocal
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	377 provides rule-based processing of messages, like filing them into
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	378 different folders, which is otherwise not available in mmh.
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	379 Although
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	380 .Pn slocal
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	381 does neither pull in dependencies nor does it include a separate
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	382 technical area (cf. Sec. XXX),
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	383 still it accounts for about 1\\|000 lines of code that need to be maintained.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	384 As
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	385 .Pn slocal
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	386 is almost self-standing, it should be split off into a separate project.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	387 This would cut the strong connection between the MUA mmh and the MDA
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	388 .Pn slocal .
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	389 For anyone not using MH,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	390 .Pn slocal
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	391 would become yet another independent MDA, like
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	392 .I procmail .
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	393 The need to install a complete MH system to have
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	394 .Pn slocal
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	395 would be gone.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	396 Likewise, mmh users could decide to use
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	397 .I procmail
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	398 without having a second, unused MDA,
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	399 .Pn slocal ,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	400 installed.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	401 That's conceptionally the best solution.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	402 Yet,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	403 .Pn slocal
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	404 is not split off.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	405 I feel unsure with removing it from mmh.
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	406 Hence, I defer the decision over
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	407 .Pn slocal .
7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	408 In the meanwhile
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	409 .Pn slocal
87 7d5b180de542 All kinds of rework plus new refs. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 85 diff changeset	410 does not hurt because it is unrelated to the rest of mmh.
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	411
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	412
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	413 .H2 "\fLshow\fP and \fPmhshow\fP
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	414 .P
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	415 Since the very beginning \(en already in the first concept paper \(en
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	416 .Pn show
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	417 had been MH's message display program.
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	418 .Pn show
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	419 mapped message numbers and sequences to files and invoked
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	420 .Pn mhl
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	421 to have the files formatted.
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	422 With MIME, this approach wasn't sufficient anymore.
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	423 MIME messages can consist of multiple parts, some of which aren't
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	424 directly displayable, further more text content might be encoded in
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	425 foreign charsets.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	426 .Pn show 's
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	427 understanding of messages and
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	428 .Pn mhl 's
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	429 display capabilities couldn't cope with the task any longer.
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	430 .P
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	431 Instead of extending these tools, additional tools were written from
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	432 scratch and added to the MH tool chest.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	433 Doing so is encouraged by the tool chest approach.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	434 Modular design is a great advantage for extending a system,
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	435 as new tools can be added without interfering with existing ones.
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	436 First, the new MIME features were added in form of the single program
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	437 .Pn mhn .
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	438 The command
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	439 .Cl "mhn -show 42
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	440 would show the MIME message numbered 42.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	441 With the 1.0 release of nmh in February 1999, Richard Coleman finished
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	442 the split of
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	443 .Pn mhn
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	444 into a set of specialized tools, which together covered the
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	445 multiple aspects of MIME.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	446 One of them was
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	447 .Pn mhshow ,
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	448 which replaced
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	449 .Cl "mhn -show" .
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	450 It was capable of displaying MIME messages appropriately.
62 24aabbfe5794 Minor rework of larger text areas. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 60 diff changeset	451 .P
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	452 From then on, two message display tools were part of nmh,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	453 .Pn show
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	454 and
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	455 .Pn mhshow .
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	456 To ease the life of users,
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	457 .Pn show
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	458 was extended to automatically hand the job over to
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	459 .Pn mhshow
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	460 if displaying the message would be beyond
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	461 .Pn show 's
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	462 abilities.
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	463 In consequence, the user would simply invoke
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	464 .Pn show
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	465 (possibly through
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	466 .Pn next
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	467 or
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	468 .Pn prev )
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	469 and get the message printed with either
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	470 .Pn show
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	471 or
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	472 .Pn mhshow ,
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	473 whatever was more appropriate.
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	474 .P
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	475 Having two similar tools for essentially the same task is redundant.
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	476 Usually,
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	477 users wouldn't distinguish between
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	478 .Pn show
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	479 and
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	480 .Pn mhshow
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	481 in their daily mail reading.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	482 Having two separate display programs was therefore mainly unnecessary
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	483 from a user's point of view.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	484 Besides, the development of both programs needed to be in sync,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	485 to ensure that the programs behaved in a similar way,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	486 because they were used like a single tool.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	487 Different behavior would have surprised the user.
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	488 .P
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	489 Today, non-MIME messages are rather seen to be a special case of
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	490 MIME messages, although it's the other way round.
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	491 As
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	492 .Pn mhshow
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	493 had already be able to display non-MIME messages, it appeared natural
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	494 to drop
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	495 .Pn show
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	496 in favor of using
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	497 .Pn mhshow
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	498 exclusively.
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	499 .Ci 4c1efddfd499300c7e74263e57d8aa137e84c853
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	500 Removing
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	501 .Pn show
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	502 is no loss in function, because functionally
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	503 .Pn mhshow
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	504 covers it completely.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	505 The old behavior of
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	506 .Pn show
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	507 can still be emulated with the simple command line:
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	508 .VS
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	509 mhl `mhpath c`
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	510 VE
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	511 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	512 For convenience,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	513 .Pn mhshow
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	514 was renamed to
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	515 .Pn show
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	516 after
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	517 .Pn show
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	518 was gone.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	519 It is clear that such a rename may confuse future developers when
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	520 trying to understand the history.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	521 Nevertheless, I consider the convenience on the user's side,
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	522 to call
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	523 .Pn show
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	524 when they want a message to be displayed, to outweigh the inconvenience
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	525 on the developer's side when understanding the project history.
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	526 .P
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	527 To prepare for the transition,
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	528 .Pn mhshow
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	529 was reworked to behave more like
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	530 .Pn show
f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	531 first.
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	532 (cf. Sec. XXX)
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	533 Once the tools behaved more alike, the replacing appeared to be
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	534 even more natural.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	535 Today, mmh's new
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	536 .Pn show
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	537 became the one single message display program again, with the difference
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	538 that today it handles MIME messages as well as non-MIME messages.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	539 The outcome of the transition is one program less to maintain,
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	540 no second display program for users to deal with,
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	541 and less system complexity.
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	542 .P
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	543 Still, removing the old
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	544 .Pn show
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	545 hurts in one regard: It had been such a simple program.
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	546 Its lean elegance is missing to the new
69 f80ced4e749b Wrote more about the show-mhshow merge. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 66 diff changeset	547 .Pn show .
88 30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	548 But there is no chance;
30830e3b9e98 Further rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 87 diff changeset	549 supporting MIME demands for higher essential complexity.
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	550
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	551
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	552 .H2 "Removal of Configure Options
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	553 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	554 Customization is a double-edged sword.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	555 It allows better suiting setups, but not for free.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	556 There is the cost of code complexity to be able to customize.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	557 There is the cost of less tested setups, because there are
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	558 more possible setups and especially corner-cases.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	559 And, there is the cost of choice itself.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	560 The code complexity directly affects the developers.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	561 Less tested code affects both, users and developers.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	562 The problem of choice affects the users, for once by having to
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	563 choose, but also by complexer interfaces that require more documentation.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	564 Whenever options add little advantages, they should be considered for
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	565 removal.
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	566 I have reduced the number of project-specific configure options from
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	567 fifteen to three.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	568
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	569 .U3 "Mail Transfer Facilities
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	570 .P
85 fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	571 With the removal of the mail transfer facilities five configure
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	572 options vanished:
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	573 .P
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	574 The switches
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	575 .Sw --with-tls
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	576 and
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	577 .Sw --with-cyrus-sasl
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	578 had activated the support for transfer encryption and authentication.
85 fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	579 This is not needed anymore.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	580 .Ci fecd5d34f65597a4dfa16aeabea7d74b191532c3
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	581 .Ci 156d35f6425bea4c1ed3c4c79783dc613379c65b
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	582 .P
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	583 The configure switch
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	584 .Sw --enable-pop
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	585 activated the message retrieval facility.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	586 The code area that would be conditionally compiled in for TLS and SASL
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	587 support had been small.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	588 The conditionally compiled code area for POP support had been much larger.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	589 Whereas the code base changes would only slightly change on toggling
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	590 TLS or SASL support, it changed much on toggling POP support.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	591 The changes in the code base could hardly be overviewed.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	592 By having POP support togglable a second code base had been created,
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	593 one that needed to be tested.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	594 This situation is basically similar for the conditional TLS and SASL
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	595 code, but there the changes are minor and can yet be overviewed.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	596 Still, conditional compilation of a code base creates variations
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	597 of the original program.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	598 More variations require more testing and maintenance work.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	599 .P
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	600 Two other options only specified default configuration values:
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	601 .Sw --with-mts=[smtp\|sendmail]
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	602 defined the default transport service.
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	603 In mmh this fixed to
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	604 .Ar sendmail .
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	605 .Ci f6aa95b724fd8c791164abe7ee5468bf5c34f226
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	606 With
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	607 .Sw --with-smtpservers=[server1...]
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	608 default SMTP servers for the
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	609 .Ar smtp
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	610 transport service could be specified.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	611 .Ci 128545e06224233b7e91fc4c83f8830252fe16c9
85 fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	612 Both of them became irrelevant.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	613
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	614 .U3 "Backup Prefix
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	615 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	616 The backup prefix is the string that was prepended to message
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	617 filenames to tag them as deleted.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	618 By default it had been the comma character `\f(CW,\fP'.
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	619 In July 2000, Kimmo Suominen introduced
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	620 the configure option
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	621 .Sw --with-hash-backup
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	622 to change the default to the hash symbol `\f(CW#\fP'.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	623 The choice was probably personal preference, because first, the
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	624 option was named
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	625 .Sw --with-backup-prefix.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	626 and had the prefix symbol as argument.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	627 Because giving the hash symbol as argument caused to many problems
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	628 for configure,
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	629 the option was limited to use the hash symbol as the default prefix.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	630 This makes me believe, that the choice for the hash was personal preference.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	631 Being it related or not, words that start with the hash symbol
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	632 introduce a comment in the Unix shell.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	633 Thus, the command line
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	634 .Cl "rm #13 #15
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	635 calls
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	636 .Pn rm
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	637 without arguments because the first hash symbol starts the comment
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	638 that reaches until the end of the line.
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	639 To delete the backup files,
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	640 .Cl "rm ./#13 ./#15"
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	641 needs to be used.
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	642 Using the hash as backup prefix can be seen as a precaution agains
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	643 data loss.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	644 .P
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	645 I removed the configure option but added the profile entry
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	646 .Pe backup-prefix ,
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	647 which allows to specify an arbitrary string as backup prefix.
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	648 .Ci 6c40d481d661d532dd527eaf34cebb6d3f8ed086
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	649 Profile entries are the common method to change mmh's behavior.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	650 This change did not remove the choice but moved it to a location where
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	651 it suited better.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	652 .P
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	653 Eventually, however, the new trash folder concept
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	654 .Cf "Sec. XXX
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	655 obsoleted the concept of the backup prefix completely.
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	656 .Ci 8edc5aaf86f9f77124664f6801bc6c6cdf258173
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	657 (Well, there still are corner-cases to remove until the backup
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	658 prefix can be laid to rest, eventually.)
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	659 .\" FIXME: Do this work in the code!
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	660
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	661 .U3 "Editor and Pager
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	662 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	663 The two configure options
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	664 .CW --with-editor=EDITOR
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	665 .CW --with-pager=PAGER
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	666 were used to specify the default editor and pager at configure time.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	667 Doing so at configure time made sense in the Eighties,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	668 when the set of available editors and pagers varied much across
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	669 different systems.
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	670 Today, the situation is more homogeneous.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	671 The programs
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	672 .Pn vi
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	673 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	674 .Pn more
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	675 can be expected to be available on every Unix system,
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	676 as they are specified by POSIX since two decades.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	677 (The specifications for
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	678 .Pn vi
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	679 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	680 .Pn more
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	681 appeared in
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	682 .[
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	683 posix 1987
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	684 .]
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	685 and,
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	686 .[
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	687 posix 1992
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	688 .]
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	689 respectively.)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	690 As a first step, these two tools were hard-coded as defaults.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	691 .Ci 5d43a99db70c12a673028c7758c20cbe3e13ef5f
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	692 Not changed were the
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	693 .Pe editor
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	694 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	695 .Pe moreproc
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	696 profile entries, which allowed the user to override the system defaults.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	697 Later, the concept was reworked to respect the standard environment
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	698 variables
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	699 .Ev VISUAL
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	700 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	701 .Ev PAGER
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	702 if they are set.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	703 Today, mmh determines the editor to use in the following order,
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	704 taking the first available and non-empty item:
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	705 .IP (1)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	706 Environment variable
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	707 .Ev MMHEDITOR
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	708 .IP (2)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	709 Profile entry
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	710 .Pe Editor
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	711 .IP (3)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	712 Environment variable
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	713 .Ev VISUAL
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	714 .IP (4)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	715 Environment variable
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	716 .Ev EDITOR
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	717 .IP (5)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	718 Command
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	719 .Pn vi .
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	720 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	721 .Ci f85f4b7ae62e3d05a945dcd46ead51f0a2a89a9b
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	722 .P
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	723 The pager to use is determined in a similar order,
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	724 also taking the first available and non-empty item:
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	725 .IP (1)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	726 Environment variable
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	727 .Ev MMHPAGER
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	728 .IP (2)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	729 Profile entry
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	730 .Pe Pager
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	731 (replaces
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	732 .Pe moreproc )
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	733 .IP (3)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	734 Environment variable
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	735 .Ev PAGER
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	736 .IP (4)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	737 Command
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	738 .Pn more .
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	739 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	740 .Ci 0c4214ea2aec6497d0d67b436bbee9bc1d225f1e
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	741 .P
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	742 By respecting the
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	743 .Ev VISUAL /\c
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	744 .Ev EDITOR
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	745 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	746 .Ev PAGER
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	747 environment variables,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	748 the new behavior confirms better to the common style on Unix systems.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	749 Additionally, the new approach is more uniform and clearer to users.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	750
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	751 .U3 "Locale
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	752 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	753 The configure option
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	754 .Sw --disable-locale
85 fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	755 was removed because POSIX provides locale support and there's
fb0d1b4c8fb1 Extended the text about mail transfer configure options. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 84 diff changeset	756 hardly any need to disable locale support.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	757 .Ci ccf4f175ef4c4e7522f9510a4a1149c15d810dd9
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	758
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	759 .U3 "ndbm
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	760 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	761 .Pn slocal
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	762 used to depend on
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	763 .I ndbm ,
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	764 a database library.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	765 The database is used to store the `\fLMessage-ID\fP's of all
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	766 messages delivered.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	767 This enables
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	768 .Pn slocal
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	769 to suppress delivering the same message to the same user twice.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	770 (This features was enabled by the
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	771 .Sw -suppressdup
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	772 switch.)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	773 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	774 A variety of version of the database library exist.
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	775 .[
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	776 wolter unix incompat notes dbm
64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	777 .]
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	778 Complicated autoconf code was needed to detect them correctly.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	779 Further more, the configure switches
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	780 .Sw --with-ndbm=ARG
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	781 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	782 .Sw --with-ndbmheader=ARG
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	783 were added to help with difficult setups that would
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	784 not be detected automatically or correctly.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	785 .P
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	786 By removing the suppress duplicates feature of
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	787 .Pn slocal ,
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	788 the dependency on
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	789 .I ndbm
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	790 vanished and 120 lines of complex autoconf code could be saved.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	791 .Ci ecd6d6a20cb7a1507e3a20d6c4cb3a1cf14c6bbf
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	792 The change removed functionality too, but that is minor to the
78 64f177ca2af1 Text rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 76 diff changeset	793 improvement by dropping the dependency and the complex autoconf code.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	794
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	795 .U3 "mh-e Support
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	796 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	797 The configure option
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	798 .Sw --disable-mhe
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	799 was removed when the mh-e support was reworked.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	800 Mh-e is the Emacs front-end to MH.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	801 It requires MH to provide minor additional functions.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	802 The
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	803 .Sw --disable-mhe
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	804 configure option could switch these extensions off.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	805 After removing the support for old versions of mh-e,
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	806 only the
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	807 .Sw -build
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	808 switches of
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	809 .Pn forw
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	810 and
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	811 .Pn repl
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	812 are left to be mh-e extensions.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	813 They are now always built in because they add little code and complexity.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	814 In consequence, the
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	815 .Sw --disable-mhe
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	816 configure option was removed
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	817 .Ci a7ce7b4a580d77b6c2c4d980812beb589aa4c643
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	818 Removing the option removed a second code setup that would have
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	819 needed to be tested.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	820 This change was first done in nmh and thereafter merged into mmh.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	821 .P
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	822 The interface changes in mmh require mh-e to be adjusted in order
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	823 to be able to use mmh as back-end.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	824 This will require minor changes to mh-e, but removing the
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	825 .Sw -build
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	826 switches would require more rework.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	827
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	828 .U3 "Masquerading
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	829 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	830 The configure option
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	831 .Sw --enable-masquerade
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	832 could take up to three arguments:
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	833 `draft_from', `mmailid', and `username_extension'.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	834 They activated different types of address masquerading.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	835 All of them were implemented in the SMTP-speaking
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	836 .Pn post
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	837 command, which provided an MSA.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	838 Address masquerading is an MTA's task and mmh does not cover
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	839 this field anymore.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	840 Hence, true masquerading needs to be implemented in the external MTA.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	841 .P
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	842 The
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	843 .I mmailid
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	844 masquerading type is the oldest one of the three and the only one
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	845 available in the original MH.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	846 It provided a
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	847 .I username
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	848 to
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	849 .I fakeusername
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	850 mapping, based on the password file's GECOS field.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	851 The man page
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	852 .Mp mh-tailor(5)
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	853 described the use case as being the following:
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	854 .QP
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	855 This is useful if you want the messages you send to always
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	856 appear to come from the name of an MTA alias rather than your
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	857 actual account name. For instance, many organizations set up
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	858 `First.Last' sendmail aliases for all users. If this is
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	859 the case, the GECOS field for each user should look like:
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	860 ``First [Middle] Last <First.Last>''
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	861 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	862 As mmh sends outgoing mail via the local MTA only,
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	863 the best location to do such global rewrites is there.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	864 Besides, the MTA is conceptionally the right location because it
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	865 does the reverse mapping for incoming mail (aliasing), too.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	866 Further more, masquerading set up there is readily available for all
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	867 mail software on the system.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	868 Hence, mmailid masquerading was removed.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	869 .Ci 0836c8000ccb34b59410ef1c15b1b7feac70ce5f
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	870 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	871 The
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	872 .I username_extension
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	873 masquerading type did not replace the username but would append a suffix,
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	874 specified by the
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	875 .Ev USERNAME_EXTENSION
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	876 environment variable, to it.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	877 This provided support for the
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	878 .I user-extension
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	879 feature of qmail and the similar
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	880 .I "plussed user
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	881 processing of sendmail.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	882 The decision to remove this username_extension masquerading was
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	883 motivated by the fact that
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	884 .Pn spost
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	885 hadn't supported it already.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	886 .Ci 2abae0bfd0ad5bf898461e50aa4b466d641f23d9
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	887 Username extensions are possible in mmh, but less convenient to use.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	888 .\" XXX format file %(getenv USERNAME_EXTENSION)
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	889 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	890 The
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	891 .I draft_from
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	892 masquerading type instructed
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	893 .Pn post
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	894 to use the value of the
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	895 .Hd From
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	896 header field as SMTP envelope sender.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	897 Sender addresses could be replaced completely.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	898 .Ci b14ea6073f77b4359aaf3fddd0e105989db9
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	899 Mmh offers a kind of masquerading similar in effect, but
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	900 with technical differences.
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	901 As mmh does not transfer messages itself, the local MTA has final control
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	902 over the sender's address. Any masquerading mmh introduces may be reverted
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	903 by the MTA.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	904 In times of pedantic spam checking, an MTA will take care to use
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	905 sensible envelope sender addresses to keep its own reputation up.
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	906 Nonetheless, the MUA can set the
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	907 .Hd From
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	908 header field and thereby propose
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	909 a sender address to the MTA.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	910 The MTA may then decide to take that one or generate the canonical sender
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	911 address for use as envelope sender address.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	912 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	913 In mmh, the MTA will always extract the recipient and sender from the
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	914 message header (\c
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	915 .Pn sendmail 's
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	916 .Sw -t
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	917 switch).
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	918 The
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	919 .Hd From
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	920 header field of the draft may be set arbitrary by the user.
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	921 If it is missing, the canonical sender address will be generated by the MTA.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	922
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	923 .U3 "Remaining Options
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	924 .P
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	925 Two configure options remain in mmh.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	926 One is the locking method to use:
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	927 .Sw --with-locking=[dot\|fcntl\|flock\|lockf] .
76 2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	928 The idea of removing all methods except the portable dot locking
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	929 and having that one as the default is appealing, but this change
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	930 requires deeper technical investigation into the topic.
2e61e0004a8f Rework of existing text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 74 diff changeset	931 The other option,
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	932 .Sw --enable-debug ,
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	933 compiles the programs with debugging symbols and does not strip them.
cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	934 This option is likely to stay.
72 bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	935
bae9273b5802 Wrote about configure options (not finished yet). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 69 diff changeset	936
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	937
63 abbaca05ee8e More text. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 62 diff changeset	938
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	939 .H2 "Removal of switches
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	940 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	941
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	942
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	943
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	944
74 cefaa856d431 A lot of new text about configure switches. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 72 diff changeset	945 .H1 "Modernizing
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	946
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	947
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	948 .H2 "Removal of Code Relicts
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	949 .P
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	950 The code base of mmh originates from the late Seventies,
49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	951 had been extensively
49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	952 worked on in the mid Eighties, and had been partly reorganized and extended
49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	953 in the Nineties. Relicts of all those times had gathered in the code base.
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	954 My goal was to remove any ancient code parts. One part of the task was
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	955 converting obsolete code constructs to standard constructs, the other part
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	956 was dropping obsolete functions.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	957 .P
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	958 As I'm not even thirty years old and have no more than seven years of
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	959 Unix experience, I needed to learn about the history in retrospective.
49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	960 Older people likely have used those ancient constructs themselves
49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	961 and have suffered from their incompatibilities and have longed for
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	962 standardization. Unfortunately, I have only read that others had done so.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	963 This put me in a much more difficult positions when working on the old
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	964 code. I needed to recherche what other would have known by heart from
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	965 experience. All my programming experience comes from a time past ANSI C
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	966 and past POSIX. Although I knew about the times before, I took the
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	967 current state implicitly for granted most of the time.
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	968 .P
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	969 Being aware of
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	970 these facts, I rather let people with more historic experience solve the
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	971 task of converting the ancient code constructs to standardized ones.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	972 Luckily, Lyndon Nerenberg focused on this task at the nmh project.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	973 He converted large parts of the code to POSIX constructs, removing
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	974 the conditionals compilation for now standardized features.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	975 I'm thankful for this task being solved. I only pulled the changes into
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	976 mmh.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	977 .P
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	978 The other task \(en dropping ancient functionality to remove old code \(en
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	979 I did myself, though. My position to strip mmh to the bare minimum of
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	980 frequently used features is much more revolutional than the nmh community
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	981 likes it. Without the need to justify my decisions, I was able to quickly
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	982 remove functionality I considered ancient.
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	983 The need to discuss my decisions with
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	984 peers likely would have slowed this process down. Of course, I researched
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	985 if a particular feature really should be dropped. Having not had any
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	986 contact to this feature within my computer life was a first indicator to
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	987 drop it, but I also asked others and searched the literature for modern
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	988 usage of the feature. If it appeared to be truly ancient, I dropped it.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	989 The reason for dropping is always part of the commit message in the
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	990 version control system. Thus, it is easy for others to check their
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	991 view on the topic with mine and possibly to argue for reinclusion.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	992
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	993 .U2 "MMDF maildrop support
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	994 .P
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	995 I did drop any support for the MMDF maildrop format. This type of format
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	996 is conceptionally similar to the mbox format, but uses four bytes with
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	997 value 1 (\fL^A^A^A^A\fP) as message delimiter,
18 db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	998 instead of the string ``\fLFrom\ \fP''.
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	999 Due to the similarity and mbox being the de-facto standard maildrop
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1000 format on Unix, but also due to the larger influence of Sendmail than MMDF,
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1001 the MMDF maildrop format had vanished.
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	1002 .P
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1003 The simplifications within the code were only moderate. Switches could
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1004 be removed from tools like
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1005 .L packf ,
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1006 which generate packed mailboxes. Only one packed mailbox format remained:
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1007 mbox.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1008 The most important changes affect the equally named mail parsing routine in
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1009 .L sbr/m_getfld.c .
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1010 The direct MMDF code had been removed, but as now only one packed mailbox
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1011 format is left, code structure simplifications are likely possible.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1012 The reason why they are still outstanding is the heavily optimized code
18 db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1013 of
db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1014 .Fu m_getfld() .
db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1015 Changes beyond a small local scope \(en
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1016 which restructuring in its core is \(en cause a high risk of damaging
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1017 the intricate workings of the optimized code. This problem is know
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1018 to the developers of nmh, too. They also avoid touching this minefield
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1019 if possible.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1020
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1021 .U2 "UUCP Bang Paths
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1022 .P
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1023 More questionably than the former topic is the removal of support for the
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1024 UUCP bang path address style. However, the user may translate the bang
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1025 paths on retrieval to Internet addresses and the other way on posting
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1026 messages. The former can be done my an MDA like procmail; the latter
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1027 by a sendmail wrapper. This would ensure that any address handling would
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1028 work as expected. However, it might just work well without any
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1029 such modifications, as mmh does not touch addresses much, in general.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1030 But I can't ensure as I have never used an environment with bang paths.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1031 Also, the behavior might break at any point in further development.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1032
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1033 .U2 "Hardcopy terminal support
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1034 .P
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1035 More of a funny anecdote is the remaining of a check for printing to a
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1036 hardcopy terminal until Spring 2012, when I finally removed it.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1037 I surely would be very happy to see such a terminal in action, maybe
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1038 actually being able to work on it, but I fear my chances are null.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1039 .P
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1040 The check only prevented a pager to be placed between the outputting
18 db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1041 program (\c
db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1042 .Pn mhl )
db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1043 and the terminal. This could have been ensured with
db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1044 the
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1045 .Sw -nomoreproc
18 db3567c9cc3f style: Added format macros for files, functions, switches, etc. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 17 diff changeset	1046 at the command line statically, too.
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1047
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1048 .U2 "Removed support for header fields
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1049 .P
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1050 The
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1051 .Hd Encrypted
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1052 header field had been introduced by RFC\^822, but already
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1053 marked legacy in RFC 2822. It was superseded by FIXME.
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1054 Mmh does no more support this header field.
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1055 .P
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1056 Native support for
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1057 .Hd Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1058 header fields had been removed, as well.
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1059 The feature is similar to the
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1060 .Hd X-Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1061 header field in its intent,
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1062 but takes a different approach to store the image.
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1063 Instead of encoding the image data directly into the header field,
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1064 the it contains the hostname and UDP port where the image
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1065 date could be retrieved.
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1066 Neither
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1067 .Hd X-Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1068 nor the here described
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1069 .Hd Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1070 system
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1071 \**
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1072 .FS
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1073 There is also a newer but different system, invented 2005,
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1074 using
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1075 .Hd Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1076 headers.
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1077 It is the successor of
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1078 .Hd X-Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1079 providing colored PNG images.
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1080 .FE
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1081 became well used in the large scale.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1082 It's still possible to use a Face systems,
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1083 although mmh does not provide support for any of the different systems
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1084 anymore. It's fairly easy to write a small shell script to
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1085 extract the embedded or fetch the external Face data and display the image.
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1086 Own
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1087 .Hd Face
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1088 header field can be added into the draft template files.
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1089 .P
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1090 .Hd Content-MD5
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1091 header fields were introduced by RFC\^1864. They provide only
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1092 a verification of data corruption during the transfer. By no means can
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1093 they ensure verbatim end-to-end delivery of the contents. This is clearly
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1094 stated in the RFC. The proper approach to provide verificationability
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1095 of content in an end-to-end relationship is the use of digital cryptography
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1096 (RFCs FIXME). On the other hand, transfer protocols should ensure the
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1097 integrity of the transmission. In combinations these two approaches
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1098 make the
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1099 .Hd Content-MD5
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1100 header field useless. In consequence, I removed
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1101 the support for it. By this removal, MD5 computation is not needed
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1102 anywhere in mmh. Hence, over 500 lines of code were removed by this one
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1103 change. Even if the
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1104 .Hd Content-MD5
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1105 header field is useful sometimes,
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	1106 I value its usefulness less than the improvement in maintainability, caused
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1107 by the removal.
7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1108
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1109 .U2 "Prompter's Control Keys
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1110 .P
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1111 The program
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1112 .Pn prompter
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1113 queries the user to fill in a message form. When used by
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1114 .Pn comp
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1115 as:
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1116 .VS
ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1117 comp -editor prompter
ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1118 VE
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1119 the resulting behavior is similar to
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1120 .Pn mailx .
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	1121 Apparently,
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1122 .Pn prompter
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1123 hadn't been touched lately. Otherwise it's hardly explainable why it
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1124 still offered the switches
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1125 .Sw -erase
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1126 .Ar chr
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1127 and
84 c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1128 .Sw -kill
c35ec2b7de5d style: New macros .Ar (argument) and .Hd (header field) markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 82 diff changeset	1129 .Ar chr
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1130 to name the characters for command line editing.
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1131 The times when this had been necessary are long time gone.
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1132 Today these things work out-of-the-box, and if not, are configured
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1133 with the standard tool
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1134 .Pn stty .
7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1135
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1136 .U2 "Vfork and Retry Loops
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1137 .P
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	1138 MH creates many processes, which is a consequence of the tool chest approach.
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1139 In earlier times
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1140 .Fu fork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1141 had been an expensive system call, as the process's whole image needed
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1142 to be duplicated. One common case is replacing the image with
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1143 .Fu exec()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1144 right after having forked the child process.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1145 To speed up this case, the
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1146 .Fu vfork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1147 system call was invented at Berkeley. It completely omits copying the
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1148 image. If the image gets replaced right afterwards then unnecessary
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1149 work is omited. On old systems this results in large speed ups.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1150 MH uses
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1151 .Fu vfork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1152 whenever possible.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1153 .P
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1154 Memory management units that support copy-on-write semantics make
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1155 .Fu fork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1156 almost as fast as
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1157 .Fu vfork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1158 in the cases when they can be exchanged.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1159 With
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1160 .Fu vfork()
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	1161 being more error-prone and hardly faster, it's preferable to simply
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1162 use
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1163 .Fu fork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1164 instead.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1165 .P
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1166 Related to the costs of
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1167 .Fu fork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1168 is the probability of its success.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1169 Today on modern systems, the system call will succeed almost always.
51 49cf68506b5d Spell checking. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 49 diff changeset	1170 In the Eighties on heavy loaded systems, as they were common at
21 bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1171 universities, this had been different. Thus, many of the
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1172 .Fu fork()
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1173 calls were wrapped into loops to retry to fork several times in
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1174 short intervals, in case of previous failure.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1175 In mmh, the program aborts at once if the fork failed.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1176 The user can reexecute the command then. This is expected to be a
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1177 very rare case on modern systems, especially personal ones, which are
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1178 common today.
bb8a8be49024 Wrote about Face support and vfork(). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 20 diff changeset	1179
12 7ca384d68edc Wrote some text for removal of old code. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 0 diff changeset	1180
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1181 .H2 "Attachments
22 99409e4546d2 Wrote about the removal of tools. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 21 diff changeset	1182 .P
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1183 MIME
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1184
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1185
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1186 .H2 "Digital Cryptography
22 99409e4546d2 Wrote about the removal of tools. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 21 diff changeset	1187 .P
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1188 Signing and encryption.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1189
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1190
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1191 .H2 "Good Defaults
22 99409e4546d2 Wrote about the removal of tools. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 21 diff changeset	1192 .P
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1193 foo
22 99409e4546d2 Wrote about the removal of tools. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 21 diff changeset	1194
99409e4546d2 Wrote about the removal of tools. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 21 diff changeset	1195
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1196
14 55ec590cfa07 Wrote about the draft folder. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 12 diff changeset	1197
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1198 .H1 "Code style
16 81f703140554 Wrote about the trash folder. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 14 diff changeset	1199 .P
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1200 foo
16 81f703140554 Wrote about the trash folder. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 14 diff changeset	1201
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	1202
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1203 .H2 "Standard Code
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1204 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1205 POSIX
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1206
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1207
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1208 .H2 "Separation
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1209
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1210 .U2 "MH Directory Split
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	1211 .P
19 ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1212 In MH and nmh, a personal setup had consisted of two parts:
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1213 The MH profile, named
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1214 .Fn \&.mh_profile
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1215 and being located directly in the user's home directory.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1216 And the MH directory, where all his mail messages and also his personal
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1217 forms, scan formats, other configuration files are stored. The location
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1218 of this directory could be user-chosen. The default was to name it
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1219 .Fn Mail
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1220 and have it directly in the home directory.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1221 .P
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1222 I've never liked the data storage and the configuration to be intermixed.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1223 They are different kinds of data. One part, are the messages,
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1224 which are the data to operate on. The other part, are the personal
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1225 configuration files, which are able to change the behavior of the operations.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1226 The actual operations are defined in the profile, however.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1227 .P
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1228 When storing data, one should try to group data by its type.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1229 There's sense in the Unix file system hierarchy, where configuration
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1230 file are stored separate (\c
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1231 .Fn /etc )
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1232 to the programs (\c
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1233 .Fn /bin
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1234 and
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1235 .Fn /usr/bin )
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1236 to their sources (\c
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1237 .Fn /usr/src ).
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1238 Such separation eases the backup management, for instance.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1239 .P
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1240 In mmh, I've reorganized the file locations.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1241 Still there are two places:
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1242 There's the mail storage directory, which, like in MH, contains all the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1243 messages, but, unlike in MH, nothing else.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1244 Its location still is user-chosen, with the default name
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1245 .Fn Mail ,
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1246 in the user's home directory. This is much similar to the case in nmh.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1247 The configuration files, however, are grouped together in the new directory
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1248 .Fn \&.mmh
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1249 in the user's home directory.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1250 The user's profile now is a file, named
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1251 .Fn profile ,
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1252 in this mmh directory.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1253 Consistently, the context file and all the personal forms, scan formats,
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1254 and the like, are also there.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1255 .P
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1256 The naming changed with the relocation.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1257 The directory where everything, except the profile, had been stored (\c
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1258 .Fn $HOME/Mail ),
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1259 used to be called \fIMH directory\fP. Now, this directory is called the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1260 user's \fImail storage\fP. The name \fImmh directory\fP is now given to
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1261 the new directory
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1262 (\c
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1263 .Fn $HOME/.mmh ),
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1264 containing all the personal configuration files.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1265 .P
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1266 The separation of the files by type of content is logical and convenient.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1267 There are no functional differences as any possible setup known to me
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1268 can be implemented with both approaches, although likely a bit easier
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1269 with the new approach. The main goal of the change had been to provide
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1270 sensible storage locations for any type of personal mmh file.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1271 .P
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1272 In order for one user to have multiple MH setups, he can use the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1273 environment variable
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1274 .Ev MH
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1275 the point to a different profile file.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1276 The MH directory (mail storage plus personal configuration files) is
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1277 defined by the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1278 .Pe Path
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1279 profile entry.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1280 The context file could be defined by the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1281 .Pe context
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1282 profile entry or by the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1283 .Ev MHCONTEXT
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1284 environment variable.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1285 The latter is useful to have a distinct context (e.g. current folders)
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1286 in each terminal window, for instance.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1287 In mmh, there are three environment variables now.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1288 .Ev MMH
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1289 may be used to change the location of the mmh directory.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1290 .Ev MMHP
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1291 and
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1292 .Ev MMHC
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1293 change the profile and context files, respectively.
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1294 Besides providing a more consistent feel (which simply is the result
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1295 of being designed anew), the set of personal configuration files can
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1296 be chosen independently from the profile (including mail storage location)
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1297 and context, now. Being it relevant for practical use or not, it
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1298 de-facto is an improvement. However, the main achievement is the
ab5253e48c74 Wrote about the directory split. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 18 diff changeset	1299 split between mail storage and personal configuration files.
17 b3c37947764e Several minor text improvements. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 16 diff changeset	1300
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	1301
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1302 .H2 "Modularization
20 7a100c80fa91 Some new text (show/mhshow; prompter). markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 19 diff changeset	1303 .P
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1304 whatnowproc
0 dc2bfef4cda7 Initial commit: Basic structure, macros and fonts. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: diff changeset	1305 .P
49 d3a02f5e63b3 Various rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 23 diff changeset	1306 The \fIMH library\fP
d3a02f5e63b3 Various rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 23 diff changeset	1307 .Fn libmh.a
d3a02f5e63b3 Various rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 23 diff changeset	1308 collects a bunch of standard functions that many of the MH tools need,
d3a02f5e63b3 Various rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 23 diff changeset	1309 like reading the profile or context files.
d3a02f5e63b3 Various rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 23 diff changeset	1310 This doesn't hurt the separation.
d3a02f5e63b3 Various rework. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 23 diff changeset	1311
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1312
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1313 .H2 "Style
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1314 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1315 Code layout, goto, ...
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1316
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1317
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1318
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1319
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	1320 .H1 "Concept Exploitation/Homogeneity
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1321
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1322
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1323 .H2 "Draft Folder
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1324 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1325 Historically, MH provided exactly one draft message, named
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1326 .Fn draft
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1327 and
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1328 being located in the MH directory. When starting to compose another message
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1329 before the former one was sent, the user had been questioned whether to use,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1330 refile or replace the old draft. Working on multiple drafts at the same time
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1331 was impossible. One could only work on them in alteration by refiling the
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1332 previous one to some directory and fetching some other one for reediting.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1333 This manual draft management needed to be done each time the user wanted
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1334 to switch between editing one draft to editing another.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1335 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1336 To allow true parallel editing of drafts, in a straight forward way, the
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1337 draft folder facility exists. It had been introduced already in July 1984
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1338 by Marshall T. Rose. The facility was deactivated by default.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1339 Even in nmh, the draft folder facility remained deactivated by default.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1340 At least, Richard Coleman added the man page
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1341 .Mp mh-draft(5)
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1342 to document
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1343 the feature well.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1344 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1345 The only advantage of not using the draft folder facility is the static
89 83bfb4dbf59f Spellchecked. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 88 diff changeset	1346 name of the draft file. This could be an issue for MH front-ends like mh-e.
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1347 But as they likely want to provide working on multiple drafts in parallel,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1348 the issue is only concerning compatibility. The aim of nmh to stay compatible
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1349 prevented the default activation of the draft folder facility.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1350 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1351 On the other hand, a draft folder is the much more natural concept than
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1352 a draft message. MH's mail storage consists of folders and messages,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1353 the messages named with ascending numbers. A draft message breaks with this
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1354 concept by introducing a message in a file named
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1355 .Fn draft .
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1356 This draft
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1357 message is special. It can not be simply listed with the available tools,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1358 but instead requires special switches. I.e. corner-cases were
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1359 introduced. A draft folder, in contrast, does not introduce such
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1360 corner-cases. The available tools can operate on the messages within that
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1361 folder like on any messages within any mail folders. The only difference
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1362 is the fact that the default folder for
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1363 .Pn send
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1364 is the draft folder,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1365 instead of the current folder, like for all other tools.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1366 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1367 The trivial part of the change was activating the draft folder facility
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1368 by default and setting a default name for this folder. Obviously, I chose
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1369 the name
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1370 .Fn +drafts .
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1371 This made the
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1372 .Sw -draftfolder
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1373 and
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1374 .Sw -draftmessage
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1375 switches useless, and I could remove them.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1376 The more difficult but also the part that showed the real improvement,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1377 was updating the tools to the new concept.
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1378 .Sw -draft
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1379 switches could
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1380 be dropped, as operating on a draft message became indistinguishable to
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1381 operating on any other message for the tools.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1382 .Pn comp
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1383 still has its
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1384 .Sw -use
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1385 switch for switching between its two modes: (1) Compose a new
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1386 draft, possibly by taking some existing message as a form. (2) Modify
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1387 an existing draft. In either case, the behavior of
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1388 .Pn comp is
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1389 deterministic. There is no more need to query the user. I consider this
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1390 a major improvement. By making
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1391 .Pn send
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1392 simply operate on the current
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1393 message in the draft folder by default, with message and folder both
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1394 overridable by specifying them on the command line, it is now possible
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1395 to send a draft anywhere within the storage by simply specifying its folder
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1396 and name.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1397 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1398 All theses changes converted special cases to regular cases, thus
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1399 simplifying the tools and increasing the flexibility.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1400
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1401
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1402 .H2 "Trash Folder
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1403 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1404 Similar to the situation for drafts is the situation for removed messages.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1405 Historically, a message was deleted by renaming. A specific
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1406 \fIbackup prefix\fP, often comma (\c
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1407 .Fn , )
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1408 or hash (\c
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1409 .Fn # ),
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1410 being prepended to the file name. Thus, MH wouldn't recognize the file
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1411 as a message anymore, as only files whose name consists of digits only
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1412 are treated as messages. The removed messages remained as files in the
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1413 same directory and needed some maintenance job to truly delete them after
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1414 some grace time. Usually, by running a command similar to
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1415 .VS
ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1416 find /home/user/Mail -ctime +7 -name ',*' \| xargs rm
ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1417 VE
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1418 in a cron job. Within the grace time interval
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1419 the original message could be restored by stripping the
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1420 the backup prefix from the file name. If however, the last message of
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1421 a folder is been removed \(en say message
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1422 .Fn 6
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1423 becomes file
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1424 .Fn ,6
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1425 \(en and a new message enters the same folder, thus the same
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1426 numbered being given again \(en in our case
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1427 .Fn 6
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1428 \(en, if that one
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1429 is removed too, then the backup of the former message gets overwritten.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1430 Thus, the ability to restore removed messages does not only depend on
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1431 the ``sweeping cron job'' but also on the removing of further messages.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1432 This is undesirable, because the real mechanism is hidden from the user
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1433 and the consequences of further removals are not always obvious.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1434 Further more, the backup files are scattered within the whole mail
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1435 storage, instead of being collected at one place.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1436 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1437 To improve the situation, the profile entry
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1438 .Pe rmmproc
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1439 (previously named
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1440 .Pe Delete-Prog )
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1441 was introduced, very early.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1442 It could be set to any command, which would care for the mail removal
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1443 instead of taking the default action, described above.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1444 Refiling the to-be-removed files to some garbage folder was a common
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1445 example. Nmh's man page
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1446 .Mp rmm(1)
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1447 proposes
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1448 .Cl "refile +d
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1449 to move messages to the garbage folder and
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1450 .Cl "rm `mhpath +d all`
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1451 the empty the garbage folder.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1452 Managing the message removal this way is a sane approach. It keeps
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1453 the removed messages in one place, makes it easy to remove the backup
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1454 files, and, most important, enables the user to use the tools of MH
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1455 itself to operate on the removed messages. One can
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1456 .Pn scan
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1457 them,
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1458 .Pn show
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1459 them, and restore them with
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1460 .Pn refile .
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1461 There's no more
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1462 need to use
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1463 .Pn mhpath
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1464 to switch over from MH tools to Unix tools \(en MH can do it all itself.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1465 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1466 This approach matches perfect with the concepts of MH, thus making
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1467 it powerful. Hence, I made it the default. And even more, I also
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1468 removed the old backup prefix approach, as it is clearly less powerful.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1469 Keeping unused alternative in the code is a bad choice as they likely
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1470 gather bugs, by not being constantly tested. Also, the increased code
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1471 size and more conditions crease the maintenance costs. By strictly
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1472 converting to the trash folder approach, I simplified the code base.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1473 .Pn rmm
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1474 calls
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1475 .Pn refile
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1476 internally to move the to-be-removed
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1477 message to the trash folder (\c
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1478 .Fn +trash
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1479 by default). Messages
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1480 there can be operated on like on any other message in the storage.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1481 The sweep clean, one can use
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1482 .Cl "rmm -unlink +trash a" ,
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1483 where the
82 ff4537327162 Mayor rework: Replaced .DS with .VS, a better verbatim environment. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 78 diff changeset	1484 .Sw -unlink
58 814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1485 switch causes the files to be truly unliked instead
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1486 of moved to the trash folder.
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1487
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1488
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1489 .H2 "Path Notations
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1490 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1491 foo
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1492
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1493
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1494 .H2 "MIME Integration
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1495 .P
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1496 user-visible access to whole messages and MIME parts are inherently
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1497 different
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1498
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1499
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1500 .H2 "Of One Cast
814c33b96d89 Restructured the content in ch03. markus schnalke <meillo@marmaro.de> parents: 51 diff changeset	1501 .P

Mercurial > docs > master

annotate ch03.roff @ 89:83bfb4dbf59f