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1 .RN 1
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2 .H0 "Introduction
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3 .Id introduction
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4
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5 .P
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6 MH is a set of mail handling tools with a common concept, similar to
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7 the Unix tool chest, which is a set of file handling tools with a common
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8 concept. \fInmh\fP is the currently most popular implementation of an
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9 MH-like mail handling system.
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10 This thesis describes an experimental version of nmh, named \fImmh\fP.
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11 .P
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12 This chapter introduces MH, its history, concepts and how it is used.
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13 It describes nmh's code base and community to give the reader
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14 a better understanding of the state of mmh when it started off.
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15 Furthermore, this chapter outlines the mmh project itself,
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16 describing the motivation for it and its goals.
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17
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18
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19 .H1 "MH \(en the Mail Handler
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20 .Id mh
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21 .P
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22 MH is a conceptual email system design and its concrete implementation.
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23 MH had started as a design proposal at RAND Corporation,
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24 where the first implementation followed later.
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25 In spirit, MH is similar to Unix, which
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26 influenced the world more in being a set of system design concepts
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27 than in being a specific software product.
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28 The ideas behind Unix are summarized in the \fIUnix philosophy\fP.
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29 .[
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30 gancarz unix philosophy
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31 .]
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32 MH follows this philosophy.
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33
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34 .U2 "History
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35 .P
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36 In 1977 at RAND Corporation, Norman Shapiro and Stockton Gaines
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37 proposed the design of a new mail handling system,
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38 .[
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39 shapiro gaines mh proposal
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40 .]
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41 to superseed RAND's old monolithic \fIMail System\fP (MS).
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42 One year later, in 1978, Bruce Borden picked up on the
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43 proposal and implemented a prototype, which he called
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44 \fIMail Handler\fP (MH).
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45 Before the prototype's existence, the concept was
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46 believed to be practically unusable.
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47 But the prototype \(en written in only three weeks \(en
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48 proved successful and replaced MS thereafter.\&
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49 .[ [
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50 rand note design of mh
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51 .], p. 4]
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52 .P
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53 In the early eighties,
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54 the University of California at Irvine (UCI) started to use MH.
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55 Marshall T. Rose and John L. Romine then became the driving force.
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56 They took over the development and pushed MH forward.
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57 .[ [
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58 rand note design of mh
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59 .], p. 4]
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60 RAND had put the code into the public domain by then.
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61 MH was developed at UCI at the same time when the Internet appeared,
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62 BSD started to support TCP/IP networking,
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63 and Eric Allman wrote Sendmail.
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64 MH was extended as emailing became more featured.
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65 The development of MH was closely related to the development of email RFCs.
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66 In the advent of the \fIMultipurpose Internet Mail Extensions\fP (MIME),
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67 MH was one of the first implementations of the new email standard.
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68 .P
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69 In the nineties, the Internet became popular and in December 1996,
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70 Richard Coleman initiated the \fINew Mail Handler\fP (nmh) project.
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71 Nmh is a fork of MH 6.8.3 and bases heavily on the
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72 \fILBL changes\fP by Van Jacobson, Mike Karels and Craig Leres.
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73 .[
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74 lbl changes
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75 .]
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76 Colman intended to modernize MH and improve its portability and
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77 MIME handling capabilities.
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78 The development of MH at UCI stopped after the 6.8.4 release in
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79 February 1996, soon after the development of nmh had started.
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80 Today, nmh is developed openly in the Internet community.
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81 It has almost completely replaced the original MH.
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82 Some systems might still provide the old MH, but hardly for good reasons.
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83 .P
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84 In the last years, the majority of changes in nmh was maintenance work.
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85 Nevertheless, the development was revived in December 2011
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86 and stayed busy since then.
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87
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88
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89 .U2 "Concepts
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90 .P
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91 MH consists of a set of tools, each covering a specific task of
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92 email handling, such as composing a message, replying to a message,
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93 refiling a message to a different folder, listing the messages in a folder.
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94 The tools are invoked directly from the Unix shell.
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95 .[
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96 a rand note design of mh
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97 .]
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98 .P
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99 The tools operate on a common mail storage, which consists of
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100 \fImail folders\fP (directories) and \fPmessages\fP (regular files).
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101 Each message is stored in a separate file.
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102 .[
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103 a rand note design of mh
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104 .]
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105 The files are named with ascending numbers in each folder.
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106 The specific format of the mail storage characterizes MH in the same way
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107 as the format of the file system characterizes Unix.
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108 .P
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109 MH tools maintain a \fIcontext\fP, which includes for instance the
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110 current mail folder.
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111 Processes in Unix have a similar context, containing the current working
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112 directory, for instance. In contrast, the process context is maintained
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113 by the Unix kernel automatically, whereas MH tools need to maintain the MH
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114 context themselves.
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115 The user can have one MH context or multiple ones; he can even share it
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116 with others.
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117 .P
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118 Messages are named by their numeric filename,
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119 but they can have symbolic names, as well.
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120 These are either one of six system-controlled position names
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121 and a shorthand for the range of all messages,
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122 or user-settable group names for arbitrary sets of messages.
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123 These names are called sequences.
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124 Automatically updated position names exist for the
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125 first, last, previous, next, current message, and for the number
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126 one beyond the last message.
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127 (In mmh, the names of these sequences are abbreviated to the
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128 first character.)
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129 User-definded sequences can be bound to the folder containing the
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130 messages (\fIpublic sequences\fP) or to the user's context
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131 (\fIprivate sequences\fP).
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132 .P
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133 The user's \fIprofile\fP is the file that contains his MH configuration.
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134 Default switches for the individual tools can be specified to
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135 adjust them to the user's personal preferences.
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136 These switches will be automatically supplied whenever the specific
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137 tool is invoked.
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138 Additionally, a single command can be linked under different names
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139 with different default values.
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140 Form templates for new messages and replies, as well as format files
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141 to adjust the output of tools are easily exchanged in the profile.
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142 Almost every part of the system can be adjusted to personal preference.
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143 .P
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144 The whole system is well scriptable and extensible.
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145 New MH tools are built out of or on top of existing ones quickly.
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146 MH encourages the user to tailor, extend, and automate the system.
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147 As the MH tool chest was modeled after the Unix tool chest, the
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148 properties of the latter apply to the former as well.
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149
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150
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151
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152 .U2 "Using MH
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153 .P
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154 Many tutorials to using MH
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155 .[
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156 rose sweet mh tutorial
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157 .]
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158 .[
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159 moss jackson user's guide for mh
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160 .]
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161 .[
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162 hegardt mh for beginners
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163 .]
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164 are old, but still they teach the concepts and basics,
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165 which remained unchanged.
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166 Rose and Romine have written an excellent introduction on a more
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167 technical level, with pointers to advanced usage.
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168 .[
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169 rose romine real work
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170 .]
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171 For a more recent document, it is strongly recommended to have
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172 a look at the \fIMH Book\fP,
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173 .[ [
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174 peek mh book
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175 .], Part II]
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176 especially at its online version.
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177 .P
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178 Following here is a sample mail handling session with mmh.
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179 Details might vary to MH and nmh but the look and feel is the same.
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180
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181 .so input/mh-session
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182
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183
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184 .H1 "nmh
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185 .P
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186 In order to understand the condition, goals and dynamics of a project,
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187 one needs to know the reasons behind them.
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188 This section gives background information.
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189 .P
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190 MH predates the Internet;
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191 it comes from times before networking was universal;
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192 it comes from times when emailing was small, short and simple.
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193 Then, MH grew, spread and adapted to the changes email went through.
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194 Its core concepts, however, remained the same.
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195 During the eighties, students at UCI actively worked on MH.
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196 They added new features and optimized the code for the systems
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197 popular at that time.
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198 This was in times before POSIX and ANSI C.
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199 As large parts of the code stem from this time, today's nmh source code
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200 still contains many ancient parts.
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201 BSD-specific code and constructs tailored for hardware of that time
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202 are frequent.
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203 .P
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204 Nmh started about one decade after the POSIX and ANSI C standards were
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205 released.
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206 A more modern coding style entered the code base but still
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207 a part of the developers were ``of the old type''.
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208 The developer base became more diverse,
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209 thus broadening the range of different coding styles.
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210 Programming practices from different decades merged in the project.
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211 As several peers added code, the system became more a conglomeration
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212 of single tools rather than a homogeneous of-one-cast mail system.
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213 For that, leadership would have been necessary.
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214 Nevertheless, MH's basic concepts held the project together.
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215 They were mostly untouched throughout the years.
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216 .P
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217 Though clearly separated on the surface
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218 \(en as a collection of small, separate programs \(en
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219 the source code turns out to be fairly interwoven.
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220 Multiple separate components are compiled into a program
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221 for efficiency reasons.
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222 This leads to intricate innards.
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223 .P
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224 It is visible in nmh that
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225 the advent of MIME raised the complexity of email by a magnitude.
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226 The MIME-related parts are the most complex ones.
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227 It is also visible that MIME support was added on top of the old MH core.
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228 MH's tool chest style made this easily possible and encourages
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229 such approaches, but unfortunately, it led to duplicated functions
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230 and half-hearted implementation of concepts.
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231 .P
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232 To provide backward-compatibility, it is a common understanding
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233 in the nmh community to not change the default settings.
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234 In consequence, users need to activate modern features explicitly
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235 to be able to use them.
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236 The ancient style in which fresh nmh setups remain to appear
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237 causes difficulties for new users, as modern email features require
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238 additional configuration.
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239 The small but mature community around nmh, however, needs little change
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240 as they have had their convenient setups for decades.
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241
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242
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243 .H1 "mmh
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244 .P
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245 I started to work on my experimental version in October 2011,
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246 basing my work on nmh version \fInmh-1.3-dev\fP.
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247 At that time no more than three commits were made to nmh
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248 since the beginning of 2011, the latest one being
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249 .Ci a01a41d031c796b526329a4170eb23f0ac93b949 ,
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250 commited on 2011-04-13.
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251 In December, when I announced my work in progress on the
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252 nmh-workers mailing list,
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253 .[
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254 nmh-workers mmh announce December
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255 .]
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256 nmh's community became active, all of a sudden.
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257 This movement was heavily pushed by Paul Vixie's ``edginess'' comment.
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258 .[
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259 nmh-workers vixie edginess
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260 .]
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261 After long years of stagnation, nmh became actively developed again.
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262 Hence, while I was working on mmh, the community was working on nmh,
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263 in parallel but unrelated.
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264 .P
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265 The name \fImmh\fP may stand for \fImodern mail handler\fP,
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266 because the project tries to modernize nmh.
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267 Personally however, I prefer to call mmh \fImeillo's mail handler\fP,
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268 emphasizing that the project is my version of nmh,
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269 following my visions and preferences.
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270 (My login name is \fImeillo\fP.)
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271 This project model was inspired by \fIdwm\fP,
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272 .[
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273 dwm website
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274 .]
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275 which is Anselm Garbe's personal window manager \(en
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276 targeted to satisfy Garbe's personal needs whenever conflicts appear.
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277 Dwm has retained its lean elegance and its focused character, whereas
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278 its community-driven predecessor \fIwmii\fP
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279 .[
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280 wmii website
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281 .]
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282 had grown fat over time.
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283 The development of mmh should remain focused.
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284
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285
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286 .U2 "Motivation
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287 .P
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288 MH is the most important of very few email systems in a tool chest style.
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289 Tool chests are powerful because they can be perfectly automated and
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290 extended.
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291 They allow the implementation of arbitrary kinds of front-ends
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292 on top of the tool chest quickly and without internal knowledge.
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293 Additionally, tool chests are easier to maintain than monolithic
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294 programs.
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295 MH-like email tool chests should be kept alive as they fill a market
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296 niche by providing conceptional elegance and unique scripting qualities.
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297 Mmh tries to create a modern and convenient entry point to MH-like
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298 systems for new and interested users.
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299 .P
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300 The mmh project is motivated by deficits of nmh and
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301 by my wish for general changes.
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302 At the time the mmh project started, nmh had not yet adjusted to
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303 modern emailing needs well enough.
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304 The default setup was completely unusable for modern emailing.
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305 Too much setup work was required.
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306 Several modern features were already available,
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meillo@212
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307 but the community did not want to have them active by default.
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meillo@212
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308 Mmh is my way to change this.
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meillo@45
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309 .P
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meillo@212
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310 In my eyes, MH's concepts could be exploited better and
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meillo@212
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311 the style of the tools could be improved.
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meillo@212
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312 Both would simplify and generalize the system, providing cleaner
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meillo@212
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313 interfaces and greater software leverage at the same time.
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meillo@212
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314 Mmh is my way to demonstrate this.
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meillo@45
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315 .P
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meillo@212
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316 In providing multiple parts of the email system, nmh can hardly
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meillo@45
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317 compete with the large specialized projects that focus
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meillo@212
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318 on one of the components only.
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meillo@212
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319 The situation could be improved by concentrating the development power
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meillo@51
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320 on the most unique part of MH and letting the user pick his preferred
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meillo@45
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321 set of other mail components.
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meillo@45
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322 Today's pre-packaged software components encourage this model.
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meillo@212
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323 Mmh is my way to provide this.
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meillo@45
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324 .P
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meillo@197
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325 It is worthwhile to fork nmh for the development of mmh,
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meillo@197
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326 because the two projects focus on different goals and differ in
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meillo@197
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327 fundamental questions.
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meillo@106
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328 The nmh community's reluctance regarding change conflicts
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meillo@106
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329 with my strong desire for it.
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meillo@207
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330 .[
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meillo@207
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331 nmh-workers schnalke understanding nmh
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meillo@207
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332 .]
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meillo@212
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333 In developing a separate experimental version, new approaches can
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meillo@43
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334 easily be tried out without the need to discuss changes beforehand.
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meillo@43
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335 In fact, revolutionary changes are hardly possible otherwise.
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meillo@43
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336 .P
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meillo@117
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337 The mmh project provides the basis on which the aforementioned
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meillo@117
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338 ideas can be implemented and demonstrated,
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meillo@164
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339 without the need to change the nmh project or its community.
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meillo@43
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340 Of course, the results of the mmh project shall improve nmh, in the end.
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meillo@159
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341 By no means it is my intent to work against the nmh project.
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meillo@117
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342
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meillo@27
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343
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meillo@27
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344 .U2 "Target Field
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meillo@27
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345 .P
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meillo@45
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346 Any effort needs to be targeted towards a specific goal
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meillo@45
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347 in order to be successful.
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meillo@197
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348 Therefore, a description of an imagined typical mmh user follows.
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meillo@212
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349 Actually, as mmh is my personal version of MH,
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meillo@212
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350 this is sort of a description of myself.
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meillo@212
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351 Developing software for one's own is a reliable way to produce software
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meillo@197
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352 that matches the user's desires.
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meillo@45
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353 .P
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meillo@197
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354 The target user of mmh likes Unix and its philosophy.
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meillo@197
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355 He appreciates to use programs that are conceptionally appealing.
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meillo@197
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356 He is familiar with the command line and enjoys its power.
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meillo@197
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357 He is capable of shell scripting and wants to improve his
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meillo@27
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358 productivity by scripting the mail system.
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meillo@197
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359 He uses modern email features, such as attachments,
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meillo@169
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360 non-ASCII text, digital signatures and message encryption in a natural way.
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meillo@212
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361 He is able to set up mail system components
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meillo@212
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362 and likes to pick the ones he prefers.
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meillo@197
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363 He has a reasonably modern operating system that complies to the
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meillo@164
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364 POSIX and ANSI C standards.
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meillo@27
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365 .P
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meillo@197
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366 The typical user invokes mmh commands directly in an interactive
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meillo@212
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367 shell session, even on workstations where graphical front-ends could
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meillo@212
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368 be added.
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meillo@197
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369 Likely, he runs his mail setup on a server machine,
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meillo@197
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370 to which he connects via ssh.
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meillo@212
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371 He might automate mail processing with mmh tools
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meillo@212
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372 but definitely he uses the tools to build better tools.
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meillo@212
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373 In any case, he wants to have the flexibility to change
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meillo@197
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374 his setup to suit his needs.
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meillo@8
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375 .P
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meillo@197
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376 The typical mmh user is a programmer.
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meillo@212
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377 He likes to, occasionally, make use of the opportunity of free software
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meillo@212
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378 by putting hands on and getting involved in software he uses.
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meillo@197
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379 In consequence, he likes small and clean code bases and cares for
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meillo@197
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380 code quality.
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meillo@197
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381 In general, he believes that:
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meillo@8
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382 .BU
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meillo@197
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383 The elegance of source code is most important.
|
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meillo@8
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384 .BU
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meillo@197
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385 Concepts are more important than concrete implementations.
|
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meillo@8
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386 .BU
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meillo@197
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387 Code optimizations for anything but readability should be avoided.
|
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meillo@8
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388 .BU
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meillo@212
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389 Removed code is debugged code.
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meillo@212
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390 .BU
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meillo@45
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391 Having a lot of choice is bad.
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meillo@8
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392
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meillo@197
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393
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meillo@212
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394 .U2 "Goals of the mmh Project
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meillo@128
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395 .IP "Streamlining
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meillo@87
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396 Mmh should be stripped down to its core, which is the user agent (MUA).
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meillo@117
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397 The feature set should be distilled to the indispensable ones,
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meillo@171
|
398 effectively removing corner cases.
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meillo@173
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399 Parts that do not add to the main task of being a conceptionally
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meillo@187
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400 appealing user agent should be removed.
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meillo@212
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401 This includes the mail transfer and mail retrieval facilities.
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meillo@48
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402 Choice should be reduced to the main options.
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meillo@131
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403 All tools should be tightly shaped.
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meillo@48
|
404 .IP "Modernizing
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meillo@48
|
405 Mmh's feature set needs to become more modern.
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meillo@212
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406 Better support for attachments, digital signatures, and message
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meillo@212
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407 encryption should be added.
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meillo@159
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408 MIME support should be integrated deeper and more naturally.
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meillo@48
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409 The modern email features need to be readily available, out-of-the-box.
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meillo@212
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410 On the other hand, obsolete facilities can be dropped out and
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meillo@212
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411 ancient technologies need not be further supported.
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meillo@212
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412 The available concepts should be expanded as far as possible.
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meillo@131
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413 A small set of concepts should recur consistently.
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meillo@131
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414 .IP "Styling
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meillo@212
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415 Mmh's source code should be updated to modern standards.
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meillo@48
|
416 Standardized library functions should replace non-standard versions
|
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meillo@48
|
417 whenever possible.
|
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meillo@117
|
418 Code should be separated into distinct modules when feasible.
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meillo@48
|
419 Time and space optimizations should to be replaced by
|
|
meillo@48
|
420 clear and readable code.
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meillo@48
|
421 A uniform programming style should prevail.
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meillo@117
|
422 The whole system should appear to be of-one-style;
|
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meillo@117
|
423 it should feel like being cast as one.
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