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