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1 .RN 1
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2
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meillo@0
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3 .H0 "Introduction
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4 .P
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meillo@53
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5 MH is a set of mail handling tools with a common concept, similar to
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6 the Unix tool chest, which is a set of file handling tools with a common
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7 concept. \fInmh\fP is the currently most popular implementation of an
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8 MH-like mail handling system.
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9 This thesis describes an experimental version of nmh, named \fImmh\fP.
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10 .P
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11 This chapter introduces MH, its history, concepts and how it is used.
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12 It describes nmh's code base and community to give the reader
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13 a better understanding of the state of mmh when it started off.
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14 Furthermore, this chapter outlines the mmh project itself,
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15 describing the motivation for it and its goals.
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16
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17
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18 .H1 "MH \(en the Mail Handler
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19 .P
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20 MH is a conceptual email system design and its concrete implementation.
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21 Notably, MH had started as a design proposal at RAND Corporation,
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22 .\" XXX ref to rand corp.
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23 where the first implementation followed later.
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24 In spirit, MH is similar to Unix, which
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25 influenced the world more in being a set of system design concepts
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26 than in being a specific software product.
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27 The ideas behind Unix are summarized in the \fIUnix philosophy\fP.
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28 MH follows this philosophy.
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29
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30 .U2 "History
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31 .P
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32 In 1977 at RAND Corporation, Norman Shapiro and Stockton Gaines
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33 proposed the design
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34 of a new mail handling system, called \fIMail Handler\fP (MH),
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35 to superseed RAND's old monolithic \fIMail System\fP (MS).
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36 Two years later, in 1979, Bruce Borden took the proposal and implemented a
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37 prototype of MH.
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38 Before the prototype's existence, the concept was
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39 believed to be practically unusable.
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40 But the prototype proved successful and replaced MS thereafter.
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41 In replacing MS, MH grew to provide anything necessary for emailing.
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42 .P
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43 In the early eighties,
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44 the University of California at Irvine (UCI) started to use MH.
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45 Marshall T. Rose and John L. Romine then became the driving force.
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46 They took over the development and pushed MH forward.
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47 RAND had put the code into the public domain by then.
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48 MH was developed at UCI at the time when the Internet appeared,
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49 when UCB implemented the TCP/IP stack, and when Allman wrote Sendmail.
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50 MH was extended as emailing became more featured.
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51 The development of MH was closely related to the development of email
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52 RFCs. In the advent of MIME, MH was the first implementation of this new
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53 email standard.
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54 .P
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55 In the nineties, the Internet became popular and in December 1996,
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56 Richard Coleman initiated the \fINew Mail Handler\fP (nmh) project.
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57 Nmh is a fork of MH 6.8.3 and bases strongly on the
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58 \fILBL changes\fP by Van Jacobson, Mike Karels and Craig Leres.
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59 Colman intended to modernize MH and improve its portability and
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60 MIME handling capabilities.
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61 This should be done openly within the Internet community.
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62 The development of MH at UCI stopped after the 6.8.4 release in
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63 February 1996, soon after the development of nmh had started.
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64 Today, nmh has almost completely replaced the original MH.
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65 Some systems might still provide old MH, but mainly for historical reasons.
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66 .P
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67 In the last years, the changes in nmh were mostly maintenance work.
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68 However, the development was revived in December 2011
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69 and stayed busy since then.
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70
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71 .U2 "Concepts
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72 .P
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73 MH consists of a set of tools, each covering a specific task of
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74 email handling, like composing a message, replying to a message,
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75 refiling a message to a different folder, listing the messages in a folder.
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76 All of the programs operate on a common mail storage.
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77 .P
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78 The mail storage consists of \fImail folders\fP (directories) and
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79 \fPmessages\fP (regular files).
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80 Each message is stored in a separate file in the format it was
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81 received (i.e. transfer format).
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82 The files are named with ascending numbers in each folder.
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83 The specific format of the mail storage characterizes MH in the same way
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84 as the format of the file system characterizes Unix.
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85 .P
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86 MH tools maintain a \fIcontext\fP, which includes for instance the
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87 current mail folder.
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88 Processes in Unix have a similar context, containing the current working
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89 directory, for instance. In contrast, the process context is maintained
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90 by the Unix kernel automatically, whereas MH tools need to maintain the MH
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91 context themselves.
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92 The user can have one MH context or multiple ones; he can even share it
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93 with others.
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94 .P
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95 Messages are named by their numeric filename,
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96 but they can have symbolic names, too.
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97 These are either automatically updated
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98 position names such as the next or the last message,
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99 or user-settable group names for arbitrary sets of messages.
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100 These names are called sequences.
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101 Sequences can be bound to the containing folder or to the context.
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102 .P
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103 The user's \fIprofile\fP is a file that contains his MH configuration.
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104 Default switches for the individual tools can be specified to
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105 adjust them to the user's personal preferences.
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106 Additionally, a single command can be linked under different names
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107 with different default values easily.
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108 Form templates for new messages or for replies are easily changeable,
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109 and output is adjustable with format files.
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110 Almost every part of the system can be adjusted to personal preference.
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111 .P
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112 The system is well scriptable and extensible.
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113 New MH tools are built out of or on top of existing ones quickly.
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114 Furthermore, MH encourages the user to tailor, extend and automate the system.
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115 As the MH tool chest was modeled after the Unix tool chest, the
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116 properties of the latter apply to the former as well.
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117
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118
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119 .ig \"XXX
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120
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121 .P
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122 To ease typing, the switches can be abbreviated as much as the remaining
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123 prefix remains unambiguous.
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124 If in our example no other switch would start with the letter `t', then
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125 .Cl "-truncate" ,
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126 .Cl "-trunc" ,
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127 .Cl "-tr" ,
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128 and
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129 .Cl "-t
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130 would all be the same.
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131 As a result, switches can neither be grouped (as in
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132 .Cl "ls -ltr" )
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133 nor can switch arguments be appended directly to the switch (as in
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134 .Cl "sendmail -q30m" ).
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135 .P
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136 Many switches have negating counter-parts, which start with `no'.
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137 For example
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138 .Cl "-notruncate
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139 inverts the
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140 .Cl "-truncate
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141 switch.
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142 They exist to undo the effect of default switches in the profile.
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143 If the user has chosen to change the default behavior of some tool
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144 by adding a default switch to the profile,
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145 he can still undo this change in behavior by specifying the inverse
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146 switch on the command line.
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147
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148 ..
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149
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150
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151 .U2 "Using MH
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152 .P
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153 It is strongly recommended to have a look at the MH Book,
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154 which offers a thorough introduction to using MH.
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155 .[ [
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156 peek mh book
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157 .], Part II]
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158 Rose and Romine provide a deeper and more technical
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159 though slightly outdated introduction in only about two dozen pages.
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160 .[
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161 rose romine real work
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162 .]
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163 .P
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164 Following is an example mail handling session.
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165 It uses mmh but is mostly compatible with nmh and old MH.
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166 Details might vary but the look and feel is the same.
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167
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168 .VF input/mh-session
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169
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170
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171 .H1 "nmh
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172 .P
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173 In order to understand the condition, goals and dynamics of a project,
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174 one needs to know the reasons behind them.
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175 This section explains the background.
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176 .P
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177 MH predates the Internet; it comes from times before networking was universal,
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178 it comes from times when emailing was small, short and simple.
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179 Then it grew, spread and adapted to the changes email went through.
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180 Its core-concepts, however, remained the same.
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181 During the eighties, students at UCI actively worked on MH.
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182 They added new features and optimized the code for the systems
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183 popular at that time.
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184 All this still was in times before POSIX and ANSI C.
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185 As large parts of the code stem from this time, today's nmh source code
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186 still contains many ancient parts.
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187 BSD-specific code and constructs tailored for hardware of that time
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188 are frequent.
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189 .P
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190 Nmh started about a decade after the POSIX and ANSI C standards were
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191 established. A more modern coding style entered the code base, but still
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192 a part of the developers came from ``the old days''. The developer
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193 base became more diverse, thus broadening the range of different
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194 coding styles.
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195 Programming practices from different decades merged in the project.
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196 As several peers added code, the system became more a conglomeration
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197 of single tools rather than a homogeneous of-one-cast mail system.
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198 Still, the existing basic concepts held it together.
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199 They were mostly untouched throughout the years.
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200 .P
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201 Despite the separation of the tool chest approach at the surface
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202 \(en a collection of small, separate programs \(en
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203 on the source code level, it is much more interwoven.
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204 Several separate components were compiled into one program
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205 for efficiency reasons.
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206 This led to intricate innards.
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207 While clearly separated on the outside,
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208 the programs turned out to be fairly interwoven inside.
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209 .\" XXX FIXME rewrite...
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210 .\" nicht zweimal ``interwoven''
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211 .\" Unfortunately, the clear separation on the outside turned out to be
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212 .\" fairly interwoven inside.
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213 .P
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214 The advent of MIME raised the complexity of email by a magnitude.
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215 This is visible in nmh. The MIME-related parts are the most complex ones.
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216 It is also visible that MIME support was added on top of the old MH core.
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217 MH's tool chest style made this easily possible and encourages
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218 such approaches, but unfortunately, it led to duplicated functions
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219 and half-hearted implementation of the concepts.
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220 .P
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221 To provide backward-compatibility, it is a common understanding not to
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222 change the default settings.
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223 In consequence, the user needs to activate modern features explicitly
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224 to be able to use them.
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225 This puts a burden on new users, because out-of-the-box nmh remains
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226 in the same ancient style.
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227 If nmh is seen to be a back-end,
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228 then this compatibility surely is important.
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229 However, at the same time, new users have difficulties using nmh for
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230 modern emailing.
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231 The small but mature community around nmh needs little change
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232 as they have had their convenient setups for decades.
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233 .\" XXX Explain more
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234
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235
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236 .H1 "mmh
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237 .P
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238 .\" XXX which version did I ``fork''?
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239 I started to work on my experimental version in October 2011,
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240 at a time when there had been no more than three commits to nmh
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241 since the beginning of the year.
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242 In December, when I announced my work in progress on the
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243 nmh-workers mailing list,
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244 .[
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245 nmh-workers mmh announce December
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246 .]
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247 nmh's community became active, too.
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248 This movement was heavily pushed by Paul Vixie's ``edginess'' comment.
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249 .[
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250 nmh-workers vixie edginess
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251 .]
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252 After long years of stagnation, nmh became actively developed again.
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253 Hence, while I was working on mmh, the community was once more working
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254 on nmh, in parallel.
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255 .\" XXX interaction between nmh and mmh
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256 .P
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257 The name \fImmh\fP may stand for \fImodern mail handler\fP,
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258 because the project tries to modernize nmh.
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259 Personally however, I prefer to call mmh \fImeillo's mail handler\fP,
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260 emphasizing that the project follows my visions and preferences.
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261 (My login name is \fImeillo\fP.)
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262 This project model was inspired by \fIdwm\fP,
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263 .\" XXX Ref
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264 which is Anselm Garbe's personal window manager \(en
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265 targeted to satisfy Garbe's personal needs whenever conflicts appear.
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266 Dwm had retained its lean elegance and its focused character, whereas
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267 its community-driven predecessor \fIwmii\fP had grown fat over time.
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268 .\" XXX ref
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269 The development of mmh should remain focused.
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270
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271
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272 .U2 "Motivation
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273 .P
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274 MH is the most important of very few command line tool chest email systems.
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275 Tool chests are powerful because they can be perfectly automated and
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276 extended. They allow arbitrary kinds of front-ends to be
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277 implemented on top of them quickly and without internal knowledge.
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278 Additionally, tool chests are easier to maintain than monolithic
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279 programs.
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280 As there are few tool chests for emailing and as MH-like ones are the most
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281 popular among them, they should be developed further.
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282 This keeps their
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283 conceptional elegance and unique scripting qualities available to users.
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284 Mmh creates a modern and convenient entry point to MH-like systems
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285 for new and interested users.
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286 .P
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287 The mmh project is motivated by deficits of nmh and
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288 my wish for general changes, combined
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289 with the nmh community's reluctancy to change.
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290 .P
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291 At that time, nmh had not adjusted to modern emailing needs well enough.
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292 The default setup was completely unusable for modern emailing.
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293 Too much setup work was required.
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294 Several modern features were already available but the community
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295 did not want to have them as default.
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296 Mmh is a way to change this.
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297 .P
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298 In my eyes, MH's concepts could be exploited even better and
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299 the style of the tools could be improved. Both would simplify
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300 and generalize the system, providing cleaner interfaces and more
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301 software leverage at the same time.
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302 Mmh is a way to demonstrate this.
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meillo@45
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303 .P
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meillo@45
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304 In providing several parts of an email system, nmh can hardly
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meillo@45
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305 compete with the large specialized projects that focus
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meillo@45
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306 on only one of the components.
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meillo@45
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307 The situation can be improved by concentrating the development power
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meillo@51
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308 on the most unique part of MH and letting the user pick his preferred
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meillo@45
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309 set of other mail components.
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meillo@45
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310 Today's pre-packaged software components encourage this model.
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meillo@106
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311 Mmh is a way to go for this approach.
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meillo@45
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312 .P
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meillo@106
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313 It is worthwhile to fork nmh for the development of mmh, because
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meillo@43
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314 the two projects focus on different goals and differ in fundamental questions.
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meillo@106
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315 The nmh community's reluctance regarding change conflicts
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meillo@106
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316 with my strong desire for it.
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meillo@43
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317 In developing a separate experimental version new approaches can
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meillo@43
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318 easily be tried out without the need to discuss changes beforehand.
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meillo@43
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319 In fact, revolutionary changes are hardly possible otherwise.
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meillo@43
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320 .P
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meillo@117
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321 The mmh project provides the basis on which the aforementioned
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meillo@117
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322 ideas can be implemented and demonstrated,
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meillo@164
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323 without the need to change the nmh project or its community.
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meillo@43
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324 Of course, the results of the mmh project shall improve nmh, in the end.
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meillo@159
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325 By no means it is my intent to work against the nmh project.
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meillo@117
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326
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meillo@27
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327
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meillo@27
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328 .U2 "Target Field
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meillo@27
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329 .P
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meillo@45
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330 Any effort needs to be targeted towards a specific goal
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meillo@45
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331 in order to be successful.
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meillo@117
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332 Following is a description of imagined typical mmh users.
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meillo@117
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333 Mmh should satisfy their needs.
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meillo@53
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334 .\" XXX Remove the next sentence?
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meillo@48
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335 Actually, as mmh is my personal version of MH, this is a description
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meillo@48
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336 of myself.
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meillo@45
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337 .P
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meillo@117
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338 The target users of mmh like Unix and its philosophy.
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meillo@117
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339 They appreciate to use programs that are conceptionally appealing.
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meillo@117
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340 They are familiar with the command line and enjoy its power.
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meillo@117
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341 They are at least capable of shell scripting and want to improve their
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meillo@27
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342 productivity by scripting the mail system.
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meillo@169
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343 They use modern email features, such as attachments,
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meillo@169
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344 non-ASCII text, digital signatures and message encryption in a natural way.
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meillo@117
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345 They are able to setup email system components besides mmh,
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meillo@117
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346 and actually like to have the choice to pick the ones they prefer.
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meillo@164
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347 They have a reasonably modern operating system that complies to the
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meillo@164
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348 POSIX and ANSI C standards.
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meillo@27
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349 .P
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meillo@117
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350 The typical users invoke mmh commands directly in an interactive
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meillo@117
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351 shell session, but they use them to automate mail handling tasks as well.
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meillo@159
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352 Likely, they run their mail setup on a server machine,
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meillo@117
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353 to which they connect via ssh.
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meillo@117
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354 They might also have local mmh installations on their workstations,
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meillo@117
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355 where they tend to work with mmh directly in the shell instead
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meillo@117
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356 of using graphical front-ends.
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meillo@117
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357 They definitely want to be flexible and thus be able to change
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meillo@117
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358 their setup to suit their needs.
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meillo@8
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359 .P
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meillo@117
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360 .\" XXX themself vs. themselves
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meillo@117
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361 Typical mmh users are programmers themselves.
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meillo@117
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362 They like to, occasionally, take the opportunity of Free Software to put
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meillo@117
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363 hands on and get involved in the software they use.
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meillo@117
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364 Hence, they like small and clean code bases and care for code quality.
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meillo@117
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365 In general, they believe that:
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meillo@8
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366 .BU
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meillo@48
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367 Elegance \(en i.e. simplicity, clarity and generality \(en
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meillo@48
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368 is most important.
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meillo@8
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369 .BU
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meillo@48
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370 Concepts are more important than the concrete implementation.
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meillo@8
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371 .BU
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meillo@48
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372 Code optimizations for anything but readability should be avoided
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meillo@48
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373 if possible.
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meillo@8
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374 .BU
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meillo@45
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375 Having a lot of choice is bad.
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meillo@48
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376 .BU
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meillo@48
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377 Removed code is debugged code.
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meillo@8
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378
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meillo@48
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379 .U2 "Goals
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meillo@45
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380 .P
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meillo@45
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381 The general goals for the mmh project are the following:
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meillo@128
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382 .IP "Streamlining
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meillo@87
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383 Mmh should be stripped down to its core, which is the user agent (MUA).
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meillo@117
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384 The feature set should be distilled to the indispensable ones,
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meillo@171
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385 effectively removing corner cases.
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meillo@173
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386 Parts that do not add to the main task of being a conceptionally
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meillo@53
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387 appealing MUA should be removed.
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meillo@117
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388 This includes the mail submission and mail retrieval facilities.
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meillo@48
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389 Choice should be reduced to the main options.
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meillo@131
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390 All tools should be tightly shaped.
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meillo@48
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391 .IP "Modernizing
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meillo@48
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392 Mmh's feature set needs to become more modern.
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meillo@164
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393 Better support for attachments, digital signatures and message encryption
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meillo@164
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394 should be added.
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meillo@159
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395 MIME support should be integrated deeper and more naturally.
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meillo@48
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396 The modern email features need to be readily available, out-of-the-box.
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meillo@117
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397 On the other hand,
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meillo@117
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398 bulletin board support and similar obsolete facilities can be dropped out.
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meillo@131
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399 Likewise, ancient technologies should not be supported any further.
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meillo@131
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400 The available concepts need to be expanded as far as possible.
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meillo@131
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401 A small set of concepts should recur consistently.
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meillo@131
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402 .IP "Styling
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meillo@48
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403 Mmh's source code needs to be updated to modern standards.
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meillo@48
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404 Standardized library functions should replace non-standard versions
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meillo@48
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405 whenever possible.
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meillo@117
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406 Code should be separated into distinct modules when feasible.
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meillo@48
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407 Time and space optimizations should to be replaced by
|
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meillo@48
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408 clear and readable code.
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meillo@48
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409 A uniform programming style should prevail.
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meillo@117
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410 The whole system should appear to be of-one-style;
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meillo@117
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411 it should feel like being cast as one.
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