1.1 --- a/unix-phil.ms	Thu Feb 25 15:06:34 2010 +0100
     1.2 +++ b/unix-phil.ms	Fri Feb 26 00:57:37 2010 +0100
     1.3 @@ -745,11 +745,11 @@
     1.4  .]
     1.5  
     1.6  .NH 2
     1.7 -Contrasts to similar software
     1.8 +Contrasts to monolithic mail systems
     1.9  .LP
    1.10  All \s-1MUA\s0s are monolithic, except \s-1MH\s0.
    1.11 -This might not be completely true,
    1.12 -but it reflects the general situation pretty well.
    1.13 +This might not be true,
    1.14 +but it reflects the situation pretty well.
    1.15  .PP
    1.16  While monolithic \s-1MUA\s0s gather all function in one program,
    1.17  \s-1MH\s0 is a toolchest of many small tools \(en one for each job.
    1.18 @@ -801,56 +801,174 @@
    1.19  \f(CWrefile\fP is like \f(CWmv\fP,
    1.20  and \f(CWrmm\fP is like \f(CWrm\fP.
    1.21  .PP
    1.22 -The most important difference to Unix' toolchest is,
    1.23 -that \s-1MH\s0's tools have an own context.
    1.24  The context of the Unix tools is mainly the current working directory,
    1.25  the user identification, and the environment variables.
    1.26  \s-1MH\s0 extends this context by two more items:
    1.27 -A current mail folder, similar to the current working directory,
    1.28 -is maintained; \f(CWfolder\fP provides the functionality
    1.29 -of \f(CWpwd\fP and \f(CWcd\fP for it.
    1.30 -A current message, relative to the current folder, is maintained.
    1.31 -This enables commands like \f(CWnext\fP and \f(CWprev\fP.
    1.32 +The current mail folder, similar to the current working directory,
    1.33 +for which \f(CWfolder\fP provides the functionality of
    1.34 +\f(CWpwd\fP and \f(CWcd\fP.
    1.35 +And the current message, relative to the current mail folder,
    1.36 +which enables commands like \f(CWnext\fP and \f(CWprev\fP.
    1.37  In contrast to Unix' context, which is chained to the shell session,
    1.38  \s-1MH\s0's context is meant to be chained to a mail account.
    1.39 -Actually, the current message is a property of the mail folder.
    1.40 -This is without problem as long as a mail folder belongs to one user.
    1.41 -But when multiple users want to work on one mail folder simultaneously,
    1.42 -it will cause problems.
    1.43 -This is a legacy from a time when emailing was different.
    1.44 +But actually, the current message is a property of the mail folder,
    1.45 +which is mainly a legacy.
    1.46 +This will cause problems when multiple users work
    1.47 +in one mail folder simultaneously.
    1.48  .PP
    1.49  Using a monolithic program with a captive user interface
    1.50 -means ``entering'' the program, using it, and ``leaving'' the program.
    1.51 -Using a toolchest like \s-1MH\s0 means running programs,
    1.52 +means ``entering'' the program, using it, and ``exiting'' the program.
    1.53 +Using toolchests like \s-1MH\s0 means running programs,
    1.54  alone or in combinition with others, even from other toolchests,
    1.55  without leaving the shell.
    1.56  
    1.57 +
    1.58  .NH 2
    1.59 -Gains of the design
    1.60 +Discussion of the design
    1.61  .LP
    1.62 +The following paragraphs discuss \s-1MH\s0 in regard to the tenets
    1.63 +of the Unix Philosophy Gancarz identified.
    1.64 +
    1.65 +.PP
    1.66 +.I "``Small is beautiful''
    1.67 +and
    1.68 +.I "``do one thing well''
    1.69 +are two design goals that are directly visible in \s-1MH\s0.
    1.70 +Gancarz actually presents \s-1MH\s0 as example under the headline
    1.71 +``Making UNIX Do One Thing Well'':
    1.72 +.QP
    1.73 +[\s-1MH\s0] consists of a series of programs which
    1.74 +when combined give the user an enormous ability
    1.75 +to manipulate electronic mail messages.
    1.76 +A complex application, it shows that not only is it
    1.77 +possible to build large applications from smaller
    1.78 +components, but also that such designs are actually preferable.
    1.79 +.[
    1.80 +%A Mike Gancarz
    1.81 +%T unix-phil
    1.82 +%P 125
    1.83 +.]
    1.84 +.LP
    1.85 +The various small programs of \s-1MH\s0 were relatively easy
    1.86 +to write as each of them is small, limited to one function,
    1.87 +and has clear bounderies.
    1.88 +For the same reasons, they are also good to maintain.
    1.89 +Further more, the system can easily get extended.
    1.90 +One only needs to put a new program into the toolchest.
    1.91 +This was done when \s-1MIME\s0 support was added
    1.92 +(e.g. \f(CWmhbuild\fP).
    1.93 +Also, different programs can exist to do the basically same job
    1.94 +in different ways (e.g. in nmh: \f(CWshow\fP and \f(CWmhshow\fP).
    1.95 +If someone needs a mail system with some additionally
    1.96 +functions that are nowhere available yet, he best takes a
    1.97 +toolchest system like \s-1MH\s0 where he can add the
    1.98 +functionality with little work.
    1.99 +
   1.100 +.PP
   1.101 +.I "Data storage.
   1.102 +How \s-1MH\s0 stores data was already mentioned.
   1.103 +Mail folders are directories (which contain a file
   1.104 +\&\f(CW.mh_sequences\fP) under the user's \s-1MH\s0 directory
   1.105 +(usually \f(CW$HOME/Mail\fP).
   1.106 +Mail messages are text files located in a mail folder.
   1.107 +The files contain the messages as they were received.
   1.108 +The messages are numbered in ascending order in each folder.
   1.109 +This mailbox format is called ``\s-1MH\s0'' after the \s-1MUA\s0.
   1.110 +Alternatives are \fImbox\fP and \fImaildir\fP.
   1.111 +In the mbox format all messages are stored within one file.
   1.112 +This was a good solution in the early days, when messages
   1.113 +were only a few lines of text and were deleted soon.
   1.114 +Today, when single messages often include several megabytes
   1.115 +of attachments, it is a bad solution.
   1.116 +Another disadvantage of the mbox format is that it is
   1.117 +more difficult to write tools that work on mail messages,
   1.118 +because it is always neccessary to first find and extract
   1.119 +the relevant message in the mbox file.
   1.120 +With \s-1MH\s0 mailboxes, each message is a self-standing item,
   1.121 +by definition.
   1.122 +Also, the problem of concurrent access to one mailbox is
   1.123 +reduced to the problem of concurrent access to one message.
   1.124 +However, the issue of the shared parts of the context,
   1.125 +as mentioned above, remains.
   1.126 +Maildir is generally similar to \s-1MH\s0's format,
   1.127 +but modified towards guaranteed reliability.
   1.128 +This involves some complexity, unfortunately.
   1.129 +
   1.130 +.PP
   1.131 +.I "``Avoid captive user interfaces.''
   1.132  \s-1MH\s0 is perfectly suited for non-interactive use.
   1.133  It offers all functions directly and without captive user interfaces.
   1.134  If users want a graphical user interface, anyhow,
   1.135 -they can have it with \fIxmh\fP or \fIexmh\fP.
   1.136 +they can have it with \fIxmh\fP or \fIexmh\fP, too.
   1.137  These are graphical frontends for the \s-1MH\s0 toolchest.
   1.138  This means, all email-related work is still done by \s-1MH\s0 tools,
   1.139 -but xmh issues the calls when the user clicks a button.
   1.140 -Providing easy-to-use user interfaces as frontends is a good
   1.141 +but the frontend issues the appropriate calls when the user
   1.142 +clicks on a button.
   1.143 +Providing easy-to-use user interfaces in form of frontends is a good
   1.144  approach, because it does not limit the power of the backend itself.
   1.145 -The frontend will anyways only be able to make a part of the
   1.146 +The frontend will anyway only be able to make a subset of the
   1.147  backend's power and flexibility available.
   1.148 -If it is separate, then the missing parts can still be accessed
   1.149 -at the backend directly.
   1.150 +But if it is a separate program,
   1.151 +then the missing parts can still be accessed at the backend directly.
   1.152  If it is integrated, then this will hardly be possible.
   1.153 -.PP
   1.154 -flexibility, no redundancy, use the shell
   1.155  
   1.156  .PP
   1.157 -easy to write: see ksh-book
   1.158 +.I "``Choose portability over efficiency''
   1.159 +and
   1.160 +.I "``use shell scripts to increase leverage and portability'' .
   1.161 +These two tenets are indirectly, but nicely, demonstrated by
   1.162 +Bolsky and Korn in their book about the korn shell.
   1.163 +.[
   1.164 +%T The KornShell: command and programming language
   1.165 +%A Morris I. Bolsky
   1.166 +%A David G. Korn
   1.167 +%I Prentice Hall
   1.168 +%D 1989
   1.169 +%O \s-1ISBN\s0: 0-13-516972-0 
   1.170 +.]
   1.171 +They demonstrated, in one chapter of the book, a basic implementation
   1.172 +of a subset of \s-1MH\s0 in ksh scripts.
   1.173 +Of course, this was just a demonstration, but a brilliant one.
   1.174 +It shows how quickly one can implement such a prototype with shell scripts,
   1.175 +and how readable they are.
   1.176 +The implementation in the scripting language may not be very fast,
   1.177 +but it can be fast enough though, and this is all that matters.
   1.178 +By having the code in an interpreted language, like the shell,
   1.179 +portability becomes a minor issue, if we assume the interpreter
   1.180 +to be widespread.
   1.181 +This demonstration also shows how easy it is to create single programs
   1.182 +of a toolchest software.
   1.183 +Most of the single programs comprise less than a hundred lines of
   1.184 +shell code.
   1.185 +Such small software is easy to write, easy to understand,
   1.186 +and thus easy to maintain.
   1.187 +Being a toolchest improved the possibility to only write some parts
   1.188 +and though create a working result.
   1.189 +Expanding the toolchest without global changes will likely be
   1.190 +possible, too.
   1.191 +
   1.192 +.PP
   1.193 +.I "``Use software leverage to your advantage''
   1.194 +and the lesser tenet
   1.195 +.I "``allow the user to tailor the environment''
   1.196 +are ideally followed in the design of \s-1MH\s0.
   1.197 +
   1.198 +.PP
   1.199 +filters: many tools provide basic FS operations (like mv, rm, ...)
   1.200 +prototypes: affect dev, but MH is very matured
   1.201  
   1.202  .NH 2
   1.203  Problems
   1.204  .LP
   1.205 +modern emailing
   1.206 +MIME
   1.207 +encodings
   1.208 +largest problem: different feeling
   1.209 +
   1.210 +.NH 2
   1.211 +Summary \s-1MH\s0
   1.212 +.LP
   1.213 +flexibility, no redundancy, use the shell
   1.214  
   1.215  
   1.216