FTS, http://lsub.org/magic/man2html/1/mails is the manual page for the mail program I refer to in the previous mail.
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Reply-To: [email protected] > Date: Thu Jun 12 12:24:45 CET 2008 > Subject: Re: [9fans] store 9p session-only values using lib9p > > Funny, I've done the same in a different way. > see mail2fs in contrib/nemo. > Also, I have some proposal, skip to the end of the mail and let me know > what you think :) > > In any case, I'd love to see/try your version of upas/fs et al. > > Instead of adapting upas/fs, I use a mail2fs program that uses > upas to convert mail into an "unpacked" form. Each mail is a directory. > A "text" file contains the message text right as you would see it in a mail > reader (including relative paths for attachments). Each attach is decoded > and kept in the mail's directory ready to be copied, printed, etc.; if > possible, > using the same file name reported by the attachment. > > I use the very same approach for sending mail. A directory /mail/box/nemo/out > is spooled to send whichever file is placed on it as a mail. The format for > the > outgoing messages is again similar to what you'd type in a mail writer. > > The whole point is that now you editor (plus couple of scripts) becomes a > mail > reader/writer without understanding anything about mail. > > My proposal: > Why don't we reach an agreement and start using the very > same format. I suggest keeping my mbox format but adapting upas/fs to > understand it, which is a good idea. But I'm open to suggestions. > > thanks > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To: [email protected] > > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Date: Thu Jun 12 12:10:32 CET 2008 > > Subject: Re: [9fans] store 9p session-only values using lib9p > > > > > at the moment i'm playing only with mbox not imap or pop, i have a > version with cache per message that 'works', upas/nedmail and acme/mail are > able to read messages 'nicely', but attachments are not decoded. > > > > i have a couple of reservations about mbox format. first, a majority > > of users that i need to support have inboxes >10mb and some > > have mailboxes >100mb. thus deleting an older message will require > > rewriting the whole file, and if it's not the last message, will take > > up quite a bit of storage, even on venti. > > > > second, it's very difficult to cache. for example, suppose i have two > > instances of my mail fs interpreting the same mbox at the same time. > > suppose that i delete the 5th out of 500 messages with the first. the > > second will then have to reread the entire mbox to get its pointers > > right. even if i write an index with the first, the entire index > > needs to be reread. > > > > third, since large messages tend to be really stinking huge, it is not > > efficient to read entire messages to deduce the mime structure. (ned > > reads the mime structure of each doc on startup.) that last mime part > > may be tens of mb into the > > > > you'll notice that if one uses email in the way it was used > > traditionally in unix environments, that a 500 message, inbox or 15mb > > message is unreasonable. for traditional uses, mbox format and > > loading the whole stinking thing into memory is a great idea. > > > > unfortunately, that's now how people use email these days. > > our two machines running upas/fs burn up to 5gb of ram. > > old rewritten mail adds several hundred mb/day to the dump. > > > > > also file lengths is going to be a problem if i'm going to decode files > within the fs. > > > > > > i've put what i have in /n/sources/contrib/gabidiaz/wip/mboxfs > > > > i've adapted upas/fs to use a directory for mailboxes (mdir) by default. > > mailbox types that support caching (mdir and imap4) keep their cache > > below Maxcache or Σ of (actively) referenced messages, whichever is bigger. > > > > i've also adapted the rest of upas, including deliver and marshal to > > understand mdir format. imap4d should be done soon. > > > > this upas/fs keeps an index, so in most cases, emails are not reread > unless they are > > viewed. the index contains some information -- like flags -- not recorded > > in the mail. > > > > i'd be happy to share a working copy to those interested. but it's > > not ready to be inflicted on the world yet. the "From " line date is > > unresolved and imap4d still thinks it knows how to append a message > > to a mailbox. > > > > > about the From line, qmail man page about mbox format says it is > composedof From space [EMAIL PROTECTED] space current date, and it is > generated by the delivery agent, but moving one message from a box to another > doesn't use the delivery agent :-? > > > > why not? this seems an arbitrary distinction between the inbox and > > every other mailbox. > > > > - erik > > > > >
