ra@is.uu.no (Robert Andersson) (02/18/90)
This is C news patchlevel 18-Jan-1990 running on an NCR Tower 32,
OS release 2.01.01. A fairly standard SYSV release 2 OS.
If you have a big ~news/sys file entry awk fails when running the
canonsys.awk script. It complains that the string is 'too long to print'.
The symptom is that checkgroups control messages don't work.
Shame on awk for imposing static limits as low as this.
Perhaps C news had better rewrite this in C instead?
Example that fails:
ME:bit.listserv.asm370,bit.listserv.ibm-main,bit.listserv.ibm-nets,\
bit.listserv.cics-l,bit.listserv.cics-l,\
comp.bugs.sys5,\
comp.compilers,\
comp.databases,\
comp.lang.c,\
comp.lang.misc,\
comp.newprod,\
comp.software-eng,\
comp.sources,\
comp.std,\
comp.sys.m68k,\
!comp.sys.m68k.pc,\
comp.sys.ncr,\
comp.unix,\
!comp.unix.aux,!comp.unix.cray,!comp.unix.ultrix,!comp.unix.microport,\
eunet,\
!eunet.micro.acorn,!eunet.test,!eunet.politics,\
gnu,\
!gnu.emacs.gnews,!gnu.emacs.gnus,\
news.announce,\
news.software.b,\
news.software.nn,\
nuug,\
rec.arts.movies.reviews,\
to.isncr/all::
--
Robert Andersson, International Systems A/S, Oslo, Norway.
Internet: ra@is.uu.no
UUCP: ...!{uunet,mcsun,ifi}!is.uu.no!rahenry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (02/20/90)
In article <1990Feb18.132237.6360@is.uu.no> ra@is.uu.no (Robert Andersson) writes: >If you have a big ~news/sys file entry awk fails when running the >canonsys.awk script. It complains that the string is 'too long to print'. >The symptom is that checkgroups control messages don't work. > >Shame on awk for imposing static limits as low as this. >Perhaps C news had better rewrite this in C instead? Sigh... It is really difficult to decide what to do when support tools make life much easier but fail on extreme cases. (In this particular one, very precise selectivity in the ME line is probably better done with a less precise ME line plus use of the "x" form of the fourth field of the active file.) The checkgroups stuff needs a wholesale rewrite anyway. Actually, what it needs first is a precise specification, but that's a different kettle of worms... -- "The N in NFS stands for Not, | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology or Need, or perhaps Nightmare"| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
" Maynard) (02/21/90)
In article <1990Feb19.191324.9367@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: >The checkgroups stuff needs a wholesale rewrite anyway. >Actually, what it needs first is a precise specification, but that's a >different kettle of worms... While you're at it, how about making it only produce messages for those hierarchies that are mentioned in the message? I'm not going to rmgroup news.announce.important because a vmsnet checkgroups told me to...but the checkgroups that the vmsnet guru send out regularly (which only mentions vmsnet.*) produces an email message saying that everything in all of the other hierarchies is bad. -- Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can jay@splut.conmicro.com (eieio)| adequately be explained by stupidity. {attctc,bellcore}!texbell!splut!jay +---------------------------------------- Free the DC-10!