timl@maxwell.Concordia.CA ( TIM LAPIN ) (02/10/90)
Hi all, Here is an interesting question (to me at least). Aside from the "convert" routines in newspack.com, what conditions could create a second copy of the NEWS.ITEMS file? It seems to be connected to newsskim.com as the file was created during or after the skim run. Further, this was the only news management routine running at the time. For simplicity's sake, my news batch routine is suspended from two hours before to at least an hour after the end of the skim run. Note, I don't always have a second copy hanging around. So is it supposed to create a second version and delete the first, or is something else going wrong? -- Tim Lapin Concordia University Tel: (514) 848-7639 INTERNET: timl@maxwell.concordia.ca BITNET: timl@vax2.concordia.ca
gih900@CSC1.ANU.OZ.AU (Geoff Huston) (02/12/90)
>Aside from the "convert" routines in newspack.com, what conditions could >create a second copy of the NEWS.ITEMS file? none >It seems to be connected to newsskim.com as the file was created during >or after the skim run. Further, this was the only news management routine >running at the time. For simplicity's sake, my news batch routine is >suspended from two hours before to at least an hour after the end of the >skim run. > >Note, I don't always have a second copy hanging around. So is it supposed >to create a second version and delete the first, or is something else going >wrong? This is a real problem - the news.items file is HAMMERED by NEWS - the file gets large, and there is a complete turnaround in the stored records every 14 (or whetever you've set) days. I have found that there is almost NEVER a time period when the news.items file is not open by some process. I have had to resort to a BACKUP/IGN=INTERLOCK to get a copy of the file, then convert the copy and rename it back. The problem is that all postings that happen during this time are lost. sigh. There must be a better way! I'm (slowly) working on finding it! Geoff