[news.software.anu-news] Client skim results in missing titles

NUNN@UHCL2.BITNET (01/18/90)

        I have a system with NEWS 5.9C served from another VMS/DECNET node
        with the same version.  Every morning NEWSSKIM runs to update the
        served newsgroups.  Occasionally, skim will update all added item
        titles with "Title not Obtained" for articles that actually have
        titles on the server.  I suspect that this is caused by a loss of
        the network link (were are having intermitent network problems)
        between the client and server.  Has anyone else experienced this
        problem?
     
        Is there any way to force the title updates on subsequent skims?
     
        Thanks,
        John

gih900@CSC.DNET (Geoff Huston) (01/23/90)

>        I have a system with NEWS 5.9C served from another VMS/DECNET node
>        with the same version.  Every morning NEWSSKIM runs to update the
>        served newsgroups.  Occasionally, skim will update all added item
>        titles with "Title not Obtained" for articles that actually have
>        titles on the server.  I suspect that this is caused by a loss of
>        the network link (were are having intermitent network problems)
>        between the client and server.  Has anyone else experienced this
>        problem?
     
Intermittent links are the cause here. SKIM first tries an XUPDGROUP command.
If this command succeeds, then all the required information is supplied in the
response. If the call fails, then NEWS assumes that the remote system is NOT a
ANU-NEWS system, and issues a NEWNEWS command. The response to this command is
just a set of item identifiers, which re all added into the local database with
dummy titles. Then NEWS queries the remote system for the header of all such
messages, and from the response, fills out all the required information. If the
network fails on these header commands, then the displayed information will be
incomplete.
     
>        Is there any way to force the title updates on subsequent skims?
Not on subsequent skims, but the title will be updated on the first read of the
item(s) so affected. I have not looked at doing this on a subsequent SKIM
command as yet.
     
cheers,
Geoff
        Thanks,
        John

gih900@CSC.DNET (Geoff Huston) (01/23/90)

>        I have a system with NEWS 5.9C served from another VMS/DECNET node
>        with the same version.  Every morning NEWSSKIM runs to update the
>        served newsgroups.  Occasionally, skim will update all added item
>        titles with "Title not Obtained" for articles that actually have
>        titles on the server.  I suspect that this is caused by a loss of
>        the network link (were are having intermitent network problems)
>        between the client and server.  Has anyone else experienced this
>        problem?
>
>        Is there any way to force the title updates on subsequent skims?
     
The next version will have the updates to address this problem.
     
cheers,
     
Geoff