storm@texas.dk (Kim F. Storm) (02/05/90)
Ok, I will post 6.3.12 soon on comp.sources.something. Here is a little more info on what is new in 6.3.12. Actually, some of these changes were not supposed to be available until 6.4, because they are not fully compatible with the current 6.3 version. 1) .newsrc support This has caused me some headaches, because although the format of newsrc is (rather) well defined, it is not at all defined which groups should be in .newsrc, and how to destinguish new groups from unsubscribed groups which are not in .newsrc. Rn uses an .rnlast file to keep track of the active file (and active.times in some versions). I have tried to provide support for .rnlast as well as nn's own similar .nn/LAST file, but I have no way to debug it. 2) The GROUPS file This file can now be edited to set various flags on the groups, e.g. ! - don't include this group in the database D - digest all articles in the group N - never digest any articles in the group R - recollect all articles in the group every time new articles arrive (for clarinet groups). It also contains a timestamp for the creation time of the group. This is used to differentiate new groups from unsubscribed groups which are not in .newsrc. 3) Database magic number The MASTER file now includes a magic number which allows changing the database format in the future without the risk of forgetting to rebuild the database. 4) Database lock It is possible to set a lock on the database which prevents users from accessing the database (and thus terminating nn). This may be useful in a networked environment. 5) New nntidy utility nntidy has been rewritten to use .newsrc. It now includes several levels of "tidying". For example, it can reduce .newsrc to only contain the groups which are in the user's presentation sequence. I.e. if you have !bionet in the sequence, nntidy -s will remove all bionet entries from .newsrc. 6) New nngoback utility nngoback has also been rewritten to use .newsrc. The history option -h is no longer available. 7) Leaving articles unread There is now a set of variables which can be set to control which articles are marked read when skipping to a new group. I will describe these possibilities in a separate posting when 6.3.12 is posted. I am not sure this will be the final approach for this functionality, so it may change in 6.4. All of the above modifications still need debugging, and I also have to update the manuals, so don't expect 6.3.12 to be posted the first couple of weeks. ++Kim Storm -- Kim F. Storm storm@texas.dk Tel +45 429 174 00 Texas Instruments, Marielundvej 46E, DK-2730 Herlev, Denmark No news is good news, but nn is better!