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Re: [Nmh-workers] A useless but interesting exercise: Design MH from scr
From: |
Lyndon Nerenberg |
Subject: |
Re: [Nmh-workers] A useless but interesting exercise: Design MH from scratch in the 2014 context |
Date: |
Wed, 19 Feb 2014 18:40:28 -0800 |
On Feb 19, 2014, at 5:59 PM, Ken Hornstein <address@hidden> wrote:
> Define
> a syntax where folder_read() (or a replacement) takes something that refers
> to an IMAP mailbox, and you're most of the way there.
Try it on for size before making pronouncements :-P The hair on the werewolf
grows faster than you can possibly imagine.
I did an experimental IMAP back end circa 2002. I saw enough to convince me to
run away.
The native store, while not particularly sexy, is a mandatory component to
allow the rest of the system to work. If you pervert that, you destroy
everything.
As for IMAP on the back end, forget it. MH cannot deal with immutable message
files. It just won't fly. I looked at using the various IMAP annotate
extensions, but the bottom line is the code would have to work with a plain old
3501-compliant IMAP server. It can't. And even with IMAP annotation support
on the server, the n! conglomeration of IMAP extensions your have to deal with
these days leads to an n! explosion in the complexity of the MH library. That
way lies madness.
Keep MH simple. If you want IMAP, you know where to find it. And if you know
both IMAP and MH, you know when and where to apply each of them.
--lyndon
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