Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wasatch!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!kth!sunic!dkuug!tidk!storm
From: storm@texas.dk (Kim F. Storm)
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: group at a time interface and NNTP etc.
Message-ID: <364@texas.dk>
Date: 12 Jul 89 10:25:30 GMT
References: <3602@looking.on.ca>
Organization: Texas Instruments, Denmark
Lines: 29

In article <3602@looking.on.ca> brad@looking.on.ca (Brad Templeton) writes:

>I think an interface that works a group at a time, showing a menu of
>subjects and letting the user pick (not like =) is a good idea.  I've been
>wishing something did this for a long time.
         ^^^^^^^^^
This something is called 'nn'.

>But to do that with our current news systems we need:
>	a) An independent directory of article header info so that we don't
>	   have to wait to read all the headers in the group before starting.

This is exactly why nn has its own database.

>	b) An NNTP modification that lets the nntp reader request such a
>	   list of header information for a group when the group starts,
>	   and gets it quickly.

Currently, nn keeps the database on the local system, because there is
no way NNTP can transfer this information.  An extension to NNTP to
access a remote nn database is on our to-do list.

>Those doing new database formats and NNTP work should keep this in mind.

We certainly do!
-- 
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!