Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sunybcs!uhura.cc.rochester.edu!ee.rochester.edu!deke
From: deke@ee.rochester.edu (Dikran Kassabian)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: is there any way to
Message-ID: <1990Mar28.214917.5409@ee.rochester.edu>
Date: 28 Mar 90 21:49:17 GMT
References: <22303@netnews.upenn.edu> <ROBERTL.90Mar27172613@bucsf.bu.edu> <1990Mar28.153439.6841@ee.rochester.edu>
Reply-To: deke@ee.rochester.edu (Dikran Kassabian)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Rochester Department of Electrical Engineering
Lines: 77

In article <1990Mar28.153439.6841@ee.rochester.edu> I (Dikran Kassabian) write:
<In article <> robertl@bucsf.bu.edu (Robert La Ferla) writes:
<>I like that idea.  I hope NeXT will incorporate it as an optional feature in
<>Preferences.  The obvious default aural alert is the English lady saying
<>"You have new mail."
<
<At face value this seems like an easy hack for do-it-yourself types.
<stat(2) /usr/spool/mail/`whoami` or whatever file is appropriate, and 
<compare atime and mtime.  When mtime increases but atime does not, play 
<your favorite sound.
<
<This algorithm needs some more stuff to make it work.  You have to initialize
<by tucking away the value of mtime originally read, you have to keep track
<of the values of both whenever you decide to play the sound, you have to
<choose a sleep(3) time within the loop, etc.  But this could be coded in
<an hour or two.  Less if neatness doesn't count.
<
<Of course, this method requires an additional process for every user.  Not
<very nice.  The comsat/biff approach is preferable, and probably only slightly
<more difficult to implemented.  Nevertheless, a NeXT typically has only one 
<user at a time that could possibly want an aural alert about mail... the 
<one on the console.

I managed to get to a NeXT this afternoon, so I whipped it up.  Here it is.
Lots of improvements possible, but this seems to work.  No warrnties and all
that stuff...


/* Audio mail notification program
 * D.Kassabian 3/28/90
 * University of Rochester Department of Electrical Engineering
 *
 * tweak the three #defines to suit.
 */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <time.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>

#define TIMER		2*60
#define SOUND		"sndplay /home/galaxy2/staff/deke/mail.snd"
#define MAILPATH	"/usr/spool/mail/%s"

extern char *getenv();

main (argc, argv, envp)
     register int argc;
     register char **argv;
     char **envp;
{

char *path, *user, *sys_buf;
void *malloc();
struct stat *buf;
long tmp_time=0;

  if( (user = getenv("USER"))==0 ){		/* get user name */
	fprintf(stderr,"Who are you?"); exit(1);
	}

  path=malloc(sizeof(MAILPATH)+10);		/* allocate storage */
  buf=malloc(1024);				/* allocate storage */
  (void) sprintf(path,MAILPATH,user);		/* setup path */
  sys_buf=malloc(sizeof(SOUND));		/* allocate storage */
  (void) sprintf(sys_buf,SOUND);		/* setup shell command */

     while(1){					/* forever... */
	if( stat(path,buf)!=0 ){		/* stat path */
		perror(path); exit(1);
		}
	if(( buf->st_mtime > buf->st_atime) && 
	  ((buf->st_mtime > tmp_time))){
		system(sys_buf); tmp_time=buf->st_mtime;
	}
	sleep(TIMER);
     } /*endwhile*/
}