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From: Raeburn@MIT.EDU (Ken Raeburn)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh
Subject: XMH cache
Message-ID: <9008230524.AA07100@PROMETHEUS.MIT.EDU>
Date: 23 Aug 90 05:24:43 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
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One of the things I like about xmh is the .xmhcache file it
maintains.  It's helpful when I want to find a message I know is
in a large folder -- I don't have to wait for "scan" to read
through hundreds of files across networked file systems.  (And
with the particular file system used for my home directory, I
believe fetching a new file for reading is expensive -- the
whole file has to be brought over before reading starts.  Lots
of accesses to the same file are much more efficient, so the
cache file looks even better.)

However, it's the only program I know of that maintains that
cache.  Running any other MH program that alters the folder
directory causes xmh to rescan the entire directory to rebuild
that file.  And xmh is, well, an X program, which means that it
requires an X display and a lot of memory, neither of which are
necessarily always available.

Does anyone have patches (hacks, suggestions) that would allow
for maintenance of such a cache?  Does anyone else think it
would be a good idea for an addition to MH proper, as an extra
option (preferably runtime-selectable, I'd say)?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++ Ken Raeburn          ++      Raeburn@MIT.EDU         ++
++ systems programmer   ++      MIT Project Athena      ++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++