Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!cgdisis.cgd.ucar.edu!gary
From: gary@cgdisis.cgd.ucar.edu (Gary Strand)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh
Subject: Re: Xbiff Blues
Message-ID: <8947@ncar.ucar.edu>
Date: 25 Oct 90 17:09:17 GMT
References: <9010250519.AA10460@moria.eng.umd.edu> <9010251441.AA05712@bacchus.eng.umd.edu>
Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu
Reply-To: gary@isis.cgd.ucar.edu (Gary Strand)
Organization: Climate and Global Dynamics Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
Lines: 19
Disclaimer: No comment.


  Having 'xbiff' point at ~/Mail/inbox/1 isn't the best way of doing it.

  'xbiff' checks for non-zero-length of the file it checks, so if you're
  using it to check /usr/spool/mail/$USER, it works fine. But, if you're
  using your .maildelivery file to automatically incorporate new mail,
  'xbiff' will always see your maildrop as zero-length.

  Also, if you get another new message, that is, ~/Mail/inbox/2 gets
  created, xbiff won't catch it, since message 1 is still around.

  *However*, there is a file in ~/Mail/inbox called '.xmhcache' that does
  increase it's length whenever you get new mail, and is zero-length when
  you don't have any. That's what I have my xbiff set to watch, and it
  works quite well.

--
Gary Strand                                        Look, it's trying to think.
Internet: strandwg@ncar.ucar.edu                      Voicenet: (303) 497-1383