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From: jromine@buckaroo.ics.uci.edu (John Romine)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh
Subject: Re: comp option addition request
Keywords: comp, option, fcc, to, subject
Message-ID: <2763F8DA.23241@ics.uci.edu>
Date: 10 Dec 90 21:06:34 GMT
References: <1990Dec4.203315.139@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <275C2953.28092@ics.uci.edu> <5209@rossignol.Princeton.EDU>
Reply-To: jromine@ics.uci.edu (John Romine)
Organization: UC Irvine Department of ICS
Lines: 40
Nntp-Posting-Host: buckaroo.ics.uci.edu

>jromine@ics.uci.edu (John Romine) writes:
> We have resisted with medium to poor :-( success adding more switches
> to MH commands.  Instead, we tried to give the MH commands more general
> functionality, which shell programmers could exploit.  MH-format(5)
> is an example.

tr@samadams.princeton.edu (Tom Reingold) writes:
>MH programs do a lot of things, and the beauty of it is that if you
>don't need a feature, it doesn't get in the way.  Therefore, I don't
>see that it's important to resist adding new features, especially this
>particular feature which I suspect has a high demand.

Actually, it is a problem.  The problem is the way people interact with
systems.  Trying to keep the MH programs simple, yet still give advanced
users the ability to customize the system is the goal.   Achieving it is
difficult.

I have difficulty getting non-computer-programmers (i.e., computer
users) to learn MH because of the existing complexity.  Novice MH users
look at the long list of options available to each command, and the
thickness of the MH user's manual, and give up trying to learn to use MH.

If writing a script to perform a new MH function seems very awkward,
then there is likely some change needed to the existing MH command
set.  If this is not the case, then I'm reluctant to add new options
onto an MH command unless most MH users are going to make use of those
option.

In the future, look for "repl" and "forw" to merge into one program
(like show, next & prev are).  That program should have the functions
that have been asked for.

BTW, I am happy to accept new programs or scripts for inclusion in
the MH distribution as user-contributed software.  Just send them to
Bug-MH@ics.uci.edu.  Please include a README file describing what the
program does, and who to contact about problems.

/JLR
--
John Romine