Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixa.cc.columbia.edu!das15
From: das15@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Douglas A Scott)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: Help getting c.s.n into NeXT Mail
Message-ID: <1991May3.232426.17484@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Date: 3 May 91 23:24:26 GMT
References: <1991May2.163344.581@arizona.edu>
Sender: usenet@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (The Network News)
Reply-To: das15@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu (Douglas A Scott)
Distribution: world,local
Organization: Columbia University
Lines: 72
Nntp-Posting-Host: cunixa.cc.columbia.edu

In article <1991May2.163344.581@arizona.edu> zazula@uazhe0.physics.arizona.edu writes:
>I'm trying to get this newsgroup into NeXT Mail on my machine at home
>(no network connection).  I have an account on a Sun running SunOS(?).
>I'm using "rn" to extract the articles.  The command I used was
>".-$ s" and answered "y" to put it in mailbox format. I then kermited
>the file to my NeXT and put it in the file ~/Mailboxes/comp.sys.next.mbox/mbox.
>When I run Mail.app and open the comp.sys.next mailbox, Mail crashes with
>a core dump.  No message, or anything.  Is the Sun mail format not the same
>as what the NeXT expects?  Is there something else I need to do?

	I think I can help you on this one, having expeienced much grief
	trying to bring mboxes from other machines over to my Cube to read via
	Mail.app.  Mail.app expects each mail entry to begin with a "From "
	header.  Not "From: " -- that comes later in the header.  The first
	thing after the space between mail entries.  Here is an example:

***********
>From woof!doug%ponder.csci.unt.edu%vaxa.acs.unt.edu Wed Sep 26 06:04:40 1990
>Return-Path: <woof!doug%ponder.csci.unt.edu%vaxa.acs.unt.edu>
>Received: by  zardoz  (NeXT-1.0 (From Sendmail 5.52)/NeXT-1.0)
>	id AA07542; Wed, 26 Sep 90 06:04:39 EDT
>Received: from ponder (129.120.3.16) by woof.columbia.edu (3.2/SMI-3.2)
>	id AA02361; Tue, 25 Sep 90 23:57:54 EDT
>Received: by ponder (5.61/1.36)
>	id AA02604; Mon, 24 Sep 90 22:58:50 -0500
>Date: Mon, 24 Sep 90 22:58:50 -0500
>From: woof!doug%ponder.csci.unt.edu%vaxa.acs.unt.edu (Douglas A. Scott)
>Message-Id: <9009250358.AA02604@ponder>
>To: doug@ponder.csci.unt.edu%vaxa.acs.unt.edu
***********

If all that name and date info is not there, Mail.app cant read it.  Some
machines create mboxes just like this...most Suns do, for regular mail, for
ex.  I suspect that rn does not, though, even in mailbox format.

I wrote a bizarre little awk script to try to convert mboxes into the correct
format.  It still needs work, but you are welcome to fiddle with it.  I think
that some headers will still be passed through incorrectly, but a little
editing may be all that is necessary.

+++++++++++++++ CUT HERE +++++++++++++
awk '
/^Path:/        { entry[line]=$0; line++;}
/^Received: /   { entry[line]=$0; line++}
/^      id /    { entry[line]=$0; line++}
/^Date: /       { entry[line]=$0; line++;
		if ( $2 ~ /^[0-9]/ ) {
			if( length($7) == 0 ) $7="Sun";
			fromdate=sprintf("%s %s %s %s 19%s", $7, $3, $2, $5, $4);}
		else if ( $3 ~ /^[0-9]/ )
			fromdate=sprintf("%s %s %s %s 19%s", substr($2,0,length($2)-1), $4, $3, $6, $5);
		else
			fromdate=sprintf("%s %s %s %s %s", $2, $3, $4, $5, $6);} 
/^From: / { if ( $2 !~ /^[A-Za-z]/ ) name = substr($2,2,length($2));
		else name = $2;
		printf ("\n\n\n\n%s %s %s\n", "From", name, fromdate);
		while(i < line) { print (entry[i]); i++;} }

/^*/ { if ($1 !~ /^Received:/ && $1 !~ /id/ && $1 !~ /^Date:/ && $1 !~ /^Path:/)
		print $0; }
						  ' $1
+++++++++++++=
Just say "sh awk.script bad.mbox > good.mbox".  Then experiment with the new
mbox.

Good luck!


<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Douglas Scott          Columbia University Computer Music Studio 
Internet: <doug@woof.columbia.edu> <das15@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu>
UUCP: ...!columbia!woof!zardoz!doug          Phone: (703)765-4771