Newsgroups: news.software.b
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: history file getting corrupted in Cnews
Message-ID: <1991May1.173836.21139@zoo.toronto.edu>
Date: Wed, 1 May 1991 17:38:36 GMT
References: <1991May1.134706.23973@aifh.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

In article <1991May1.134706.23973@aifh.ed.ac.uk> mk@aifh.ed.ac.uk () writes:
>Seems to get corrupted when running Cnews expire.
>expire: dbzagain(history.n) failed

Are you sure everything is using dbz, and nothing is left over using dbm?
Confusion about which package is being used is a good way to get fearfully
messed-up files.  Two hints for pursuing this:

(1) Any program compiled with dbz contains the string "dbz", so you can
	check this with "strings xxx | egrep dbz".

(2) Dbz's history.dir file should always be 100% readable ASCII text.
	Any unprintable characters in there are a sign of trouble.
-- 
And the bean-counter replied,           | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
"beans are more important".             |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu  utzoo!henry