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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!mcvax!teus
From: teus@mcvax.UUCP (Teus Hagen)
Newsgroups: net.news.adm
Subject: Re: how batch & unbatch work
Message-ID: <5448@mcvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Nov-83 17:17:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: mcvax.5448
Posted: Wed Nov  2 17:17:20 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Oct-83 20:54:58 EDT
References: <224@clyde.UUCP>
Organization: Math.Centre, Amsterdam
Lines: 26

Sure I will encourage batching as well, but please take into account some
severe drawbacks:
- batching is another layering between news and uucp (uux). So some old batch
  batch programs just quit after one error and you will loose some news
  articles coming after that error (see to your release!).
  Also the site from who you received your articles will not get any
  error message on failures any more. So you need to look after news better
  when you are using news.
- batching is creating large files. The change that uucp will be killed
  due to some severe error is greater. The next time uucp is called the
  total resending will be done again, etc. So sometimes it will not save
  you some phone costs. Some bug in old uucp versions will not permit
  you enough time to copy the batch file to the final destination.
  The copy will fail and the next time uucp will start to send the batched
  file again....

However with batching you can use compacting (thanks to decvax!aps and
mcvax!jim for the idea and programs). Together with some scheme to have
a certain limit in the batched file size I think batching is ok.
The programs doing that are tested now and will be included in the
next news releases.
(By the way the program is three pages, so if you do not want to wait...).
-- 
	Teus Hagen	Center for Math., Comp. Science (CMCS)
			formerly Math. Centre (MC)
			mcvax!teus