mapping files to objects

[Mike McDonald]

>Date: Wed, 07 May 1997 10:54:08 +1000
>From: "Chris Bitmead uid(x22068)" <Chris.Bitmead@alcatel.com.au>
>Subject: Re: mapping files to objects
>To: lispos@math.gatech.edu
>
>>I merely didn't want to either (a) read a 10mb mail file just to determine 
>>that it is a mail file or (b) to open/read/close the first block of a mail 
>>file twice.  If whoever writes this hunk of code, can either keep those cases 
>>from happening or show that it's not important, that's fine with me.
>
>I'm a bit perplexed about all the talk of parsing UNIX mail files. If
>you're storing files in UNIX mail format, that implys that you're
>getting your mail via UNIX sendmail. That means you're running a UNIX
>system, so you might as well read your mail using a UNIX program.

  It's the chicken and the egg problem. A mail reader is of no use
without an SMTP agent. A SMTP agent isn't of any use without a mail
reader. So, inorder to break the deadlock, you start by using an
existing SMTP agent (aka sendmail), and write the reader. Then someone
writes the agent.

>
>>All I really want is a better interface to Unix file systems so I can start 
>>implementing routines that read such files.  
>
>But why do you want to read such files? No self-respecting LispOS
>would store mail in UNIX mail format.

  That might be an option, for compatibility reasons. Maybe someone
might want to be able to hand off all of his Email to someone on a
less advanced system. Besides, what would he stores his mail in if it
wasn't a file? Remember, we don't have a POS yet.

  Mike McDonald
  mikemac@engr.sgi.com