From: CSBVAX::CSBVAX::MRGATE::"SMTP::CRVAX.SRI.COM::RELAY-INFO-VAX" 18-NOV-1988 12:03 To: MRGATE::"ARISIA::EVERHART" Subj: Re: Problems with V5.4 ANU NEWS Received: From KL.SRI.COM by CRVAX.SRI.COM with TCP; Thu, 17 NOV 88 08:53:54 PDT Received: from ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU by KL.SRI.COM with TCP; Thu, 17 Nov 88 08:38:36 PST Received: by ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (5.59/1.31) id AA11928; Thu, 17 Nov 88 01:56:45 PST Received: from USENET by ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU with netnews for info-vax@kl.sri.com (info-vax@kl.sri.com) (contact usenet@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU if you have questions) Date: 16 Nov 88 17:02:07 GMT From: deimos!ksuvax1!kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!sloane@rutgers.edu (Bob Sloane) Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services Subject: Re: Problems with V5.4 ANU NEWS Message-Id: <1440@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> References: <1151@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, <231@arnold.UUCP>, <974@csc.anu.oz> Sender: info-vax-request@kl.sri.com To: info-vax@kl.sri.com In article <974@csc.anu.oz>, gih900@csc.anu.oz (Geoff Huston) writes: > ... > While I'm on this, V5.6 was finished on the 11th November. A copy has been > placed for collection by PSI_COPY on the PSI node 505262440032 (three backup > save sets, in both normal and compressed format: NEWS_V56*.*) and a copy of > V5.6 has been sent to Glenn Everhart for inclusion in the US DECUS VAX SIG Fall > 88 tapes. If any helpful person wishes to place this software on an available > host for FTP access please annouce this to the net. > > -- > Geoff Huston, Australian National University, Canberra, AUSTRALIA > gih900@csc.anu.oz psi%50526244003211::gih900 We would be happy to make NEWS V5.6 available via FTP. How do we get a copy? While we are on the subject, I have a list of 17 problems with NEWS (appended below). Could you tell us which if any of these are fixed? +-------------------+-------------------------------------+------------------+ | Bob Sloane \Internet: SLOANE@KUHUB.CC.UKANS.EDU/Anything I said is | | Computer Center \ BITNET: SLOANE@UKANVAX.BITNET / my opinion, not my | | University of Kansas\ AT&T: (913) 864-0444 / employer's. | +-----------------------+-----------------------------+----------------------+ Known Problems in NEWS Version 5.4 (16-Nov-1988): ------------------------------------------------ 0. See file BUGS.TXT distributed with NEWS. 1. When ADD'ing a batch file directly from VMS MAIL (EXTRACT/ALL/HEAD), NEWS creates a spurious "null item" between *each* item in the mail file. These "null items" are posted to the default newsgroup (junk). The items come from "** Sender Unknown **" with path "our_node!Path-Lost". All valid items in the mail file are ADD'ed _almost_ correctly: their paths are all "our_node!Path-Lost" (where "our_node" is our local NEWS node). The items in the mail file are 'N'-prepended. Extracted sample "null item" follows: NEWS-Posting: Newsgroup , Item <#315>, Subject <> From: ** Sender Unknown ** Date: 30 Jun 88 07:10:54 GMT Lines: 0 Newsgroups: junk Subject: Message-ID: <364@ucsvc.unimelb.edu.au> Path: ucsvc!Path-Lost 2. When ADD'ing a NEWS batch file in non-'N'-prepended "#! rnews" format, NEWS adds a spurious "null item" before adding the first item (only). The first line of the batch file is "#! rnews nnnn". If the first line is blank, the spurious item is not added. All valid items are added correctly. 3. When deleting a newsgroup, NEWS leaves the directory for that deleted newsgroup in the news_root: directory tree. With a significant number of newsgroup deletions, a corresponding number of directories are left "dangling". Can NEWS delete the "dead wood" of directory trees (including "upper branches" where applicable) when deleting newsgroups? 4. When using the "scroll" feature of READ, the following problems occur: (a) For a multi-screen message, pressing (and occassionally ) at the first page (i.e. Top of Display) often takes the display immediately to the last page (i.e. End of Display). (b) Using up- or down-arrow, or typing "up" or "down" often causes the screen to be fully ("ripple") updated rather than up- or down-scrolled as appropriate. (VT220) (c) Typing "u" (instead of "up") causes an "ambiguous verb" CLI error (correctly), but returns to the item directory at the current item, instead of remaining in the item text. (d) Typing "dow" (or "do") does not give an error, nor does it move through the item text. It returns to the item directory at the _next_ item (if it exists). (e) Removal of the blank separator lines at top and bottom of the display has made the screen appear very cluttered and harder to read. (f) The full screen update for the last page of an item makes finding one's place in the previously read text difficult. Up-scrolling for this last page would be far preferable. (Similarly on reversing to Top?) 5. The following are suggestions for the READ with scroll feature: (a) The old style of reading should be retained as well as providing the new (very useful) scrolling feature. Scrolling should be enabled with a (yes, yet another one) qualifier such as /[NO]SCROLL (on by default perhaps?). (b) If scrolling is enabled, a simple mechanism for going to the top or bottom of the item should be provided. Perhaps the commands TOP and BOTTOM could be implemented in a similar context-dependent fashion to UP and DOWN, operating on directories as well as item text. (c) Bring back the blank separator lines (see item 4(e) above). 6. In explicit NOSCREEN mode, SELECT a newsgroup, do a DIRECTORY and then type to READ the article pointed to. The following problems occur: (a) The _next_ item is displayed rather than the item pointed to. (b) Paging does not work. (Reported for NEWS v5.3). (c) The header lines are missing or incorrectly displayed. 7. Thanks for the broadcast trapping. However, some suggestions: (a) The messages should be put into a buffer (virtual display) which can be viewed (with scrolling capacity) with a command such as SHOW MESSAGES (SHOW BROADCASTS ?). Obviously, if there are no broadcasts, simply issue such a message. (b) It is difficult to know just how to immediately display these broadcasts. The current method of overwriting the prompt and message (status) line has its shortcomings. (Lose prompt and message; cursor left some distance into broadcast message). Hmmm? I have no simple answer, sorry. 8. Will GMT ever equal GMT or should it be "EST" or "(Local Time)" or ?? 9. Items can be left displayed as unread in the item and newsgroup directories when in fact all items in the group have been read. READ/NEW (if the "unread" item is in a registered newsgroup) does not find the item. 10. When loading the subject of a REPLY, the full subject line in the item should be used. 11. Extract from newsgroup comp.os.vms: From: sys_ms@bmc1.bmc.uu.se Date: 24 Aug 88 20:48:00 GMT Newsgroups: comp.os.vms Subject: Bug in VMS News 5.4 Message-ID: <3789@bmc1.bmc.uu.se> Path: ucsvc!murdu!munnari!uunet!mcvax!enea!kth!draken!bmc1!sys_ms Organization: Biomedical Center, University of Uppsala, Sweden It is still there. There is a bug in VMS News 5.4. If you post an item into an empty newsgroup the item is not accessible for reading. The following postings will be readable. Is there a fix available? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mats Sundvall +46/18174583 Biomedical Center mats@bmc1.BMC.UU.SE University of Uppsala, Sweden psi%24020010020620::MATS ------------------------------------------------------------------- I also have had this problem on previous versions of NEWS, although I haven't tried to reproduce it on v5.4. I found that when posting an item to a *newly-created* newsgroup (i.e. first item), NEWS appeared to post it correctly, but in fact created the item file with a version number that seemed to be random (i.e. NOT ;1). Consequently, trying to read the item produced a message to the effect that the item text could not be displayed. This didn't *always* happen though. (??!) 12. All NEWS system files should be more truly free-format, and conform to the following requirements: - no specific column positions necessary; - any white noise (*tabs* and/or spaces) can be used as field separators. This applies to the files MAILPATHS., NEWS_ADDRESS.CNF, NEWS.SYS, NEWS.DISTRIBUTION etc.. (NEWS_ADDRESS.CNF cannot contain _only_ tabs.) 13. When a syntax error occurs while reading a message, the user is left in the directory display, rather than in the message text. 14. After an EXTRACT command while reading a message, the user is left in the directory display, rather than in the message text. 15. READ in /NOSCREEN mode doesn't display the From: or Subject: lines in the first screen of data, but does in subsequent screens. 16. DIR/ALL or DIR/NEW or DIR/REG do not work in /NOSCREEN mode. 17. After using READ/EDIT (and other commands) the definitions of many of the keys is lost. For example, the up-arrow key on a vt100 is no longer the UP command. It recalls commands.