Re: Trimming .gnus.registry.eieio?

[Eric Abrahamsen <eric@ericabrahamsen.net>]

Norman Walsh <ndw@nwalsh.com> writes:

> Hi all,
>
> I noticed that my .gnus.registry.eieio file had grown to about 27M. I
> noticed this because saving it was taking a distinctly noticable
> amount of time.
>
> The gnus registry setup page has two examples of
> gnus-registry-max-entries, 2,500 and 50,000. I had mine set to 20,000.
>
> I set it back to 2,500, started gnus, saved the file (and saw a message
> about saving 2256 entries) and quit gnus.
>
> My .gnus.registry.eieio file is now 21M.

It's pretty surprising that reducing the number of saved entries by a
factor of ten only reduced the file size by 25% or so.

> I wonder if, perhaps, something has gone wrong. I suppose I could just
> delete the registry file and let it start over, but I wonder if
> there’s something less dramatic that I could do to trim it back.

Theoretically, reducing `gnus-registry-max-entries' is what you do to
trim it back! What's your value of `gnus-registry-track-extra'? That
might contribute to a larger file size.

> And since I’m asking, of 2,500 and 50,000, which is the more
> reasonable max entries size?

It totally depends on what you use the registry for. By default it
really doesn't do anything. It only comes into play if you use it to
store custom flags, or use it in splitting rules to split mail to its
parent, or use it for some other nefarious purpose. I think it can
sometimes be used in thread gathering? I forget.

Anyway, it depends on what you're using it for. If splitting, then you
want a fairly large registry, so it stands a good chance of finding the
parent. If storing custom information, maybe something smaller, because
you're unlikely to be storing custom information for 50,000 messages.

Hth,
Eric