Re: I can haz cloud idea

[Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>]

If this is to work smoothly (i.e., at all), then every time you hit `g'
in a Gnus, it'll have to know whether something else updated the state
group.  This also means that every time you exit a group or does
something else that changes state, it'll have to be uploaded pretty much
immediately.  This also means that there would be no explicit "upload"
commands.

Here's how I see this working:

When you first start the thing, it does a total upload.  Then, every
time you (say) exit a group, it only uploads the delta between the
previous total upload and the current state.  So after you've read a
couple of groups, the delta file will look like

("gwene.com.feedburner.cheezburger" (add (read (56 . 59))) (del (tick 58)))

or something.  Gnus will continue to upload the entire delta file to the
server on each group exit (and delete any previous deltas).  Until the
delta gets so big that Gnus just does a total upload again, and removes
all previous data.

It sucks that `g' has to query the state group, though.  But it really
doesn't.  If we maintain a separate cloud connection, then we can just
IDLE on the state group.  Then every time a different Gnus somewhere
does something, then the other Gnus instances can just download the
state change, and update itself automatically.  Totally transparently
and in the background.

Unless the IMAP server has dropped the connection, of course.  Then `g'
will have to reconnect and do the update while you wait.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no  *  Sent from my Rome