mysql as a backend

mysql as a backend

[Randal L. Schwartz]

has anyone done any work on hooking up a database like mysql as a back end?

I was thinking of a few approaches:

1) put a wrapper around a mysql commandline invocation

2) write a Perl program that would ensure clean input/output using DBI/DBD
   but with an easily parseable command interface, then wrap that

3) like 2, but make the interface NNTP to Perl to Mysql, and use standard
   nntp: driver

Any thoughts?  Am I crazy?

-- 
Randal L. Schwartz - Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. - +1 503 777 0095
<merlyn@stonehenge.com> <URL:http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/>
Perl/Unix/security consulting, Technical writing, Comedy, etc. etc.
See PerlTraining.Stonehenge.com for onsite and open-enrollment Perl training!

Re: mysql as a backend

[john s anderson]

On 9 Nov 1999, Randal L. Schwartz wrote:

> has anyone done any work on hooking up a database like mysql as a back end?

I've done a small bit of preliminary noodling on implementing a SQL-based
mail archive. I was planning on making it non-MUA-specific, so that if
something better than Gnus came along (inconceivable!), switching my MUA
wouldn't affect my mail archiving. (I've been burned on that before, with
the Postilion->Gnus switch I did some months ago.)

I was planning on providing hooks to tie into in the archiving and
searching interfaces, and hoping that eventually someone would tie it into
Gnus.

> I was thinking of a few approaches:
> 2) write a Perl program that would ensure clean input/output using DBI/DBD
>    but with an easily parseable command interface, then wrap that

This was the approach I was planning on; I've got some Perl that slurps
mail folders, parses headers, and does a half-ass intertwingle thing. 
(That's mostly in the design of the SQL database, actually.)  That's about
as far as I've gotten; my hacking time has been pretty limited of late.

> Any thoughts?  Am I crazy?

This is something I would _love_ to have; finding old stored mail is
starting to become a real PITA. Please let me know if you do start working
on something, if there's any way I can help, if you'd like my pitiful
code, etc.

john.

-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------
John S Jacobs Anderson                       jacobs@genehack.org
www.genehack.org        <-----  GeneHack (bioinfo*linux*opinion)

Re: mysql as a backend

[Eric Marsden]

I think it would be easier to use pg.el [1], which provides an elisp
interface to PostgreSQL, by implementing its socket-level
frontend/backend protocol. I'd even do it myself, but I'm not familiar
with Gnus backends.


[1] <URL:http://www.chez.com/emarsden/downloads/pg.el>

-- 
Eric Marsden
It's elephants all the way down

Re: mysql as a backend

[Kai Großjohann]

Randal L. Schwartz <merlyn@stonehenge.com> writes:

> has anyone done any work on hooking up a database like mysql as a
> back end?

There is nndb which uses Berkely DB I think.  It's written in Perl.  I
have done a half-assed attempt at providing a backend for it, but I'm
afraid it won't work.

nndb speaks NNTP but groks a couple of additional commands for
deleting and moving messages.

Since NNTP is a protocol well understood by Gnus, that might be an
approach.  But I also like the idea of providing a socket-level
interface to the DBMS in Lisp and to then use that.

kai
-- 
This gubblick contains many nonsklarkish English flutzpahs,
but the overall pluggandisp can be glorked from context. -- David Moser

Re: mysql as a backend

[Andrew J Cosgriff]

john s anderson wrote :

> I've done a small bit of preliminary noodling on implementing a
> SQL-based mail archive. I was planning on making it
> non-MUA-specific, so that if something better than Gnus came along
> (inconceivable!), switching my MUA wouldn't affect my mail
> archiving. (I've been burned on that before, with the
> Postilion->Gnus switch I did some months ago.)

Make it talk IMAP then ? :)

-- 
Andrew J Cosgriff <ajc@polydistortion.net> exterminate all rational thought !
                      toy lisp exterminator fire guidance

Re: mysql as a backend

[Randal L. Schwartz]

>>>>> "ajc" == Andrew J Cosgriff <ajc@bing.wattle.id.au> writes:

ajc> john s anderson wrote :
>> I've done a small bit of preliminary noodling on implementing a
>> SQL-based mail archive. I was planning on making it
>> non-MUA-specific, so that if something better than Gnus came along
>> (inconceivable!), switching my MUA wouldn't affect my mail
>> archiving. (I've been burned on that before, with the
Postilion-> Gnus switch I did some months ago.)

ajc> Make it talk IMAP then ? :)

Hey, now there's a thought.  An IMAP-server-daemon in Perl that speaks
DBI on the back end.  Doable, *and* general purpose!

Is the nnimap: ready for prime-time?

-- 
Randal L. Schwartz - Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. - +1 503 777 0095
<merlyn@stonehenge.com> <URL:http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/>
Perl/Unix/security consulting, Technical writing, Comedy, etc. etc.
See PerlTraining.Stonehenge.com for onsite and open-enrollment Perl training!

Re: mysql as a backend

[Steinar Bang]

>>>>> merlyn@stonehenge.com (Randal L. Schwartz):

> Hey, now there's a thought.  An IMAP-server-daemon in Perl that
> speaks DBI on the back end.  Doable, *and* general purpose!

> Is the nnimap: ready for prime-time?

I haven't made the transition myself, but people are using it on a
daily basis.

Re: mysql as a backend

[Justin Sheehy]

merlyn@stonehenge.com (Randal L. Schwartz) writes:

> Is the nnimap: ready for prime-time?

It's finally been merged into the Gnus CVS tree, which may say something.

I've been using it for all of my work-related mail for months now.

-Justin

 

Re: mysql as a backend

[Andrew J Cosgriff]

Justin Sheehy wrote :

> merlyn@stonehenge.com (Randal L. Schwartz) writes:
> 
> > Is the nnimap: ready for prime-time?
> 
> It's finally been merged into the Gnus CVS tree, which may say something.
> 
> I've been using it for all of my work-related mail for months now.

I read 100% of my mail via nnimap now, since I changed jobs in June.
I'd been using it for some groups since...I dunno.  Last year sometime
?  Not sure.  I think I might've drunk those particular brain cells
away somewhere along the lime...

-- 
Andrew J Cosgriff <ajc@polydistortion.net> exterminate all rational thought !
                          twins download dare god CNN

Re: mysql as a backend

[Kim-Minh Kaplan]

Randal L. Schwartz writes:

> Is the nnimap: ready for prime-time?

I have been using it for real long time now, like for a year and a
half.  You get into some difficulties now and then -- much less for a
few months.  But the beauty of it is that when it does not work, you
can launch your other IMAP client to keep on reading your mail and
defer solving the problem for later.

Ah, an important note : I have *never* lost a mail due to nnimap/Gnus !

Kim-Minh.

Re: mysql as a backend

[Yair Friedman (Jerusalem)]

Kim-Minh Kaplan <kmkaplan@vocatex.fr> writes:

> Randal L. Schwartz writes:
> 
> > Is the nnimap: ready for prime-time?
> [...]
> 
> Ah, an important note : I have *never* lost a mail due to nnimap/Gnus !
> 

I have, and I was lucky that is was an unimportant mail.  That's OK by
me since I know that pgnus and nnimap can cause this to happen (The
specific bug was fixed thou).  Unfortunately nnimap doesn't create those
Incoming* backups anywhere.

--
Yair Friedman.

Re: mysql as a backend

[john s jacobs anderson]

>>>>> "Randal" == Randal L Schwartz <merlyn@stonehenge.com> writes:

Randal> Hey, now there's a thought.  An IMAP-server-daemon in Perl
Randal> that speaks DBI on the back end.  Doable, *and* general
Randal> purpose!

Okay, it's been a while -- anybody pick up the torch on actually
implementing this?

john.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
John S Jacobs Anderson                                   Apprentice Geek
jacobs@genehack.org                       Journeyman Molecular Biologist
<URL:http://genehack.org/>   <-------    GeneHack: bioinfo*linux*opinion

Re: mysql as a backend

[Tibor Simko]

>>>>> "YF" == "Yair Friedman (Jerusalem)" <YAIRFR@Amdocs.com> writes:

    YF> Unfortunately nnimap doesn't create those Incoming* backups
    YF> anywhere.

What about the *imap-log* buffer?

cheers,

-TS