Re: nnchoke-retrieve-groups and nnchoke-request-group

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>]

Greg Stark <gsstark@mit.edu> writes:

> In rewriting and using my backend i've realized that gnus sometimes
> uses *-retrieve-groups to activate a bunch of groups and sometimes
> repeatedly calls *-request-group.

It will use the former if you use the `some' setting of
`gnus-read-active-file' and the latter if you use the nil setting.
The `some' setting will, as you've seen, never be slower than the nil
setting. 

> On a similar note, if i set gnus-read-active-file to 'some Gnus is
> smart enough to only ask for some groups, but it seems to still ask
> for more than it really needs to. It seems to ask for anything that
> isn't a zombie or killed group, even though i have
> gnus-activate-level and gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups set much
> lower so it's asking for active file information about group
> information it isn't even planning on using.

That's true.  Those variables aren't consulted at all when deciding
what groups to ask for active info on.  We need read active info on
all living groups, though, to have functions like the "bogus group
checking" work reliably.

> I think these problems are actually related. It doesn't really make
> sense to have a gnus-read-active-file variable, there should maybe
> be a nntp-read-active-file which helps decide which NNTP query to
> use to complete the retrieve-groups request, but there's no reason
> for a user to change how the interface between Gnus and the backends
> go about they're business. Well i suppose the distinction between
> 'some and t is useful, but i don't think the distinction between nil
> and 'some should be made by Gnus; i think that should be decided by
> an nntp variable.

This is decided by nntp -- if `some' is used.  nil isn't a useful
value, really.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  larsi@gnus.org * Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen