display-time-mail-function and GNU Emacs 21

display-time-mail-function and GNU Emacs 21

[Pavel Janík]

Hi,

GNU Emacs 21.1 supports display-time-mail-icon and similar stuff which
allows you to display a mail icon in the mode-line if you have new
mail. Do we have any generic way to check, if the user has new mail?

GNU Emacs has display-time-mail-function which is the function to call, for
indicating existence of new mail. And this could be hooked together with
some Gnus function. Do we have generic one for all backends? Should we
have one?

I use procmail to sort my files, so I have written a function to check if
there is any file with non-zero length and am using it. But it would be
nice if it could be done automagically ;-)
-- 
Pavel Janík

panic("Lucy in the sky....");
                  -- 2.2.16 arch/sparc64/kernel/starfire.c

Re: display-time-mail-function and GNU Emacs 21

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Pavel@Janik.cz (Pavel Janík) writes:

> GNU Emacs 21.1 supports display-time-mail-icon and similar stuff which
> allows you to display a mail icon in the mode-line if you have new
> mail. Do we have any generic way to check, if the user has new mail?

No, I don't think so.  Gnus can fetch mail via approx. one gazillion
methods, and most of these operate on the "we won't know whether
there's mail there until we try to fetch it" principle.

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

Re: display-time-mail-function and GNU Emacs 21

[Pavel Janík]

   From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>
   Date: Sun, 20 Jan 2002 01:04:29 +0100

Hi Lars,

   > > mail. Do we have any generic way to check, if the user has new mail?
   > 
   > No, I don't think so.  Gnus can fetch mail via approx. one gazillion
   > methods, and most of these operate on the "we won't know whether
   > there's mail there until we try to fetch it" principle.

OK, thank you (I thought it is so). I have extended display-time-mail-.*
for directory checking and will commit it soon do Emacs' CVS (see
emacs-devel@ for the first version).
-- 
Pavel Janík

Would you like to code up this, test it and send it to me?
                  -- Linus "lazy is my middle name" Torvalds in linux-kernel