september 0.45, gnus-server-equal

september 0.45, gnus-server-equal

[Felix Lee]

symptom:

	when (eq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
	reading the active file only fetches data for a few
	newsgroups that I'm subscribed to.

analysis:

	it's only fetching the groups that are explicitly labelled
	with the method (nntp "my-news-server").

	most of the newsgroups in my gnus-newsrc-assoc were added in
	an earlier era, so they have a method of nil and therefore
	don't get fetched.

comment:

	attaching the method to every item in gnus-newsrc-assoc is
	not very compact.  here's a piece of my gnus-newsrc-assoc:

	(("comp.org.user-groups.apcug" 3 nil nil
	  (nntp "news.teleport.com"
	   (nntp-server-opened-hook
	    (nntp-send-mode-reader nntp-send-authinfo-from-file))
           (nntp-address "news.teleport.com")))
         ("comp.org.user-groups.meetings" 3 nil nil
	  (nntp "news.teleport.com"
	   (nntp-server-opened-hook
	    (nntp-send-mode-reader nntp-send-authinfo-from-file))
           (nntp-address "news.teleport.com")))
         ("comp.org.user-groups.management" 3 nil nil
	  (nntp "news.teleport.com"
	   (nntp-server-opened-hook
	    (nntp-send-mode-reader nntp-send-authinfo-from-file))
           (nntp-address "news.teleport.com")))

	replicate it about 500 more times, and my newsrc.eld file
	becomes a couple megabytes.

	since there are relatively few different methods, it would be
	better to have an external representation more like this:

	( (method-0 group-0-0 group-1-0 ...)
	  (method-1 group-1-0 group-1-1 ...)
	  ... )

Re: september 0.45, gnus-server-equal

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Felix Lee <flee@teleport.com> writes:

> symptom:
> 
> 	when (eq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
> 	reading the active file only fetches data for a few
> 	newsgroups that I'm subscribed to.
> 
> analysis:
> 
> 	it's only fetching the groups that are explicitly labelled
> 	with the method (nntp "my-news-server").

Yup.  There was a bug in `gnus-find-method-for-group'.

> 	attaching the method to every item in gnus-newsrc-assoc is
> 	not very compact.  here's a piece of my gnus-newsrc-assoc:
> 
> 	(("comp.org.user-groups.apcug" 3 nil nil
> 	  (nntp "news.teleport.com"
> 	   (nntp-server-opened-hook
> 	    (nntp-send-mode-reader nntp-send-authinfo-from-file))
>            (nntp-address "news.teleport.com")))

This is a foreign group, right?  You could define a virtual server
(say, "teleport") and use the name of this virtual server instead of
the full select method.  I think 0.45 should automatically use the
virtual server name instead of the select method when that is
possible. 

> 	since there are relatively few different methods, it would be
> 	better to have an external representation more like this:
> 
> 	( (method-0 group-0-0 group-1-0 ...)
> 	  (method-1 group-1-0 group-1-1 ...)
> 	  ... )

Keeping several lists that carry parts of the complete information
updated is a major pain.  

-- 
  "Yes.  The journey through the human heart 
     would have to wait until some other time."

Re: september 0.45, gnus-server-equal

[Felix Lee]

lars:
> > 	(("comp.org.user-groups.apcug" 3 nil nil
> > 	  (nntp "news.teleport.com"
> > 	   (nntp-server-opened-hook
> > 	    (nntp-send-mode-reader nntp-send-authinfo-from-file))
> >            (nntp-address "news.teleport.com")))
> This is a foreign group, right?  You could define a virtual server
> (say, "teleport") and use the name of this virtual server instead of

urr, no.  that's what I set gnus-select-method to, and it looks like
all new newsgroups get tagged with that value.

> > 	( (method-0 group-0-0 group-1-0 ...)
> > 	  (method-1 group-1-0 group-1-1 ...)
> > 	  ... )
> Keeping several lists that carry parts of the complete information
> updated is a major pain.  

it doesn't have to be an internal format.  just an external one.
converting one to the other is pretty easy.  and it may reduce gnus's
memory usage
--

Re: september 0.45, gnus-server-equal

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Felix Lee <flee@teleport.com> writes:

> > This is a foreign group, right?  You could define a virtual server
> > (say, "teleport") and use the name of this virtual server instead of
> 
> urr, no.  that's what I set gnus-select-method to, and it looks like
> all new newsgroups get tagged with that value.

That definitely should not happen at all.  Native groups should have a
nil (or "native") select method.  This might be yet another effect of
that buggy `gnus-find-method-for-group' function in Septembers
0.42-0.46.  If you see any other new native groups being subscribed
with a non-nil select method, could you drop me a note?

-- 
  "Yes.  The journey through the human heart 
     would have to wait until some other time."