What gnus should *really* be (was: Re: Probable bug in nnimap)

[Jeff Senn <senn@maya.com>]

Simon Josefsson <jas@pdc.kth.se> writes:
> Kai.Grossjohann@CS.Uni-Dortmund.DE (Kai Grossjohann) writes:
...
> > Yes, it would be useful to think about an ADT `article number' (though
> > number is the wrong word, didn't want to use id lest there be
> > confusion with message id).  What operations does one need on that
> > ADT?  Gnus could then be changed to use that ADT and then the ADT
> > could evolve to accomodate new backends.
> 
> I remember a silly idea I had some time ago, we could use wmperry's
> URL package as an interface to backends, and simply have Gnus be a
> yet-another-generic-url-viewer.
> 
> (w3+Gnus?  That would be the Grand Unified Program, wouldn't it?  Hm.
> GUP.  Sounds nice.)
> 
> Anyway, so, in the group buffer "groups" are simply URLs, on the form
...
> The summary buffer also render URLs, now on the form of
...
> While I'm at it, we'd might as well make it work in JEmacs and have
> multithreading and cool GUI widgets too.
> 
> I'm being quite silly. I'll shut up now. :-)

No-no! not silly. [Well -- the HTTP/URL everything-must-be-a-web-browser 
thing is a bit silly... ;-) ]

Imagine this world:

Each "source of data" (let us call it a "repository"): provides an
interface to data objects.  Each of these objects is pure data -- it
has no "computational interface". Let us use some easy to understand
and flexible form for these objects -- say each one is an extensible
"dictionary", a-list, or a list of name-typed-value pairs (let us call
this data object an "E-form" -- a term coined by the esteemed Michael
Dertouzos).  Further each object should be universally and uniquely
identified by a UUID (not hard -- e.g. the email Message-Id) -- let's
call such objects "U-Forms".

Given such a (wonderful) world where various repositories serve up
pure-data U-Forms, can inform me when they change, edit them on my
behalf, and move them around to manage replication, what do I need for
a UI?

I need a browser/editor for collections of U-Forms (clearly collections
should just be U-Forms themselves), a browser/editor of uform "structure"
(list of attributes), and a browser/editor for large value-blobs of various
types (text, images, {ht,x}ml, sound, ...).

I posit that gnus is very close to this world already (e.g. backend
almost-repositories, group and summary buffer "collection-viewer" (are
they so different?), message buffer) -- so are many other things in
the world: file explorers/filesystems (anyone looked at BeOS lately?),
other e-mail/news clients, SQL/database browsers, OO class browsers...

Slowly, but surely, (although it *is* frustrating sometimes) we are
homing in on a tractable world for managing information...

--
-Jas
---------------------------------------------------------    / / |-/ \ / /|
Jeff Senn           412-488-2900      MAYA Design Group     /|/| |/ o | /-|
Chief Technologist  412-488-2940 fax  2100 Wharton Street  Taming Complexity
Head of R&D         senn@maya.com     Pittsburgh, PA 15203   www.maya.com