[Info-vax] OpenVMS - DCL - Data entry filtering

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <551893e4$0$44152$c3e8da3$3a1a2348 at news.astraweb.com>, JF
Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot at vaxination.ca> writes: 

> > MAIL is a (good?) (bad?) example of what happens when you don't have a 
> > modern database, when you do have to work within the limitations on how 
> > fast you can scan directories (and this also from within a 
> 
> But MAIL was originally designed like NOTES, with the expectation that
> most messages would be stored in the main indexed MAIL.MAI file.
> 
> The size limitations that triggered external storage were fine
> originally, but once just about every internet email exceeded that size
> limit, the mail store morphed into something it had not been designed
> for with every email stored externally.

There is an easy way around this: have several mail files, spread over 
several directories (or even several disks).  Use SET FILE to switch 
between them.  Use the main mail file only as an "inbox" with, perhaps, 
some related folders ("todo", etc).

MAIL> spa dir/gra [helbig.mail...]*.mai/exc=*$*

Grand total of 24 directories, 174 files.

You need several directories to reduce the number of MAIL$* files in 
each directory.  I like to have several mail files in one directory even 
if there aren't too many MAIL$* files there so that I have a reasonable 
number of folders per file.

A while back, someone here posted another scheme: have subdirectories
based on (in his case---could be others) date (e.g. one per year).  In
each such directory, create a mail file via SET FILE/ENTER to the main
mail file.  Now use DCL rename (NOT file or move in mail) to rename the
messages to the appropriate mail files in the subdirectories.  (Know 
what you're doing first.  Normally, one should use only the commands in 
MAIL to move messages about.)  This has the advantage that the headers 
and first parts (entire parts for small messages) are in the original 
mail file, so one has only one mail file to deal with, useful for 
finding messages based on /FROM, /SUBJECT, and so on.  If one needs more 
information than in the mail file (obvious when a "file not found" 
message appears when it tries to access the MAIL$* file), just SET FILE
(in MAIL) to the appropriate mail file in the appropriate subdirectory.