[Info-vax] To MIME or not to MIME

[VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG]

In article <pk3u55$3ku$1 at gioia.aioe.org>, helbig at asclothestro.multivax.de (Phillip Helbig (undress to reply)) writes:
>In article <00B30867.65D035FD at SendSpamHere.ORG>, VAXman- 
>@SendSpamHere.ORG writes: 
>
>> My wife just scanned a laser cut piece of balsa wood -- poorly cut -- and she
>> mailed it to my VMS email.
>> 
>> I'd EXTRACTED the mail message to BALSA.TXT and tried to use the MIME utility
>> to extract the incorporated JPG.
>> 
>> MIME> open sys$manager:balsa.txt
>> %MIME-E-FILEERROR, file error: Filename requires a file type delimiter, '.'
>> %MIME-E-NOFILNAME, file name must be specified
>> %MIME-E-NOFILNAME, file name must be specified   
>> %MIME-W-NOMSGOPEN, no currently active message
>> MIME>              
>
>I haven't done much with MIME.  It is a bit strange, not well 
>documented, not well integrated, and mainly for VMS <---> VMS, where one 
>really doesn't need encoding at all (just mail binaries and EXTRACT 
>them).

Like I'd stated, my wife sends me photos and image scans regularly.  This
was the first time I'd ever encountered the messages shown.  Yes, MIME is
poorly documented and poorly implemented.  The "FILEERROR" would seem to
indicate the filename specified as the OPEN parameter.  But WHY should it
fail completely when I have the option to specify the filename into which
to save the attachment in the EXTRACT?  Even my Linux email allows me to
specify what filename an attachment is saved to.  
 
-- 
VAXman- A Bored Certified VMS Kernel Mode Hacker    VAXman(at)TMESIS(dot)ORG

I speak to machines with the voice of humanity.