Re: a provocative question?

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On 09/06/07 20:45, Chris Browne wrote:
> quension(at)gmail(dot)com ("Trevor Talbot") writes:
>> There's also a point in regard to how modifications are made to your
>> data store. In general, things working with text files don't go to
>> much effort to maintain durability like a real database would. The
>> most direct way of editing a text file is to make all the changes in
>> memory, then write the whole thing out. Some editors make backup
>> files, or use a create-delete-rename cycle, but they won't
>> necessarily force the data to disk -- if it's entirely in cache you
>> could end up losing the contents of the file anyway.
>
> In the case of Eudora, if its filesystem access protocol involves
> writing a new text file, and completing that before unlinking the old
> version, then the risk of "utter destruction" remains fairly low
> specifically because of the nature of access protocol.

mbox is a monolithic file also, and you need to copy/delete,
copy/delete, yadda yadda yadda. Just to do anything, you need 2x as
much free disk space as you biggest mbox file. What a PITA.

mh and Maildir are, as has been partially mentioned, much more
efficient in that regard.

(Yes... mbox is an excellent transport format.)

- --
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson LA USA

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day.
Hit him with a fish, and he goes away for good!

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