[xemacs-hg @ 2002-07-31 07:23:39 by michaels] 2002-07-17 Marcus Crestani <crestani@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de> Markus Kaltenbach <makalten@informatik.uni-tuebingen.de> Mike Sperber <mike@xemacs.org> configure flag to turn these changes on: --use-kkcc First we added a dumpable flag to lrecord_implementation. It shows, if the object is dumpable and should be processed by the dumper. * lrecord.h (struct lrecord_implementation): added dumpable flag (MAKE_LRECORD_IMPLEMENTATION): fitted the different makro definitions to the new lrecord_implementation and their calls. Then we changed mark_object, that it no longer needs a mark method for those types that have pdump descritions. * alloc.c: (mark_object): If the object has a description, the new mark algorithm is called, and the object is marked according to its description. Otherwise it uses the mark method like before. These procedures mark objects according to their descriptions. They are modeled on the corresponding pdumper procedures. (mark_with_description): (get_indirect_count): (structure_size): (mark_struct_contents): These procedures still call mark_object, this is needed while there are Lisp_Objects without descriptions left. We added pdump descriptions for many Lisp_Objects: * extents.c: extent_auxiliary_description * database.c: database_description * gui.c: gui_item_description * scrollbar.c: scrollbar_instance_description * toolbar.c: toolbar_button_description * event-stream.c: command_builder_description * mule-charset.c: charset_description * device-msw.c: devmode_description * dialog-msw.c: mswindows_dialog_id_description * eldap.c: ldap_description * postgresql.c: pgconn_description pgresult_description * tooltalk.c: tooltalk_message_description tooltalk_pattern_description * ui-gtk.c: emacs_ffi_description emacs_gtk_object_description * events.c: * events.h: * event-stream.c: * event-Xt.c: * event-gtk.c: * event-tty.c: To write a pdump description for Lisp_Event, we converted every struct in the union event to a Lisp_Object. So we created nine new Lisp_Objects: Lisp_Key_Data, Lisp_Button_Data, Lisp_Motion_Data, Lisp_Process_Data, Lisp_Timeout_Data, Lisp_Eval_Data, Lisp_Misc_User_Data, Lisp_Magic_Data, Lisp_Magic_Eval_Data. We also wrote makro selectors and mutators for the fields of the new designed Lisp_Event and added everywhere these new abstractions. We implemented XD_UNION support in (mark_with_description), so we can describe exspecially console/device specific data with XD_UNION. To describe with XD_UNION, we added a field to these objects, which holds the variant type of the object. This field is initialized in the appendant constructor. The variant is an integer, it has also to be described in an description, if XD_UNION is used. XD_UNION is used in following descriptions: * console.c: console_description (get_console_variant): returns the variant (create_console): added variant initialization * console.h (console_variant): the different console types * console-impl.h (struct console): added enum console_variant contype * device.c: device_description (Fmake_device): added variant initialization * device-impl.h (struct device): added enum console_variant devtype * objects.c: image_instance_description font_instance_description (Fmake_color_instance): added variant initialization (Fmake_font_instance): added variant initialization * objects-impl.h (struct Lisp_Color_Instance): added color_instance_type * objects-impl.h (struct Lisp_Font_Instance): added font_instance_type * process.c: process_description (make_process_internal): added variant initialization * process.h (process_variant): the different process types

@node Reading Mail, Calendar/Diary, Sending Mail, Top
@chapter Reading Mail
@cindex mail
@cindex message

XEmacs provides three separate mail-reading packages.  Each one comes with
its own manual, which is included standard with the XEmacs distribution.

The recommended mail-reading package for new users is VM.  VM works
with standard Unix-mail-format folders and was designed as a replacement
for the older Rmail.

XEmacs also provides a sophisticated and comfortable front-end to the
MH mail-processing system, called @samp{mh-e}.  Unlike in other
mail programs, folders in MH are stored as file-system directories,
with each message occupying one (numbered) file.  This facilitates
working with mail using shell commands, and many other features of
MH are also designed to integrate well with the shell and with
shell scripts.  Keep in mind, however, that in order to use mh-e
you must have the MH mail-processing system installed on your
computer.

Finally, XEmacs provides the Rmail package.  Rmail is (currently) the
only mail reading package distributed with FSF GNU Emacs, and is
powerful in its own right.  However, it stores mail folders in a special
format called @samp{Babyl}, that is incompatible with all other
frequently-used mail programs.  A utility program is provided for
converting Babyl folders to standard Unix-mail format; however, unless
you already have mail in Babyl-format folders, you should consider
using VM or mh-e instead. (If at times you have to use FSF Emacs, it
is not hard to obtain and install VM for that editor.)