Subject: Re: Wish List (follow up)

From: "Bruce Lilly" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 93 12:32:46 EST

Barry Landy wrote:
:Re my previous note, I should have said that to me the SRIALPOP-like 
:async connection (IP without SLIP) is far and away the most valuable 
:thing that could be done to PINE right now. We have lots of people who 
:do not have IP access and they have to login to the server to get their 
:mail, which places a much higher load on it than we would like.

Why IP?  IMAP2bis protocol is ordinary text; there's no need to encapsulate that
text in IP packets.  The client can communicate with the IMAP2bis server 
directly over the serial line (the client machine should have a function like 
poll() or select() for optimal handling of user input as well as communication 
with the server).  Indeed, you can (with an IMAP2bis protocol document handy, 
unless you're accustomed to speaking with a LISP :-)) directly run /etc/rimapd, 
speaking IMAP2bis (admittedly it's highly user-hostile).

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From: Barry Landy <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1993 17:46:59 GMT

> speaking IMAP2bis (admittedly it's highly user-hostile).
Perhaps I did not make myself sufficiently clear. My users wish to use 
PINE, ideally in client server mode. At present the only communications 
that PCPINE speaks is IP; I am asking for an extension of that.
The only way to connect via async at present is to dial in to a server 
system, and login there (using vt100, which PINE also insists on).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barry Landy                        Computer Laboratory:+44 223 334600
Head of Systems and Development    Direct line:        +44 223 334713
University of Cambridge Computing Service
New Museums Site                   Email:[email-masked]
Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QG

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From: Barry Landy <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1993 18:30:31 GMT

> text in IP packets.  The client can communicate with the IMAP2bis server 

On re-reading, I think I understand. What I am asking for is an async 
access - I dont care how it is implemented! If IMAP can be accessed via 
an async driver, that's fine by me!

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From: Mark Crispin <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1993 13:05:50 -0800 (PST)

On Tue, 21 Dec 93 12:32:46 EST, Bruce Lilly wrote:
> IMAP2bis protocol is ordinary text; there's no need to encapsulate that
> directly over the serial line

Yes, but the link should be reliable -- that is, with error correction and
flow control.  A simple serial link won't do it; hence some sort of
packetizing is needed.

It can, however, be more lightweight than full SLIP/IP/TCP.