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[bug-mailutils] Mailutils 2.99.94 [alpha] available


From: Sergey Poznyakoff
Subject: [bug-mailutils] Mailutils 2.99.94 [alpha] available
Date: Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:32:31 +0200

Hello,

Mailutils version 2.99.94 is finally available for download.  This is an
alpha release featuring almost a complete rewrite of the Mailutils code
base.  The following files are available:

ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/mailutils/mailutils-2.99.94.tar.gz      5.2M
ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/mailutils/mailutils-2.99.94.tar.bz2     3.5M
ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/mailutils/mailutils-2.99.94.tar.xz      2.5M

SHA1 checksums follow:

c5c45ed1710ccacf9b3598562dad61c19426a39a  mailutils-2.99.94.tar.gz
797670634a3376c60f8cdf897f86737ff2353915  mailutils-2.99.94.tar.bz2
6c9fb01be50286f4c92ba3ab9f9650adff1a4ae6  mailutils-2.99.94.tar.xz

As usual, the files are signed with my key (55D0C732).

Following is an excerpt from its NEWS file:

This version is a major rewrite of GNU Mailutils.  Quite a few parts
of the basic framework were rewritten from scratch, while some others
undergone a considerable revamping.  The user documentation at the
moment is insufficient, and in some aspects even scarce.  It is being
worked upon.  However, most of the utilities self-document themselves.  
To obtain a summary of available configuration statements for a given
program, run `program --config-help'.  For additional documentation,
please refer to <http://mailutils.org/wiki>.  If the piece of
documentation you are looking for is not available there, don't
hesitate to post your questions to <address@hidden>.

Due to the global nature of these changes, the rewrite of some parts
of the package is not yet finished, while some others are considered
experimental.  Not currently implemented are:

 - imap client
 - nntp client
 - Tokyocabinet support
 
Experimental features are:

 - C++ bindings
 - Python bindings

The discussion below lists the changes in this release.  It is divided
in three major sections, each addressing a particular audience.  The
section entitles "Important changes" is of particular interest to
users.  This is perhaps the most visible part of this release.  The
section "Configuration changes" addresses package installers.  It
discusses the changes in configure script and related things.
Finally, the section "Changes to the library" is of interest to
programmers which use or wish to use Mailutils in their projects.
 
* Important changes

** IPv6 support.

The core library as well as client and server utilities support
AF_INET6 family of addresses.

** Support for POP3S and IMAP4S in the respective servers.

A single instance of pop3d is able to handle several subservers,
supporting both plain POP3 and encrypted POP3S simultaneously.  The
same holds true for imap4d.

** DBM support reimplemented from scratch.

The most important result of this change is that Mailutils is now able
to handle databases of different formats (e.g. GDBM, Berkeley DB,
NDBM) simultaneously, without need to reconfigure it.  The database
flavor to use is selected at runtime, using `database URL'.  For
example, "gdbm:///etc/mail/aliases.db" refers to a GDBM database.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/libmu_dbm>.

** New utility `mu'

`Mu' is a multi-purpose tool which can be of use to users, programmers
and system administrators.  It allows you to retrieve information
about Mailutils configuration, check ACLs and authentication tickets,
list, create or modify DBM files, construct filters of arbitrary
complexity and many more.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/mu>.

** Configurable file safety checking

Some files, such as SSL key files, need particular protection, while
others (e.g. users' forward files) don't require it.  Mailutils
configuration allows for configuring what safety checks are required
for each group of files.  Files not meeting the configured criteria
are not used to avoid compromising security.

** Improved debugging and diagnostics

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/debug_level>.

** Imap4d undergone a lot of changes to comply to existing RFCs

** Pop3d and imap4d allow for mailbox-independent compulsory locking

This feature is useful for those system administrators who don't wish
to permit simultaneous access to mailboxes, even when the nature of the
mailbox allows that (e.g. maildir).

** Sieve: new extensions

New extension action `pipe' invokes arbitrary external program and
pipes the message (or any part thereof) to it.  

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/Pipe>.

A similar test uses the program exit code to decide what to do with
the message

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/Pipe_test>.

New extension test `list' compares values of mail headers from a
supplied list with a list of values.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/List_(Sieve_test)>.

New extension test `timestamp' compares the value of a structured date
header field with the given date.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/Timestamp_(Sieve_test)>.

** MH: improved compatibility with other implementations

** mailutils-config is deprecated.

Use `mu cflags' and `mu ldflags' instead.  The mailutils-config tool is
rewritten as a wrapper over these commands.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/mu> for more information.

** movemail functionality considerably improved

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/Fetching_Mail_with_Movemail>.

* Configuration changes

These are of particular interest to installers.

** New configuration options to disable particular groups of utilities.

The `--enable-build-servers' options controls whether servers (such as
imap4d, pop3d, comsat) will be built.  Its counterpart,
`--enable-build-clients' controls whether client utilities will be
built.

** DBM options

It is normally not needed to specify --with-gdbm, --with-berkeley-db
or --with-ndbm explicitly.  Configuration will automatically pick up
all available DBM libraries it can use.

The Tokyocabinet support (--with-tokyocabinet) is temporarily not
available.  Installers are urged to use --without-tokyocabinet, if
it is installed.

** Imap and nntp clients are not yet implemented

** Experimental features

The C++ and Python bindings are considered experimental and unstable.

* Changes to the library

This is the most considerable part of changes.  The following outlines
only the most imortant ones.

** Stream support is rewritten from scratch

Stream support is a cornerstone on which the rest of Mailutils is
built.  The new implementation was developed with three main
objectives in mind: reliability, speed and consistency.

** URL support is rewritten from scratch

New URL functions allow both for creating URLs from string
representations and for building them from parts.

** Filter support is rewritten from scratch

Apart from the implementation itself, lots of new filters are
provided.  See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/Category:Filters> for a
list of those.

A concept of `filter chains' was introduced, which allows for
creating new filters using existing ones as their components.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/Mu#filter>, for a description.

** POP client library is rewritten from scratch

The new library provides two APIs: a traditional mailbox API which
hides the particularities of the POP protocol, and POP-specific API,
which allows for writing applications directly accessing POP features.

** SMTP client library is rewritten from scratch

The new library provides a detailed control over the SMTP
transaction.

** Support for Maildir and MH formats considerably improved.

** MIME support improved.

** Debugging support considerably improved.

See <http://mailutils.org/wiki/debug_level>.

** Configuration file support (libmu_cfg) rewritten.

--
Regards,
Sergey



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