diplodocus.org Git - nmh/blob - docs/historical/2.9BSD/README

   1 Title:          MH
   2
   3 Authors:        Bruce Borden
   4                 Stockton Gaines
   5                 Norman Shapiro
   6
   7 Help from:      Phyllis Kantar
   8                 Robert Anderson
   9                 David Crocker
  10
  11
  12 Description:
  13
  14 The user command interface to MH is the UNIX ``shell'' (the standard
  15 UNIX command interpreter).  Each separable component of message handling,
  16 such as message composition or message display, is a separate command.
  17 Each program is driven from and updates a private user environment,
  18 which is stored as a file between program invocations.  This private
  19 environment also contains information to ``custom tailor'' MH to the
  20 individuals's tastes.  MH stores each message as a separate file under
  21 UNIX, and it utilizes the tree-structured UNIX file system to organize
  22 groups of files within separate directories or ``folders.''  All of
  23 the UNIX facilities for dealing with files and directories, such as
  24 renaming, copying, deleting, cataloging, off-line printing, etc., are
  25 applicable to messages and directories of messages (folders).  Thus,
  26 important capabilities needed in a message system are available in MH
  27 without the need (often seen in other message systems) for code that
  28 duplicates the facilities of the supporting operating system.  It also
  29 allows users familiar with the shell to use MH with minimal effort.