+++ /dev/null
-#
-# README.developers
-#
-# $Id$
-#
-
-This file is intended to provide a few tips for anyone doing development on nmh.
-Developers who learn things "the hard way" about the nmh codebase (as opposed to
-local info best encoded in a comment) are encouraged to share their wisdom here.
-
-The topics are organized alphabetically.
-
-
---------------
-autoconf files
---------------
-
-If you wish to change the `configure' script or its related files, you'll need
-to first install GNU m4, available from <ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/m4/> and then
-GNU autoconf (<ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/autoconf/>).
-
-Most of the configure-related files are automatically generated. The only files
-you should need to manually edit are acconfig.h and configure.in. Don't, for
-instance, edit config.h.in. Though it is an input file from the point of view
-of the users (and the configure script) it is an output file from the point of
-view of the developers (and the autoconf script).
-
-If you do change acconfig.h or configure.in and want to `cvs commit' them, be
-sure to regenerate the output files and commit them as well. The easiest way to
-regenerate the files is to simply run `make' -- it'll do the necessary calls of
-autoconf and autoheader and will do a `./config.status --recheck', which will
-exercise your new configure script.
-
-When you commit the configure-related files, it's very important to commit them
-in the right order. The timestamps on the files in the CVS archive are based on
-the current time at the moment they were committed -- the timestamps from the
-local files you commit are not copied over. If you commit the files in the
-wrong order, you'll cause unnecessary calls of `autoconf' to occur when people
-try to `make' their copies of the latest CVS source. These people may be
-end-users who don't have any interest in changing the configure-related files
-and don't have autoconf installed. They'll be unable to make without playing
-around with `touch'.
-
-The correct order to commit the configure-related files is:
-
- % cvs commit acconfig.h config.h.in configure.in configure stamp-h.in
-
-If you haven't changed all of those files, just commit the rest in the stated
-order (e.g. cvs commit acconfig.h config.h.in stamp-h.in).
-
-
--------------------
-directory structure
--------------------
-
-Following is a list of nmh's directories along with a brief description of the
-purpose of each one. Meanings are given for the abbreviations, but note that
-these meanings are just informed guesses as to what the MH developers were
-thinking.
-
-./
- The top-level directory. Contains files like README and INSTALL.
-
-config/
- Contains utility files for the `configure' process. Ordinarily nothing in
- here needs to be messed with.
-
-etc/
- Contains files, file templates, and scripts to generate files that will be
- installed in the ${prefix}/etc directory. Stuff like replcomps.
-
-h/
- Most of nmh's header (.h) files are kept not in the individual source
- directories, but in this central location.
-
-man/
- Contains all the input files that are processed to generate nmh's manual
- pages.
-
-mts/
- "mts" stands for "Message Transfer Service". Source files specific to the
- different MTSs go in the subdirectories.
-
-mts/mmdf/
- "mmdf" stands for "Multichannel Memorandum Distribution Facility". It is an
- alternative to sendmail used primarily on SCO UNIX.
-
-mts/sendmail/
- When nmh is configured --with-mts=sendmail, the files in this directory are
- used.
-
-mts/smtp/
- When nmh is configured to just talk to an SMTP server over TCP/IP, the
- source in this directory is compiled.
-
-sbr/
- "sbr" stands for "subroutine(s)". For the most part, each source file in
- this directory contains a single function with the same name as the source
- file. These functions are of general use and are called from throughout
- nmh.
-
-uip/
- "uip" stands for "User Interface Programs". Most nmh commands have a file
- in this directory named <command>.c containing the code for that command
- (e.g. repl.c). In some cases there is also an auxiliary file called
- <command>sbr.c which contains additional subroutines called from <command>.c
- (which would contain not much else besides main()).
-
-zotnet/
- Files in this hierarchy were either written by or moved here by UCI
- (University of California, Irvine) after they took over MH from the Rand
- Corporation. "Zot!" is the sound effect made by the anteater in the "B.C."
- comic strip when its tongue lashes out at ants. The anteater is UCI's
- official mascot. Not sure whether UCInet was once called ZotNet...
-
-zotnet/bboards/
- UCI added Bulletin Board functionality to MH with the `bbc' command. This
- functionality has been removed from nmh but apparently files in this
- directory are still needed for other purposes.
-
-zotnet/mf/
- "mf" stands for "Mail Filter". The filtering in this case apparently refers
- to translation between different address and mailbox formats.
-
-zotnet/mts/
- MTS code not specific to any single MTS apparently goes here.
-
-zotnet/tws/
- No idea what "tws" stands for, other than 't' almost certainly standing for
- "time". Date and time manipulation routines go here.
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