From: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!info-vax
Newsgroups: fa.info-vax
Title: mail checking
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.7149
Posted: Wed May 12 01:52:51 1982
Received: Thu May 13 00:48:09 1982

>From RWK@SCRC-TENEX@MIT-AI Wed May 12 01:50:46 1982

    Date: 10 May 1982  19:54-EDT (Monday)
    From: Mijjil (Matthew J. Lecin) 
    I am wondering where this info is kept and whether or not the AVERAGE
    unprivileged user process  can GET  this information.   I am  trying,
    basically, to  write  the  equivalent  of  DEC-20  EXEC's  MAIL-CHECK
    feature on VMS...

The stuff is on the fiche.  There are MACRO and BLISS definitions for
the fields in the UAF, which is an indexed file of one index, indexed on
the username.  It is a simple matter to write a program to access this
information.  It's not very difficult to make it into a shareable
exec-mode routine which gives itself SYSPRV, opens the SYSUAF, and
returns this information.  The documentation for this is in the "Real-Time
User's Guide" on priveledged sharable sections.

Unless your system manager is paranoid, you can run AUTHORIZE to create
yourself a UAF to use in testing your program.  (Testing the part to
make it a CMEXEC routine is a bit harder, you'll probably need your
system manager's cooperation there...)

Then when it's debugged, give your system manager your program to be
INSTALLed, and ordinary non-priveledged users can link in your routine
with their ordinary program, and call your new routine, which is
essentially a user-added system call.

Or maybe you're lucky and your system manager does not deny read access
to the SYSUAF.

If this is too much work, you can write your MAIL-CHECK program, and
then have your system manager INSTALL it with the SYSPRV privelege.