Xref: utzoo comp.mail.elm:641 comp.unix.xenix:2603 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ateng!chip From: chip@ateng.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg) Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm,comp.unix.xenix Subject: Re: Elm on Xenix Keywords: Configure.sh Xenix Message-ID: <324@ateng.UUCP> Date: 4 Jul 88 22:29:05 GMT References: <509@altnet.ALTOS.COM> <1988Jun27.194358.9141@ziebmef.uucp> <996@ficc.UUCP> <169@ness386.UUCP> <1325@ddsw1.UUCP> Reply-To: chip@ateng.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg) Organization: A T Engineering, Tampa, FL Lines: 27 Followup-To: [Cross-posted to comp.unix.xenix] According to karl@ddsw1.UUCP (Karl Denninger): >In article <169@ness386.UUCP> mechsfm@ness386.UUCP (Shawn McDonald 512+377-6226) writes: >>I think that the official release of elm 2.0 should support the >>lastest release of Xenix. > >Try telling config you're a S5 VAX... it worked here, and we are using it >daily (1.7b now, it was 1.5 originally). No, no, NO! You do _not_ have a working Elm! It is only a reasonable facsimile thereof. :-) When "real" Unix /bin/mail locks fred's mailbox, it does it by exclusive creation of "/usr/spool/mail/fred.lock". Under Xenix, however, fred's mailbox is locked by creation of "/tmp/fred.mlk". This can be discerned by running "strings /usr/lib/mail/mail.local" -- you'll find the string "/tmp/%.10s.mlk" which is a printf-style format for the lock file. Thus you are in *big trouble* if you are using stock Elm under Xenix and new mail arrives -- or even worse, if Xenix's mail.local and Elm's "fastmail" program both want to send mail to fred at the same time. Ouch! -- Chip Salzenbergor A T Engineering My employer may or may not agree with me. You make me wanna break the laws of time and space You make me wanna eat pork