


     NNNNEEEEWWWWSSSSDDDDBBBB((((5555))))		 XXXXEEEENNNNIIIIXXXX 3333....0000 ((((2222 MMMMaaaarrrrcccchhhh 1111999999992222))))	     NNNNEEEEWWWWSSSSDDDDBBBB((((5555))))



     NNNNAAAAMMMMEEEE
	  newsdb - USENET network news database: article tree, history, active, active.times

     DDDDEEEESSSSCCCCRRRRIIIIPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNN
	  Each news article is stored in a separate file with one or
	  more links, each a numeric name in a directory under
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////ssssppppoooooooollll////nnnneeeewwwwssss corresponding	to a newsgroup the article is
	  (cross-)posted to.  For example, an article posted to
	  ccccoooommmmpppp....uuuunnnniiiixxxx....wwwwiiiizzzzaaaarrrrddddssss might be stored in
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////ssssppppoooooooollll////nnnneeeewwwwssss////ccccoooommmmpppp////uuuunnnniiiixxxx////wwwwiiiizzzzaaaarrrrddddssss////4444888866667777.

	  The file ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////aaaaccccttttiiiivvvveeee	defines	the locally-valid news
	  groups and contains one line per group.  Each	line consists
	  of four blank-separated fields: newsgroup name, highest
	  local	article	number assigned, lowest	local article number
	  in use (approximately), and a	flag.  Both article-number
	  fields are at	least five digits wide.	 (Some older news
	  software may expect exactly five digits.) The	current	flag
	  values are yyyy (a normal unmoderated group), nnnn (like yyyy but
	  local	postings disallowed), mmmm	(a normal moderated group), xxxx
	  (a locally-disabled group, no	articles will be filed here),
	  and ====	(followed by the real group under which	to file
	  articles in this group; articles are treated exactly as if
	  their	NNNNeeeewwwwssssggggrrrroooouuuuppppssss:::: header specified the real group instead of
	  the original one; highest and	lowest fields are ignored).

	  The file ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////aaaaccccttttiiiivvvveeee....ttttiiiimmmmeeeessss is an extension of the
	  _a_c_t_i_v_e file that records the arrival of new newsgroups by
	  time and creator.  When a new	newsgroup is created, the
	  group	name, time of group creation (as seconds since January
	  1, 1970, 00:00, GMT),	and mail address of the	creator	are
	  appended as a	single line.  The file must always be sorted
	  in increasing	order of the creation-time field.  The news
	  software only	appends	to the file, which normally suffices
	  to ensure this.  An initial _a_c_t_i_v_e._t_i_m_e_s for already
	  existing newsgroups, with all	times equal to the time	of its
	  creation and all creators ``unknown'', can be	built using
	  _a_c_t._t_o._t_i_m_e_s (see _n_e_w_s_m_a_i_n_t(8)).  _A_c_t_i_v_e._t_i_m_e_s provides a
	  quick	way for	newsreaders to tell when new groups have
	  arrived, without weird heuristics and	expensive schemes like
	  storing old lists of newsgroups and comparing	them to	the
	  _a_c_t_i_v_e file.

	  The file ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////hhhhiiiissssttttoooorrrryyyy contains one line for each
	  article received.  Each line consists	of three tab-separated
	  fields: a _M_e_s_s_a_g_e-_I_D:, the arrival time as seconds since
	  midnight, Jan	1, 1970	and the	EEEExxxxppppiiiirrrreeeessss:::: value (a dash
	  indicates there was none) separated by a tilde, and the list
	  of links to this article.  If	an article has been expired or
	  cancelled without being seen first, the list of links	and
	  the tab before it are	omitted.  There	are also index files



     Page 1					      (printed 6/4/94)






     NNNNEEEEWWWWSSSSDDDDBBBB((((5555))))		 XXXXEEEENNNNIIIIXXXX 3333....0000 ((((2222 MMMMaaaarrrrcccchhhh 1111999999992222))))	     NNNNEEEEWWWWSSSSDDDDBBBB((((5555))))



	  to permit rapid lookup by message-id,	typically called
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////hhhhiiiissssttttoooorrrryyyy....ddddiiiirrrr and	////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////hhhhiiiissssttttoooorrrryyyy....ppppaaaagggg.

     EEEEXXXXAAAAMMMMPPPPLLLLEEEESSSS
	  A trivial _a_c_t_i_v_e file.

	       ccccoooonnnnttttrrrroooollll 0000000000000000666600000000000000006666 666600000000000000004444 yyyy
	       jjjjuuuunnnnkkkk 0000000000000000000000000000000077776666 00000000000077774444 yyyy
	       ccccoooommmmpppp....oooorrrrgggg....uuuussssrrrrggggrrrroooouuuupppp 0000000000000000000000000000000000006666 00000000000000004444 yyyy
	       ttttaaaallllkkkk....bbbbiiiizzzzaaaarrrrrrrreeee 0000000000000000222299996666111122223333 222299992222111133336666 nnnn
	       ccccoooommmmpppp....ssssyyyyssss....ssssuuuunnnn 0000000000000000000055550000111177775555 55550000111177773333 mmmm
	       lllliiiisssstttt....ssssuuuunnnn----ssssppppoooottttssss 0000000000000000000000000000000077776666 00000000000077776666 ====ccccoooommmmpppp....ssssyyyyssss....ssssuuuunnnn
	       ccccoooommmmpppp....oooossss....vvvvmmmmssss 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000 xxxx

	  An trivial _h_i_s_t_o_r_y file.

	       <<<<3333444455551111@@@@hhhhccccrrrr....UUUUUUUUCCCCPPPP>>>>	   555588881111999900005555555588888888~~~~----	  ccccoooommmmpppp....tttteeeexxxxtttt////1111333311117777 ccccoooommmmpppp....ssssoooouuuurrrrcccceeeessss....wwwwaaaannnntttteeeedddd////4444222200000000
	       <<<<9999333388883333@@@@aaaalllliiiicccceeee....UUUUUUUUCCCCPPPP>>>>   666611111111999933334444555511111111~~~~----

     FFFFIIIILLLLEEEESSSS
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////ssssppppoooooooollll////nnnneeeewwwwssss////_n_e_w_s/_g_r_o_u_p/_1_2_3_4
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////aaaaccccttttiiiivvvveeee
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////aaaaccccttttiiiivvvveeee....ttttiiiimmmmeeeessss
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////hhhhiiiissssttttoooorrrryyyy
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////hhhhiiiissssttttoooorrrryyyy....ddddiiiirrrr
	  ////uuuussssrrrr////lllliiiibbbb////nnnneeeewwwwssss////hhhhiiiissssttttoooorrrryyyy....ppppaaaagggg

     SSSSEEEEEEEE AAAALLLLSSSSOOOO
	  _d_b_z(1), _n_n(1), _r_e_a_d_n_e_w_s(1), _r_n(1), _d_b_z(3), _g_e_t_d_a_t_e(3),
	  _g_e_t_a_b_s_d_a_t_e(3), _n_e_w_s(5), _n_e_w_s_s_y_s(5), _e_x_p_i_r_e(8), _n_e_w_s_h_i_s_t(8),
	  _n_e_w_s_m_a_i_n_t(8),	_r_e_l_a_y_n_e_w_s(8), _n_e_w_s_i_n_v_a_d_e_r_s(9.1)

     BBBBUUUUGGGGSSSS
	  A single portable extended _h_i_s_t_o_r_y database, containing more
	  information about each article, might	be useful for some
	  newsreaders (notably _n_n and _t_r_n) and would eliminate the
	  expense of running _n_n_m_a_s_t_e_r and most especially _m_t_h_r_e_a_d_s.
	  More importantly, sites that support more than one such
	  newsreader would only	need a single multi-megabyte database.
	  On the other hand, _g_n_u_s or _g_n_e_w_s gets	the same effect	at
	  run-time with	no adjunct database, at	little expense (or so
	  their	users claim).

     HHHHIIIISSSSTTTTOOOORRRRYYYY
	  _A_c_t_i_v_e._t_i_m_e_s invented	by Mark	Moraes and Geoff Collyer as
	  part of the C	News project.









     Page 2					      (printed 6/4/94)



