NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/comp/mail/mh/1090

Internet Message Format | 1992-09-03 | 3.7 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Jerry Peek)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mh
Subject: Second edition of "MH & xmh: E-mail for Users & Programmers"
Message-ID: <9974.715528396@rubble>
Date: 3 Sep 92 13:53:16 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: The Internet
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[Notice, everybody:  This is a commercial announcement.]

The new second edition of the Nutshell Handbook about MH & xmh
is out.  You can get it overseas in October.  A lot of you have
heard of the book, so I'll skip the introductory hype and tell
you what's new.  If you want more information, send me mail.

The second edition has been updated for MH 6.7.2 and X Release 5.  Also:
- I've added edge tabs, a "road map," emphasized the two quick-start
  tutorials--all to make the book easier to use and find what you need.
- A new chapter with 45 pages on the "mhook" utilities for handling
  new mail automatically.  I've tried hard to de-mystify these, show
  examples of ways to customize them and techniques for debugging.
- There's a new xmh Reference Guide in the purple pages at the back.
- The chapter with shell programs has three new scripts:
  * mysend is an MH sendproc that edits your messages as you send them.
    It's configured to add a "signature" to the ends of messages, but
    you can adapt it to do almost anything else.
  * edprofile lets R5 xmh users change the way that some commands work,
    just by clicking a button.
  * autoinc handles incoming mail automatically.  It's nice for people
    who can't use mhook utilities, also for handling mail in a batch.
  The rmmer message-removing script is more efficient; it can also
  prompt for confirmation before removing messages from certain folders.
  Many programs from the first edition have been improved.
- The index has been expanded.
- I covered the .xmhcheck file, for incorporating mail from many mailboxes.
- Chapter 10 has more examples of MH formatting (scan, repl, mhl, etc.).
  It also covers the new mh-format features introduced in MH 6.7.2.
- The Release 5 xmh is more flexible--especially the XmhShellCommand
  for running any UNIX shell command on selected mail messages.
- New sections tell how to handle packed mail files with packf
  and use the MH-like "mail shell" msh.
- There are even more tips for using MH and xmh in real applications,
  including new time-saving aliases, buttons, and command versions.
  Several new sections show how to use UNIX links to organize your mail.
- Appendix B, "Early History of MH," written by Bruce Borden and Stockton
  Gaines, should give you some insight into why MH is the way it is.
- I've incorporated lots of reader comments and suggestions.  (Thanks!)


Ordering info:  "MH & xmh: E-mail for Users & Programmers"
By Jerry Peek, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.  Second edition.
ISBN 1-56592-027-9.  728 pages.  $29.95 U.S.

Customers in the US and Canada who own the first edition and
order directly from ORA get a 25% discount; just send in the
title page from your copy of the first edition.  Sorry, this
discounted upgrade isn't available internationally. :-(

You can buy this at bookstores or directly from the publisher.
For a list of our overseas distributors or US bookstores mail, FAX,
or call [phone].  US & Canada: To order from the publisher, write:
   O'Reilly & Associates, 103A Morris St, Sebastopol, CA  95472
call 1-800-998-9938, or FAX [phone].
Email questions about ordering to [e-mail] or uunet!ora!nuts.

--Jerry Peek, O'Reilly & Associates, [e-mail], [phone]

P.S.  If you're in the Washington, DC area, I'll be at the WAUUG meeting
at the NIH, Bethesda on Tuesday September 8th... with copies of the book.