INN commit: trunk/doc/pod (news.pod)

INN Commit Russ_Allbery at isc.org
Sat Feb 28 22:17:49 UTC 2009


    Date: Saturday, February 28, 2009 @ 14:17:49
  Author: eagle
Revision: 8364

Rephrase some of the NEWS entries for 2.5.0 to be more idiomatic and
rewrap some long lines.  Add new NEWS entries for improved IPv6 support,
code cleanup, and the improved test suite.

Modified:
  trunk/doc/pod/news.pod

----------+
 news.pod |  170 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------
 1 file changed, 103 insertions(+), 67 deletions(-)

Modified: news.pod
===================================================================
--- news.pod	2009-02-28 20:21:53 UTC (rev 8363)
+++ news.pod	2009-02-28 22:17:49 UTC (rev 8364)
@@ -12,21 +12,21 @@
 =item *
 
 In order to process control messages, B<controlchan> now needs the
-C<MIME::Parser> module.  It is available from CPAN (C<MIME-tools> in
-F<modules/by-module/MIME/>, for instance on ftp.perl.org).  You can also use
-the one provided with your distribution, has it already been packaged for it.
+C<MIME::Parser> module.  Packages are available from most distributions,
+or you can install the module directly from CPAN (C<MIME-tools> in
+F<modules/by-module/MIME/>, for instance on ftp.perl.org).
 
-A version of Perl superior to 5.8.0 is recommended with INN.  In case you
-are not using such a version, you will also need the C<Encode> module so as
-to process control messages (it was not part of Perl before its 5.8.0 version).
+Perl 5.8.0 or later is recommended for INN.  If you are using an earlier
+version, you will also need the C<Encode> module for correct processing of
+control messages.  (It is included with Perl itself in 5.8.0 and later.)
 
 =item *
 
 You should use the new F<control.ctl.local> file shipped with INN in
-I<pathetc> and, at the same time, update your F<control.ctl> and F<moderators>
-files.  Also make sure that your F<active.times>, F<distrib.pats> and
-F<newsgroups> files are properly encoded in UTF-8, as it is strongly
-recommended by S<RFC 3977>.
+I<pathetc> and, at the same time, update your F<control.ctl> and
+F<moderators> files.  Also make sure that your F<active.times>,
+F<distrib.pats> and F<newsgroups> files are properly encoded in UTF-8, as
+it is strongly recommended by S<RFC 3977>.
 
 =item *
 
@@ -38,15 +38,21 @@
 
 The $SPOOLBASE variable has been renamed to $SPOOLDIR in B<innshellvars>
 in order to be more consistent.  It impacts shell scripts only.  If you
-import B<innshellvars> and use that variable in your scripts, you will have
-to rename it.
+import B<innshellvars> and use that variable in your scripts, you will
+have to rename it.
 
+=item *
+
+B<gpgverify> is no longer included in INN,  B<pgpverify> now has better
+support for GnuPG and should be used instead.
+
 =back
 
-The parameters used by B<nnrpd> to provide TLS support are now I<tlscafile>,
-I<tlscapath>, I<tlscertfile> and I<tlskeyfile> in F<inn.conf>.  The F<sasl.conf>
-file used for that in previous versions of INN is obsolete.  B<innupgrade>
-takes care of the change during C<make update>.
+The parameters used by B<nnrpd> to provide TLS support are now
+I<tlscafile>, I<tlscapath>, I<tlscertfile> and I<tlskeyfile> in
+F<inn.conf>.  The F<sasl.conf> file used for that in previous versions of
+INN is obsolete.  B<innupgrade> takes care of the change during C<make
+update>.
 
 The I<nntpactsync> parameter has been renamed to I<incominglogfrequency>
 in F<inn.conf>; B<innupgrade> handles this renaming during the update.
@@ -56,9 +62,10 @@
 modification during C<make update>.
 
 When starting B<innd> by hand, B<innd> can just be run directly rather
-than using B<inndstart>.  If you get error messages about resetting the file
-descriptor limits, you may need to increase the file descriptor limits.
-See the sample init script in F<contrib> for an example of how to do this.
+than using B<inndstart>.  If you get error messages about resetting the
+file descriptor limits, you may need to increase the file descriptor
+limits.  See the sample init script in F<contrib> for an example of how to
+do this.
 
 If you are upgrading from a version prior to S<INN 2.4>, see also
 L<Upgrading from 2.3 to 2.4>.
@@ -112,72 +119,85 @@
 
 =item *
 
-INN now uses S<autoconf 2.59> or later for configuration.  As a result, some
-C<configure> options have changed slightly and more of the standard B<--*dir>
-options should be supported in lieu of the old INN-specific options.  See
-C<configure --help> for the available options.
+INN's IPv6 support was largely rewritten by Russ Allbery.  IPv4 and IPv6
+are now handled through the same code wherever possible, the new
+IPv6-aware APIs are used everywhere possible, and replacement functions
+are provided for systems that don't have them yet.  The network code is
+now much more centralized, eliminating lots of duplicate code and adding
+better IPv6 support to some utilities.
 
 =item *
 
-Thanks to Kirill Berezin, the buffindexed overview method now supports buffers
-larger than S<2 GB>.  It is not necessary to compile INN with large file support
-to use such large buffers with buffindexed.  Buffindexed is now also more robust
-with mmaped files.
+INN now uses S<autoconf 2.59> or later for configuration.  As a result,
+some C<configure> options have changed slightly and more of the standard
+B<--*dir> options should be supported in lieu of the old INN-specific
+options.  See C<configure --help> for the available options.
 
 =item *
 
+Thanks to Kirill Berezin, the buffindexed overview method now supports
+buffers larger than S<2 GB>.  It is not necessary to compile INN with
+large file support to use such large buffers with buffindexed.
+Buffindexed is now also more robust with mmaped files and uses more
+optimized data placement.
+
+=item *
+
 B<tinyleaf>, a miniature IHAVE-only leaf server written by Russ Allbery,
 is now included.  See the tinyleaf(8) man page for more information.
 
 =item *
 
-B<controlchan> recognizes the new application/news-groupinfo entity described
-in USEPRO.  The C<MIME::Parser> and C<Encode> modules are used.  Processing
-control messages has been greatly improved, especially checkgroups:  the
-F<active> and F<newsgroups> files are now properly updated by them.
+B<controlchan> recognizes the new application/news-groupinfo entity
+described in USEPRO and can handle character set conversions of newsgroup
+descriptions.  The C<MIME::Parser> and C<Encode> modules are used.
+Processing control messages has been greatly improved, especially
+checkgroups: the F<active> and F<newsgroups> files are now properly
+updated when they are processed.
 
-A new F<control.ctl.local> file has also been added in I<pathetc>.  It is
-used by B<controlchan> and allows to specify local rules against control messages
-without having to modify F<control.ctl>.  It contains the encodings to use
-for the F<newsgroups> file (by default, UTF-8 will be used for the descriptions
-of the newsgroups, as strongly recommended by S<RFC 3977>).
+A new F<control.ctl.local> file has also been added in I<pathetc>.  Rules
+set in that file override rules in F<control.ctl>, allowing administrators
+to specify local rules for some control messages without modifying the
+F<control.ctl> configuration file that comes with INN.  It also specifies
+encodings to use for the F<newsgroups> file.  By default, UTF-8 will be
+used for newsgroup descriptions, as strongly recommended by S<RFC 3977>.
 
 =item *
 
-The Perl and Python I<filter_mode> hooks are now called when B<innd> is shutting
-down via either C<ctlinnd shutdown> or C<ctlinnd xexec> with a new mode
-value of C<shutdown>.  This will allow the Perl hooks to save filter data
-across B<innd> restarts without requiring that the news administrator
-throttle the server first.  (Python already had a separate close hook that
-is also called.)
+The Perl and Python I<filter_mode> hooks are now called when B<innd> is
+shutting down via either C<ctlinnd shutdown> or C<ctlinnd xexec> with a
+new mode value of C<shutdown>.  This will allow the Perl hooks to save
+filter data across B<innd> restarts without requiring that the news
+administrator throttle the server first.  (Python already had a separate
+close hook that is also called.)
 
 =item *
 
-The legacy B<innshellvars.pl> script has been replaced with a real INN Perl
-module C<INN::Config> for Perl programs.  The location of Perl modules can
-be set with the B<--with-libperl-dir> option to C<configure>.  All Perl
-scripts shipped with INN have been converted to use that module.  You may
-want to consider using C<INN::Config> in your Perl scripts, though
+The legacy B<innshellvars.pl> script has been replaced with a real INN
+Perl module C<INN::Config> for Perl programs.  The location of Perl
+modules can be set with the B<--with-libperl-dir> option to C<configure>.
+All Perl scripts shipped with INN have been converted to use that module.
+You may want to consider using C<INN::Config> in your Perl scripts, though
 B<innshellvars.pl> is still provided with INN.
 
 =item *
 
 Support for embedded Tcl filters in B<innd> has been removed.  It hasn't
-worked for some time and causes B<innd> crashes if compiled in (even if not
-used).  If someone wants to step forward and maintain it, we recommend
+worked for some time and causes B<innd> crashes if compiled in (even if
+not used).  If someone wants to step forward and maintain it, we recommend
 starting from scratch and emulating the Perl and Python filters.
 
 =item *
 
-If I<strippath> is set in F<readers.conf>, the whole user-supplied Path: header
-will now be stripped.  Previously, the final component of the
+If I<strippath> is set in F<readers.conf>, the whole user-supplied Path:
+header will now be stripped.  Previously, the final component of the
 user-supplied Path: would still be retained.
 
 =item *
 
 B<news2mail> can now set the envelope-from address of the mails it sends.
-A third optional part in F<news2mail.cf> entries has been added by S<D. Stussy>
-to achieve that.
+A third optional part in F<news2mail.cf> entries has been added by
+S<D. Stussy> to achieve that.
 
 =item *
 
@@ -196,24 +216,39 @@
 allows to set the news user and the news group under which the news server
 runs.  Thanks to Ivan Shmakov for this feature.
 
-New other options have been added to configuration files:  I<ignore>
-in F<incoming.conf>, I<logstats> and I<nnrpdflags> in F<inn.conf>,
-and I<log-time-format> in F<innfeed.conf>.
+New other options have been added to configuration files: I<ignore> in
+F<incoming.conf>, I<logstats> and I<nnrpdflags> in F<inn.conf>, and
+I<log-time-format> in F<innfeed.conf>.
 
-The B<--with-http-dir> option has also been added to C<configure> so as to
-set I<pathhttp> in F<inn.conf>.
+The B<--with-http-dir> option has also been added to C<configure> to set
+I<pathhttp> in F<inn.conf>.
 
 =item *
 
-Support for S<Berkeley DB> versions prior to 4.3 has been dropped.
-You will have to use at least S<Berkeley DB 4.4>; the recommended version
-is 4.7.
+Support for S<Berkeley DB> versions prior to 4.3 has been dropped.  You
+will have to use at least S<Berkeley DB 4.4>; the recommended version is
+4.7.
 
 =item *
 
-A lot of work has been done on documentation:  improvements of existing one,
-writing new one and proof-reading.  Samples are also more detailed.
+INN now builds entirely free of warnings from GCC with fairly aggressive
+warning options enabled.  This involved lots of cleanup of const strings,
+signed versus unsigned type handling, correcting printf formats, and other
+changes that fixed obscure bugs and made INN's code more robust.  Russ
+Allbery has also done considerable cleanup work on some of INN's
+internals, simplifying, refactoring, and removing duplicate code.
 
+=item *
+
+INN's test suite is now much more comprehensive and tests some high-level
+functions as well as more of the portability and utility function layer.
+
+=item *
+
+A lot of work has been done on documentation: improvements of existing
+documents, new documentation, and proof-reading.  Sample configuration
+files are also more detailed.
+
 =back
 
 =head1 Changes in 2.4.6
@@ -392,12 +427,13 @@
 
 =item *
 
-A new I<heavily> improved version of B<pullnews> is shipped with this
-INN release.  This new version is provided by Geraint Edwards.  He added
-no more than S<16 flags>, fixed some bugs and integrated the B<backupfeed>
+A new I<heavily> improved version of B<pullnews> is shipped with this INN
+release.  This new version is provided by Geraint Edwards.  He added no
+more than S<16 flags>, fixed some bugs and integrated the B<backupfeed>
 contrib script by Kai Henningsen, adding again S<6 other> flags.  A
 long-standing but very minor bug in the B<-g> option was especially fixed
-and items from the to-do list implemented.  Many thanks again to Geraint Edwards.
+and items from the to-do list implemented.  Many thanks again to Geraint
+Edwards.
 
 =item *
 




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