[notmuch] Potential problem using Git for mail (was: Idea for storing tags)

[martin f krafft]

also sprach Asheesh Laroia <asheesh at asheesh.org> [2010.01.14.2112 +1300]:
> Sure. But the MDA doesn't need to do the commit immediately. Since
> (presumably) we're using Maildir, the MDA on the mail receiving
> server is going to generate filenames that won't cause conflicts.
> So it's okay to leave the files uncommitted.

So when does the commit happen?

> When I did the "git merge", git would create the Maildir files in
> ~/Maildir/cur/... non-atomically.

This might be something that the Git people could address if it was
brought up on the mailing list. Then again, it might not be possible
without going via a temporary file, which I doubt will fly.

I suppose that I never actually considered merges on the IMAP server
side, but obviously the IMAP server has to work off a clone, and
that means it needs to merge.

> Dovecot would notice the file in ~/Maildir/cur/ and think, "This
> file must be ready!" So it would parse it even though git hadn't
> finished writing it. This caused me to only see partial headers in
> Alpine since Dovecot parsed it before it was a complete message.

I wonder if a custom merge driver could address this to properly use
…/tmp/ to assemble the message and only then move it.

-- 
martin | http://madduck.net/ | http://two.sentenc.es/
 
"this week dragged past me so slowly;
 the days fell on their knees..."
                                                        -- david bowie
 
spamtraps: madduck.bogus at madduck.net
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 198 bytes
Desc: Digital signature (see http://martin-krafft.net/gpg/)
URL: <http://notmuchmail.org/pipermail/notmuch/attachments/20100115/7814b895/attachment.pgp>