Top
BlitzForLinux
Okay, I'm officially kicking off this project right now:
- Thursday, Oct 17, 2002 at 23:52:11
Let's see how soon (how long?) until we have a working version of
BlitzMail compiling under Linux.
UPDATE: It's March 4, 2003. And we seem to be doing okay with
IMAP clients (see
Configuring IMAP for Dartmouth?). We're still considering using JBlitz or something similar as a simple
BlitzMail client for
public machines?, etc....
The basic idea is to
make a version of BlitzMail for Linux (and other operating systems) licensed under the GPL
How are we going to accomplish this?
- The BlitzMail servers are going to support the IMAP protocol soon, so we can extend an existing IMAP client.
- Decide on an IMAP client to use (currently looking at Mulberry?, Balsa?, and Mutt?. Mutt looks the best)
- get the code for the IMAP client, and split the code into 'libraries' and 'user interface'
- Build a new UI using Gtk+/Glade that looks like the BlitzMail on Mac and Windows
- write some new code for blitz features not in the IMAP client (bulletins, DND lookup and editing, etc...)
- link the libraries and 'back-end' code we wrote with the new Gtk+ UI, and cross our fingers.
- debug like hell.
- have fun. keep it real.
- remember: sleep is for the weak?, and after being up for 30 hours you are weak.
suggestions? questions?
random section of weird stuff
- after we're done, if anyone wants to make this also use the BlitzMail protocol, that would be kind of cool.
- after we're done, if anyone wants to make the thing build for MacOSX or Windows, that would also be neat.
- after we're done, if anyone wants to rewrite the thing in BASIC (because Dartmouth invented it), then that would be kind of perverse. But if you do it, we will have to give you some kind of award (like a big mallet? so you can whack yourself in the head ;-)
RobinsonTryon - 17 Oct 2002