Ask 1 from fpc-binkp consumer thread: non-storage libraries
(fpc-ftn-transport, fpc-binkp, future fpc-comet-proto / fpc-emsi,
SQL-backed messaging like Fastway) only need TFTNAddress, not the
full 1041-line mb.types. Extract to src/mb.address.pas (~90 lines,
only SysUtils) so they can cp a single file into their project.
mb.types continues to uses mb.address so existing callers see the
type transitively -- BUT FPC does not propagate record-field access
through re-export, so consumers that touch TFTNAddress.Zone/Net/
Node/Point directly must add mb.address to their own uses clause.
All 7 in-tree .uni adapters, 2 examples, 5 test harnesses updated.
No behavioural change. Full suite passes, multi-target build
green (x86_64-linux, i386-{linux,freebsd,win32,os2,go32v2}).
Across-the-board rename so the unit prefix matches the repo
name (mb = msgbase). Brings naming into line with
fpc-ftn-transport's tt.* prefix and avoids the historical
"ma" abbreviation that meant nothing to new readers.
Files renamed via git mv:
src/ma.{api,events,kludge,lock,paths,types}.pas
-> src/mb.{...}.pas
src/formats/ma.fmt.{jam,squish,hudson,msg,pcboard,ezycom,
goldbase,wildcat,wcutil}{,.uni}.pas
-> src/formats/mb.fmt.*.pas
All `unit ma.X` declarations and `uses ma.X` clauses rewritten
to `mb.X` across src/, examples/, tests/.
Suite: 47/47 (read 7, hwm 11, lock 4, pack 4, write 5,
wildcat 5, consumer_round1 5, batch's gone w/ PKT relocation,
plus testutil).
Consumer impact: anyone with `uses ma.api;` etc. needs to
update to `uses mb.api;`. No semantic changes; a search/replace
on the consumer's source tree is the only migration step.
NR's notes (~/.MSGAPI_MSGS.md round 3) align this against
their already-pinned 8130b40; the next NR pin bump rolls in
both this rename and any further work in one step.
Removes all PKT code from fpc-msgbase. The wire format and its
container concerns now live in the sibling fpc-ftn-transport
library (units tt.pkt.format, tt.pkt.reader, tt.pkt.writer,
tt.pkt.batch). Pair this commit with fpc-ftn-transport's
0.2.0 (commit 6bb71a6).
Why: the previous "reader here, writer there" split (briefly
landed in 0.3.5) baked in a coupling that didn't survive a
fresh look. The writer reached into fpc-msgbase for types,
the wire format lived in the wrong house, and consumers reading
fpc-msgbase saw "PKT support" that was actually only half-
support. Cleanest split: PKT is a wire format, both directions
belong with the wire-format-aware library; fpc-msgbase becomes
purely real message bases (Hudson / JAM / Squish / MSG /
PCBoard / EzyCom / GoldBase / Wildcat).
Also a cleaner separation-of-concerns story: a BBS that just
reads JAM/Squish never needs fpc-ftn-transport. A pure store-
and-forward node doing only ArcMail unbundle never depends on
storage formats. Each library = one concern.
Removed:
src/formats/ma.fmt.pkt.pas -> tt.pkt.format
src/formats/ma.fmt.pkt.uni.pas -> tt.pkt.reader
(TPktMessageBase -> TPktReader)
src/ma.batch.pas -> tt.pkt.batch
(TPacketBatch class name unchanged)
tests/test_batch.pas -> tests/test_pkt_writer.pas
(consolidated PKT tests)
examples/example_tosser.pas -> moves with the batch helper
Reduced in src/ma.types.pas:
- PacketRecord
- FlavourType / FlavourTypeSet / DateTimeArray
- FlagsToFido / FidoToFlags
- VersionNum (PKT-product-code stamping)
All moved to tt.pkt.format.
Kept in src/ma.types.pas:
- mbfPkt enum value (so tt.pkt.reader can register the backend
with the unified-API factory; consumers still use the
standard MessageBaseOpen(mbfPkt, ...) shape)
Migration for vendoring consumers:
before: after:
uses ma.fmt.pkt; uses tt.pkt.format;
uses ma.fmt.pkt.uni; uses tt.pkt.reader;
uses ma.batch; uses tt.pkt.batch;
(no writer surface) uses tt.pkt.writer;
TPktMessageBase TPktReader
TPktFile, TPktMessage, (unchanged class names)
TPktHeaderInfo, etc.
TPacketBatch (unchanged)
Docs sweep:
- README: PKT row called out as "moved to fpc-ftn-transport";
TPacketBatch removed from features.
- docs/architecture.md: layer diagram drops PKT + ma.batch;
new sibling-library box added for fpc-ftn-transport.
- docs/attributes-registry.md: PKT column dropped from per-
format support matrix; pointer to fpc-ftn-transport.
- docs/API.md: PKT cheat-sheet entry redirects to
fpc-ftn-transport; TPacketBatch section reduced to a
"moved" pointer with the new uses-clause shape.
- docs/ftsc-compliance.md: Type-2 / 2+ / 2.2 / AuxNet rows
annotated as living in tt.pkt.format.
Suite: 47/47 across 9 programs (was 9 with test_batch; now 9
with the PKT bits dropped from test_consumer_round1 and
test_hwm). All other tests untouched.
Replaces TUniMessage's 13-field flat record with a strict two-area
model: Body holds only the message text; Attributes holds everything
else (from/to/subject/dates/addresses/MSGID/SEEN-BY/PATH/format-
specific fields) as namespaced key/value pairs.
Why this fix is required NOW: the previous JAM adapter dropped
MSGID, ReplyID, PID, Flags, SEEN-BY and PATH on every Read/Write
through the unified API. A NetReader parity test surfaced it (17/21
pass with 4 kludge failures). All 9 adapters had the same bug. For
tossers and scanners the impact is silent corruption: dropped MSGID
→ dupe storms, dropped PATH → mail loops, dropped SEEN-BY → broken
routing. Three downstream consumers (Fimail's codex-transport branch,
NetReader, future Allfix) had halted integration work pending this
fix. Without it, anyone vendoring fpc-msgbase 0.1 ships with a
known-corrupting adapter.
Design choice: per Ken's call, "message is just the message text;
everything else is an attribute, including from/to/subject/dates."
Same architecture as RFC 822 email (headers + body). Each backend
fills attributes it knows on Read; reads attributes it understands
on Write; ignores unknown attributes silently (RFC 822 X-header
semantics). Forward-compatible -- a new backend (e.g. a planned SQL
message store) just adds its own attribute keys; old backends ignore
them.
Composition is the consumer's job. The library never reassembles
Body + Attributes into kludge-laden display text. A BBS that wants
inline kludges walks Attributes and prepends ^aMSGID etc. to its
own display. A tosser that needs MSGID for dupe detection reads
Attributes.Get('msgid') directly -- no body parsing required.
src/ma.types.pas:
- New TMsgAttribute / TMsgAttributes records with Get/SetValue,
typed accessors (GetInt/GetBool/GetDate/GetAddr), Has/Remove,
iteration. Linear-search lookup, fine for the ~30-50 keys per
message. Switch to hash later if profiling shows need.
- Replaced TUniMessage with the minimal Body + Attributes record.
- New UniAttrBitsToAttributes / UniAttrBitsFromAttributes helpers
to bridge the canonical MSG_ATTR_* cardinal bitset to/from
individual `attr.*` boolean keys.
- {$modeswitch advancedrecords} added so records have methods.
src/ma.api.pas:
- New capabilities API: TStringDynArray return type,
ClassSupportedAttributes (virtual class fn, default empty),
SupportedAttributes (instance sugar), SupportsAttribute (per-key
query). Each backend overrides ClassSupportedAttributes with the
static list of keys it knows. Callers query before setting so a
BBS UI can hide controls the underlying backend has no slot for.
src/formats/ma.fmt.*.uni.pas (all 9):
- Rewrote each XxxToUni and XxxFromUni for the new model. Read
populates Attributes with universal/FTSC/format-specific keys per
the attribute registry (to be published in phase 5). Write reads
attributes back and writes native form.
- JAM walks SubFields[] for SEEN-BY/PATH/TZUTC/TRACE plus passthrough
of unknown subfield IDs as `jam.subfield.<id>` for round-trip
safety. Squish parses CtrlInfo (NUL-separated ^A lines) into
individual attributes, rebuilds on Write. MSG and PKT (which keep
kludges inline in body per FTS-1) parse leading ^A lines and
trailing SEEN-BY/PATH out of the body so TUniMessage.Body is
always plain user text; on Write they reassemble the on-disk form.
- Each backend ships ClassSupportedAttributes with its key list.
src/ma.batch.pas: PktToUni signature updated to (in,out var) form.
tests/* + examples/*: migrated all callers from Msg.WhoFrom (etc.)
to Msg.Attributes.Get('from'). MakeMsg helpers now use SetValue/
SetBool/SetAddr.
Verified: 24/24 tests pass across all 7 test programs (read,
roundtrip, lock, batch, wildcat, write_existing, pack). Wildcat
walks all 7 vendored conferences clean.
Out of scope (next phases):
- docs/attributes-registry.md publishing the full key list with
per-format support matrix
- cross-format round-trip + capabilities-driven copy test
- update architecture.md / PROPOSAL.md to reflect the new model
