From:	SMTP%"lane@duphy4.drexel.edu"  2-DEC-1994 11:39:07.60
To:	EVERHART
CC:	
Subj:	Re: Problems converting news.items

Message-Id: <9412020758.AA02252@uu7.psi.com>
Date:         Thu, 1 Dec 1994 14:08:59 -0400
Reply-To: Charles Lane <lane@duphy4.drexel.edu>
Sender: ANU-NEWS Discussion <ANU-NEWS@VM1.NoDak.EDU>
From: Charles Lane <lane@duphy4.drexel.edu>
Organization: Drexel University Physics
Subject:      Re: Problems converting news.items
To: Multiple recipients of list ANU-NEWS <ANU-NEWS@VM1.NoDak.EDU>

In a previous post, I mentioned how a corrupted NEWS.ITEMS file would
hang up my nntp feed, but with a modified NNTP_TCPWINMULTINET my feed
is working again, although I get errors in ADD FILE processing.

This prompted me to search through my NEWS_ADD log files looking for
RMS errors....lo and behold, but I found one PRIOR to when the NEWS.ITEMS
corruption hung up my nntp feed.   RMS was complaining about a bad RAB/FAB
data block.

Well, it turns out there's a BUG (gasp! :) in NEWSUTILITY.C, routine
do_new_item:

/*==============excerpt from NEWSUTILITY.C, ~line 1036 ================*/

    if (sys_get_nornf(&itmrab)) {       /* #3 glass@vixvax.mgi.com */
      if (!newsitm.itm_cachedate) {
        time((time_t *) &newsitm.itm_cachedate);
        sys_update(&newsitm);
        savitm.itm_num = newsitm.itm_num;
        newsitm = savitm;
        }
      else {
/*==============end excerpt from NEWSUTILITY.C=======================*/

of course, the sys_update should be:

    if (sys_get_nornf(&itmrab)) {       /* #3 glass@vixvax.mgi.com */
      if (!newsitm.itm_cachedate) {
        time((time_t *) &newsitm.itm_cachedate);
        sys_update(&itmrab);          /* <<<<<- fixed now */
        savitm.itm_num = newsitm.itm_num;
        newsitm = savitm;
        }
      else {


This bug should only get exercised when a "supercedes" article comes in,
and the original article doesn't have a valid cache date (skimmed away?).
It makes me wonder if sometimes the contents of the "newsitm" structure
managed to fake a RAB well enough that RMS did a wacky update operation
on my NEWS.ITEMS file...