Gnus
Encyclopedia
Gnus is a message reader running under GNU
Emacs and XEmacs
. It supports reading and composing both news
and e-mail
.
Gnus blurs the distinction between news and e-mail, treating them both as "articles" that come from different sources. News articles are kept separate by group, and e-mail can be split into arbitrary groups, similar to folders in other mail readers. In addition, Gnus is able to use a number of web
-based sources as inputs for its groups.
Note that, as with GNU, the g in Gnus is always pronounced.
Gnus can also be integrated into the Big Brother Database to handle contacts in a highly automated fashion.
Some people say there is no feature (or something similar) in any MUA Gnus doesn't have – or if there isn't one ready, it can be done "easily" with few lines of emacs lisp.
To quote the Gnus Manual:
Note that the composition of HTML email messages (as users of more WYSIWYG
editors may be used to) is not included by default, as this is not counted as a "feature" in the Unix-based setting where Gnus would typically be used.
of GNUS, which ceased to be developed in 1992, by Masanobu Umeda. In autumn 1994, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen started the rewrite under the name (ding) which is a recursive acronym
for ding is not Gnus, intending to produce a version for which the interface and configuration would work almost exactly the same, but the internals would be completely revamped and improved.
The named versions (whose first letters run backwards in the alphabet) are development versions, of "alpha" quality.
The current development version which will be released as Gnus 5.12 was begun on Jan 4, 2004 and is called No Gnus.
The odd version numbers, like 5.3 and 5.5 are for the Gnus versions bundled with GNU
Emacs
. The even version numbers are the unbundled releases. So for example, Gnus 5.5 is similar to Gnus 5.4, but bundled with Emacs 20.1.
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
Emacs and XEmacs
XEmacs
XEmacs is a graphical- and console-based text editor which runs on almost any Unix-like operating system as well as Microsoft Windows. XEmacs is a fork, based on a version of GNU Emacs from the late 1980s...
. It supports reading and composing both news
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
and e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
.
Gnus blurs the distinction between news and e-mail, treating them both as "articles" that come from different sources. News articles are kept separate by group, and e-mail can be split into arbitrary groups, similar to folders in other mail readers. In addition, Gnus is able to use a number of web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
-based sources as inputs for its groups.
Note that, as with GNU, the g in Gnus is always pronounced.
Features
Some Gnus features:- simple or advanced mail splitting (automatic sorting of incoming mail to user-defined groups)
- incoming mail can be set to expire instead of just plain deletion
- custom posting styles (e.g. From address, .signature etc.) for each group
- virtual groups (e.g., directory on the computer can be read as a group)
- an advanced message scoring system
- user-defined hooks for almost any method (in emacs lisp)
- many of the parameters (e.g., expiration, posting style) can be specified individually for all of the groups
Gnus can also be integrated into the Big Brother Database to handle contacts in a highly automated fashion.
Some people say there is no feature (or something similar) in any MUA Gnus doesn't have – or if there isn't one ready, it can be done "easily" with few lines of emacs lisp.
To quote the Gnus Manual:
- "You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!" http://www.gnus.org/manual/gnus_215.html#SEC215
Note that the composition of HTML email messages (as users of more WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
editors may be used to) is not included by default, as this is not counted as a "feature" in the Unix-based setting where Gnus would typically be used.
History
Gnus is a rewriteRewrite (programming)
A rewrite in computer programming is the act or result of re-implementing a large portion of existing functionality without re-use of its source code. When the rewrite is not using existing code at all, it is common to speak of a rewrite from scratch...
of GNUS, which ceased to be developed in 1992, by Masanobu Umeda. In autumn 1994, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen started the rewrite under the name (ding) which is a recursive acronym
Recursive acronym
A recursive acronym is an acronym or initialism that refers to itself in the expression for which it stands...
for ding is not Gnus, intending to produce a version for which the interface and configuration would work almost exactly the same, but the internals would be completely revamped and improved.
Versions
The following versions have been released since then:- Gnus 5 ((ding) Gnus) – November 1995
- Gnus 5.1 rebranded 5.0.13 bundled with GNU Emacs 19.30/19.31
- Gnus 5.2 (September Gnus) – May 1996
- Gnus 5.3 rebranded 5.2.38 bundled with GNU Emacs 19.32 and all later versions of GNU Emacs 19.x
- Gnus 5.4 (Red Gnus) – January 25, 1997
- Gnus 5.5 rebranded 5.4 bundled with GNU Emacs 20.1 (September 17, 1997) and also included in XEmacs 20.4
- Gnus 5.6 (Quassia Gnus) – March 8, 1998
- Gnus 5.8 (Pterodactyl Gnus) – December 3, 1999
- Gnus 5.10 (Oort Gnus) – May 1, 2003
- Gnus 5.11 rebranded 5.10 bundled with GNU Emacs 22.1 (June 2, 2007)
- Gnus 5.13 (included in GNU Emacs 23.1 (July 29, 2009) from No Gnus branch)
The named versions (whose first letters run backwards in the alphabet) are development versions, of "alpha" quality.
The current development version which will be released as Gnus 5.12 was begun on Jan 4, 2004 and is called No Gnus.
The odd version numbers, like 5.3 and 5.5 are for the Gnus versions bundled with GNU
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
Emacs
Emacs
Emacs is a class of text editors, usually characterized by their extensibility. GNU Emacs has over 1,000 commands. It also allows the user to combine these commands into macros to automate work.Development began in the mid-1970s and continues actively...
. The even version numbers are the unbundled releases. So for example, Gnus 5.5 is similar to Gnus 5.4, but bundled with Emacs 20.1.
See also
- Mew, another e-mail client for Emacs
- VM (View Mail), another full-featured email client under Emacs
- Wanderlust, yet another full-featured email and news client for Emacs
- Comparison of e-mail clientsComparison of e-mail clientsThe following tables compare general and technical features of a number of email client programs. Please see the individual products articles for further information. This article is not all-inclusive or necessarily up to date.-General:...
- Comparison of feed aggregatorsComparison of feed aggregatorsThe following is a comparison of notable RSS feed aggregators. Often e-mail programs and web browsers have the ability to display RSS feeds. They are listed here, too.Many BitTorrent clients support RSS feeds for broadcatching ....
- List of news clients
External links
- Gnus Newsreader Homepage
- The History of Gnus. As of 2 December 2010, this page has not been updated to include No Gnus.
- EmacsWiki: CategoryGnus