libgmime experiences? (was: [PATCH] doc: update HACKING and TODO ...)

[Eric Wong <e@80x24.org>]

Eric Wong <e@80x24.org> wrote:
> --- a/HACKING
> +++ b/HACKING
> @@ -40,7 +40,8 @@ the shiny new.
>  Avoid relying on compiled modules too much.  Even if it is Free,
>  compiled code makes packages more expensive to audit, build,
>  distribute and verify.  public-inbox itself will only be implemented
> -in scripting languages (currently Perl 5).
> +in scripting languages (currently Perl 5) and optional JIT-compiled C
> +(via Inline::C)

I'm considering adding libgmime support after the 1.2 release
and creating an Email::MIME/msg_iter-compatible wrapper based
on it.

I've never used gmime as a user or hacker...

Pure-Perl Email::MIME will remain supported, though new versions
of Email::MIME use Email::Address::XS so there's already a
C/XS component which increases installation overhead.

My thoughts on gmime so far:

One big reason gmime looks good to me is that it offers mmap and
pipe APIs, so it hopefully deals well with big messages and
won't bloat/fragment the heap.

Another is Email::Simple::Header::_header_to_list being at the
top of some profiles, and I'm not convinced I could make it
faster.

gmime's been through several incompatible API/ABI versions, but
it seems Debian can support at least 2.6 and 3.0.  FreeBSD has
2.2, 2.4, 2.6 and 3.0, even!

gmime upstream also provides a PORTING document which should come
in handy.

The MIME::Fast wrapper for libgmime exists on CPAN, but that
hasn't been updated in years and isn't in Debian.  Both 3.0 and
2.6 APIs could be supported in parallel using Inline::C, and
more can be added in the future.

notmuch uses gmime, as does a lot of desktop software.

My experience with mainstream "desktop software" hasn't been
good, as they tends to be less stable in both user/programming
interfaces, and also more complex and difficult to debug than
server-oriented software.

However, looking at the Debian changelogs, there's only been one
CVE (CVE-2010-0409) from nearly a decade ago.  Maybe all the
bugs are fixed, or nobody really abuses it.

In any case, if I go through with this, I'll be running lots of
mail and random junk through it to ensure it doesn't break
unexpectedly.