Release 1.7a is  being distributed, as network  conditions permit, within
the  next 48h.  To  maximize  staff availability  in  case of  unexpected
problem, no program  file will be sent before 8am  EDT. The release notes
are being mailed under separate cover.
 
Because of  changes in  the update  installation procedure,  release 1.7a
will  exceptionally come  in two  parts:  a very  small UPD16F  shipment,
containing just the new INSTALL  processor and causing neither reboot nor
change in  version number, and  the usual UPD17A shipment.  For integrity
reasons, the new  installation procedure requires more free  space on the
191 minidisk than with previous versions; to successfully load the UPD17A
shipment, you will need at least 1.3M of free space. If the disk fills up
during  the installation,  the CARD  deck will  be kept  and you  will be
notified; just  increase the size of  the 191 minidisk and/or  delete old
LFIX backup files, then issue an INSTALL RELOAD UPD17A command.
 
A justification for these changes can be found in the release notes under
the heading "New INSTALL processor"; you  will probably want to read this
section before installing 1.7a anyway.  The second most important section
is  the one  titled "CRC-based  checksumming of  DISTRIBUTE jobs",  which
explains how  to deal with  jobs LISTSERV identifies as  being corrupted.
These  two  sections  have  been  ordered  before  the  others  for  your
convenience,  and you  are strongly  advised  to read  the release  notes
sequentially up to that point  before proceeding with the installation. I
apologize for the rambling nature of  the release notes, and the probably
countless omissions. We are presently  being plagued with the unfortunate
collusion  of a  heat wave  and a  new alarm  system which  prevents most
windows from being  opened for more than 30 seconds.  The building, being
designed for neither heat-generating terminals  nor alarm systems, has no
air conditioner; being  however designed for swedish winters,  it is very
good at not letting the warmth out  during the cooler nights (in spite of
the  generous contribution  of  a pair  of drunkards  who  threw a  brick
through one  of the windows  yesterday at 3am).  Anyway it took  almost 1
week to  produce the release  notes, and  I have probably  abused PUT/GET
from notebooks; if you have any questions, mail them to LSTSRV-L.
 
Finally, I would  like to encourage sites which are  going to compile the
code to  provide some feedback to  the LSTSRV-L list, for  the benefit of
other sites which may be considering  whether or not to purchase the REXX
compiler. Such figures will however be meaningless if they are based on a
comparison with release 1.6e, rather than interpreted 1.7a, as there have
been numerous performance changes. One way  to address this problem is to
deliberately run the interpreted version of 1.7a (with LISTPROC enabled -
see  the release  notes) for  a while  before switching  to the  compiled
version. Another way is to collect statistics from sites without the REXX
compiler  on  the  resource  usage  of  LISTSERV  before  and  after  the
installation  of 1.7a,  and compare  them  to the  figures of  "compiled"
sites. In any case, make sure you read the "REXX compiler" section in the
release notes carefully before attempting to compile anything.
 
  Eric