Re: [PATCH] Added --initial-index and --last-index to search/show

[James Vasile <james@hackervisions.org>]

On Sat, 20 Aug 2011 12:21:26 +0100, Patrick Totzke <patricktotzke@googlemail.com> wrote:
Non-text part: multipart/mixed
> 
> 
> Hi!
> A very good idea indeed! This could become quite handy speeding up my interface.
> One question: What do you (intend to) do to ensure that accumulated results
> 'add up well'? 

I intend to do nothing.  It's up to the interface to handle this, if it
needs handling at all.

> Consider the following: you query some 10 threads, the user tags one of them
> so that it doesn't macht anymore and afterwards you list the next 100 threads.
> After the tagging, the number of hits decreases, so if you query
> from hit number 101 to 200, you will not return the 100th (now 99th)
> thread at all.

The interface could keep track of threads deleted/untagged and adjust
accordingly.

Or I suppose one could also implement --initial-msgid, --last-msgid,
--num-threads, etc.  Set --initial-msgid to the last message in your
current view.  Set --num-threads to 100.  That should do it.

> 
> Ok, one could always list all threads up to the one one is interested in but that
> would make refreshing the list slower and slower when you keep
> scrolling down..

Personally, I think users should be discouraged from scrolling and
scrolling.  Notmuch is a *search* tool.  If the mail you want isn't in
the first page or so, you're using the tool wrong.  

-J