bbdb-expire

Author: Nix

Updated:

Summary

Expiry and expire-proof entries for the BBDB

Commentary

This file implements expiry of BBDB databases, to stop them getting too
fantastically bloated. Only specific entries are retained across expiry.

Each entry is passed through each function in the
`bbdb-expire-expiry-functions' in turn; if any return t it is a candicate
for expiry; but if any of the functions in the
`bbdb-expire-preservation-functions' return t, it is not expired after all.
(This scheme allows functions to say `I don't care' as well as `expire
me now' and `do not expire me'.)

One function is on `bbdb-expire-expiry-functions' by default;
`bbdb-expire-record-old-p'.
Two functions are on `bbdb-expire-preservation-functions' by default;
`bbdb-expire-field-permanent-p' and `bbdb-expire-field-notes-p'.

Together, these ensure that old records without a `notes' or a
`permanent' field are expired; the field-checking functions are
generated by a macro, `bbdb-expire-field-foo-p'.

This will probably only work with version 2.00 of the BBDB, and may well
only work with version 2.00.06.

It requires the `bbdb-hidden-update.el' library, available from wherever
you got `bbdb-expire.el' from.

To use:

First of all, after you load this package but before you do anything else
with the BBDB, do a `bbdb-expire-add-last-access-time'. This attaches the
last access time field to all the BBDB entries, and assumes they were
last accessed *right now*. You never need to do this again, except if
you stop using this package and want to restart later on.

WARNING: If you forget to do this, only entries that you have accessed,
and then left for more than `bbdb-expire-this-old' days, will be expired;
entries that have been left since before you used this package will be
left alone, which is suboptimal.

(You do not need to do this if you remove `bbdb-expire-record-old-p'
from the `bbdb-expire-expiry-functions', but that leaves this package
mostly devoid of function...)

To expire the BBDB at any time, run `bbdb-expire-bbdb'.

Everything else happens automagically.

To do:

Currently, `bbdb-expire-bbdb' is not automatically called.
The ideal would be to call it once per session, as BBDB initializes, but
the only obvious place to do that is the `bbdb-after-read-db-hook',
but as you cannot call `bbdb-records' from that hook, this is impossible.
If you have any idea where I can hang it, please say!

This is dependent on the bbdb-hidden-update library, which is very brittle
and BBDB version dependent. It would be nice to remove this dependency
(but that requires changes to BBDB itself).

Add customize support.

This probably does not work with GNU Emacs; I don't currently have a copy
so it is hard to test it there, and there are probably unintentional
dependencies on XEmacs.

If you want to use this on GNU Emacs, and it doesn't work, please tell me
what is missing or broken for GNU Emacs support so I can fix it, as I
would like it to work there as well.

Requirements:

Dependencies