[leafnode-list] groupinfo file format detection

["Bulgrien, Kevin" <Kevin.Bulgrien@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I do not yet use the latest ma releases of leafnode, but rather use a
patched up copy of 2.0b8.  Yes, I know this is not recommended, but I
use it for local news only and do not allow it to interact with other
news services.

In any event, I've completed a management script that allows me to move
specific messages from one group to another so that I can split large
diverse groups down into smaller ones with narrower scopes.  The script
can also cross post messages after the fact.  (This is slated for 
addition to Leafwa, but the CGI glue-logic has not been written yet).

Thanks to help from the list, I know the format of the groupinfo newsgroup
entries, but, I am not sure about whether the file is allowed to contain 
blank lines (with or without white space) and/or comment lines.  Does
anyone have further information about the "ma" fork in this regard.

Proposed detection method:

I think it would be safe to detect the format by parsing the file with
tab as a field delimiter.  If no lines in the file had 5 tabs, I could
say it was the old format.  On the other hand, if some lines had 5 tabs
or more, and the first 5 fields were non-blank, we could assume the file
was the new format.

The catch, of course, is that comment lines or blank lines with a mixture
of tabs and spaces could fool you - hence the question as to whether they
are allowed or handled in the ma versions of leafnode.

Thoughts anyone?  Shoot it down if you see glaring issues, but I am not
very concerned about trapping for conditions that would break leafnode,
just for conditions that could exist for valid working groupinfo files 
on 2.0b8 and its successors.

Just to recap my understanding, the groupinfo file entries for 2.0b8 are:

newsgroup<space>high-water<space>low-water<space>create-time<space>descripti
on-spaces-allowed

And sometime later in the ma releases they changed to:

newsgroup<tab>status<tab>high-water<tab>low-water<tab>create-time<tab>descri
ption

--- 
Kevin R. Bulgrien, Engineer
Mailto:kbulgrien@xxxxxxxx

Vertex RSI, A TriPoint Global Company         http://www.tripointglobal.com/
Controls & Structures Division 
1915 Harrison Road                                    Tel: 903-295-1480 x288
Longview, TX 75604-5438                               Fax: 903-295-1479

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