Netlib news: big files

Abstract

Now the collection includes large differential equation and optimization codes, packages written in C where specific filenames matter, and large bibliographies. A variety of mail size limits are appearing in the network. The use of Unix "shell archives" for transferring collections of files has become widely understood and accepted. In light of all this, it is clearly time for netlib to adapt. This column announces three changes for dealing with the problem of big files: ftp, revised mail splitting, and user-specified mail limits.