[Imap-protocol] IMAP MOVE extension

[Lyndon Nerenberg]

> COPY is by definition a slow operation. Using hardlinks etc. is a performance

> hack, not a normal method.


When I maintained Esys' IMAP server, a 'single instance' message store was 
*the* most widely requested feature from our customer base. This was in 
1997, and I doubt we were the first to do it.

The driver for this feature was the quota issue; the backend message store 
was fast enough that hardlinks didn't noticeably speed things up. Note 
that even with the single instance store, it is still necessary to 
perform a copy of the file if the source and destination mailboxes reside
on different filesystems.

I cannot understand your claim that using link() in this case is a "hack." 
What is it you think link() is for?

--lyndon