>My specific example is that I would like to research some of the Frameworks. As a result, I would like to see just the thread headings from let's say the 'CodeMine' category - not just for the current day or month but for a longer period. I would then decide which threads to follow.

Yes, the calendar is the best tool for that. Basically, you select the forum, the category and the month. Then, the calendar will be refreshed accordingly. Depending on the number of items, you may be able to get all messages for that category for all month. But, for sure, you can get them all on a daily basis.

Note, that you can limit the search by specifying which filter to apply. If you only select the first message of the thread, that will only give you the thread initial message and so on.