Xref: utzoo comp.mail.elm:3080 comp.mail.uucp:5228 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!uc!cs.umn.edu!thelake!steve From: steve@thelake.mn.org (Steve Yelvington) Newsgroups: ingr.general,comp.mail.elm,comp.mail.uucp Subject: Re: Re: UUCP Activity & Data files Message-ID: Date: 22 Sep 90 15:41:14 GMT References: <1288@cyprus.INGR.COM> Followup-To: ingr.general Lines: 46 [In article <1288@cyprus.INGR.COM>, haliosm@cyprus.INGR.COM (Michael Halios) writes ... ] > When a user sends mail, two data files are created - one containing the > text of the mail message, the other containing the instructions for > execution of rmail on the remote system. > > When a user sends a copy of his original message, four data files are > created. > > The text of the mail message is send to the central communication point > two times. NOT necessary to send the text file two times. Right. On my system -- Atari ST, Smail 2.5 ported from *nix, locally developed user interface -- a single message sent to multiple recipients through a single host will travel as two data files. The X file will contain multiple arguments to rmail on the remote host. I have no direct experience with Smail on a Unix system, but I presume that it would invoke uux host!rnews in a similar fashion: (1) The user agent invokes /bin/mail, feeding it a mail message on standard input and passing the destination address(es) as argument(s). (2) /bin/mail determines that the address(es) is (are) non-local, and invokes uux with host!rmail as an argument, followed by one or more addresses (in bang-path format). (3) /bin/uux creates two data files. The D file contains the message, the X file contains instructions to be executed on the remote host. If there are multiple recipients, rmail on the remote host will be passed multiple arguments. Also, uux creates a local command file (C file) to instruct uucico to copy the X and D files to the remote host. If your user agent (was it elm?) insists on invoking /bin/mail nine times for nine recipients, then yes, there are going to be nine D files, nine X files and nine C files, regardless of whether /bin/mail could have handled it more efficiently. -- Steve Yelvington up at the lake in Minnesota (moving soon to Marine on St. Croix) steve@thelake.mn.org plains!umn-cs!thelake!steve