Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!stanford.edu!eos!aio!dnsurber From: dnsurber@lescsse.jsc.nasa.gov (Douglas Surber) Newsgroups: comp.unix.admin Subject: Re: sendmail shock. Bibliography? Message-ID: Date: 5 Apr 91 13:37:03 GMT References: <1991Apr1.173622.12281@appmag.com> <1991Apr2.180215.1356@sci34hub.sci.com> Sender: news@aio.jsc.nasa.gov (USENET News System) Reply-To: dsurber@nasamail.nasa.gov Distribution: usa Organization: nasa-jsc Lines: 48 In barnett@grymoire.crd.ge.com (Bruce Barnett) writes: >Can smail3 or Zmailer do these things? Can anyone give examples? >IMHO, the problem with sendmail is not the syntax (esp. with Ease), it >is understanding EVERY POSSIBLE MAIL ADDRESS VARIATION, and HOW TO >DEAL WITH IT CORRECTLY. >Any delivery agent that can solve those sorts of problems will be >complex. It's not the fault of the MDA, it's because the problem is complex. >Switching to tools other than sendmail will not make the problem go away. I was recently "volunteered" to take over maintaining the mail system at my site. Having no prior experience, I have had *Lots*Of*Fun*. My difficulties arrise not from the sendmail program, which goes about its job in a workman like way, nor the cf file syntax, which is a kluge but readable with some effort, but with the actual cf file itself. I can read any one rule and tell what it does in a low level sense, but I have no idea why it does it, nor do I have sufficient MIPS in my head to figure out what the larger rule sets do even in the low level sense. The comments are cryptic when present and usually not even that. According to the previous administrator, the cf file is mostly the standard BSD file with a few tweeks for our site. He said he didn't really know what a lot of it did or why it was there; I don't really understand what any significant part of it does in detail or why it's there. What would be really great would be if one or more of you gurus would help those of us who who don't have your knowledge by creating one or two good generic cf files--one for domain sites and one for UUCP sites, maybe one that does both. Document the hell out of it. Describe what each rule set does, both in terms of low level text manipulation and at a higher level, why it does it. Same for each rule in the rule set. Document which classes and macros to mung and how, to localize the file. And leave out all of the Berkeley specific crud. If I understand what the silly thing is doing in the first place, I am confident that I can fix any breakage at my local site. I know this would be a lot of work. I know you won't get paid for it. But a lot of us would be really greatful and would name our children after you. -- Douglas Surber Internet: dnsurber@jsc.nasa.gov Lockheed NASAmail: dnsurber/jsc/nasa Houston, Texas Phone: 713-283-5195 Life can be only understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.