Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!psuvax1!vu-vlsi!devon!paul
From: paul@devon.UUCP (Paul Sutcliffe Jr.)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp,comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: smail "front end" query
Message-ID: <477@devon.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 16-Oct-87 20:38:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: devon.477
Posted: Fri Oct 16 20:38:04 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 18-Oct-87 02:40:35 EDT
References: <838@seradg.Dayton.NCR.COM>
Reply-To: paul@devon.UUCP (Paul Sutcliffe Jr.)
Followup-To: comp.mail.uucp
Organization: Devon Computer Services, Allentown, PA
Lines: 45
Keywords: smail mailx Subject etc
Summary: here's a trick that'll work
Xref: mnetor comp.mail.uucp:876 comp.unix.xenix:981

[ This was originally posted in comp.mail.uucp.  I've cross-posted it
  to comp.unix.xenix, but have directed followups to comp.mail.uucp.  ]

In the referenced article, pat@seradg.Dayton.NCR.COM (Patrick Pesch) writes:
> 	I have just got "smail" up on my SCO Xenix system and have a question
> 	that somebody out there has probably encounterd.  Smail replaces
> 	/bin/mail with a small front end called svbinmail (for systems
> 	that do not have sendmail).  It moves the existing /bin/mail to
> 	/bin/lmail, and uses it only when READING mail.  /bin/smail and
> 	/bin/rmail (linked together) are used when sending mail.
> 
> 	My problem is that the smail interface seems pretty primitive,
> 	compared to the Xenix mail that was there (mailx derivative).
> 	Can smail prompt for "Subject:, CC:", etc... as mailx does?  Does
> 	anyone know how this could be done without actually adding the
> 	features to smail (maybe using the existing mailer as a front end)?

You appear to have installed SMAIL in (what the author refers  to  as)
the  "SYSV  without  SENDMAIL"  configuration.  The problem with doing
this on Xenix (SCO or Microsoft) is that, as you  pointed  out,  SMAIL
assumes  that  /bin/mail  is  a very dumb mailer, and replaces it.  In
fact, the Xenix /bin/mail is very intelligent (sic), and very  closely
resembles the UCB "Mail" package.

But to address your problem.  Take a close look at the contents of the
/usr/lib/mail  directory.   Therein you will find an executable called
"execmail".  This is roughly the equivilent  (albeit  a  slimmed  down
version)  of  sendmail.  Execmail is the delivery agent for /bin/mail.
It decides if the message is for UUCP, MICNET or  local  delivery  and
invokes  /bin/rmail, /usr/lib/mail/mail.mn or /usr/lib/mail/mail.local
respectively.

The solution, then, is to inform SMAIL that the local  delivery  agent
is  /usr/lib/mail/mail.local instead of /bin/mail.  Do this in SMAIL's
defs.h file.  This allows you to retain /bin/mail  (and  its  improved
features  over  svbinmail)  while  allowing  SMAIL  access  to a local
delivery agent.

- paul

-- 
Paul Sutcliffe, Jr.

UUCP (smart):  paul@devon.UUCP
UUCP (dumb):   ...{rutgers,ihnp4,cbosgd}!bpa!vu-vlsi!devon!paul