Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!husc6!ogccse!schaefer
From: schaefer@ogccse.ogc.edu (Barton E. Schaefer)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.mush
Subject: Re: mush adding commas to addresses
Message-ID: <2872@ogccse.ogc.edu>
Date: 23 May 89 22:12:25 GMT
References: <663@srhqla.UUCP> <14340@bfmny0.UUCP>
Reply-To: schaefer@ogccse.UUCP (Barton E. Schaefer)
Organization: Oregon Graduate Center, Beaverton, OR
Lines: 39

In article <14340@bfmny0.UUCP> tneff@bfmny0.UUCP (Tom Neff) writes:
} In article <663@srhqla.UUCP> schaefer@cse.ogc.edu (Bart Schaefer) writes:
} )
} )			    <l>#<m>element
} )
} )    indicating at least <l> and and most <m> elements, each separated
} )    by one or more commas (",").  ....
} )
} )    destination =  "To"          ":" 1#address  ; Primary
} 
} The problem I had with Sys V mail(1) as an MTA with Mush 6.4 a while
} back was that Mush seemed to be APPENDING a comma even to a SINGLE
} address!  I.e. 'mush joe' yielded an error message from mail(1)
} saying 'Unknown address "joe,"'.

I don't remember for certain any more, but I believe there may have been
a bug in 6.4 that caused trailing commas to be left in the addresses in
certain cases.  I believe it had something to do with using "replyall".

} I don't think a singleton of the form "joe," fits the above
} syntax rule, do you?

The paragraph in section 2.7 about the # rule continues:

		   ... Wherever this construct is used, null elements
    are allowed, but do not  contribute  to  the  count  of  elements
    present.   That  is,  "(element),,(element)"  is  permitted,  but
    counts as only two elements.  Therefore, where at least one  ele-
    ment  is required, at least one non-null element must be present.
    ...

So apparently "joe," or even ",,joe,,," fits the rule.  Nevertheless,
it *was* considered a bug that mush appended an extra comma, and as far
as I can tell this has been fixed.
-- 
Bart Schaefer       "And if you believe that, you'll believe anything."
							-- DangerMouse
CSNET / Internet                schaefer@cse.ogc.edu
UUCP                            ...{sequent,tektronix,verdix}!ogccse!schaefer