[net.sources] cmdbymail, .forward files, and sendmail

guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris) (07/08/85)

> Err, Umm Is this a BSD only utility?
> As far as I know [:-) .forward (??) files are not used on system V.

It's a "system-using-'sendmail'-or-something-which-can-do-the-same-sort-
of-thing"-only utility.  "sendmail" fits in between a mail composer and a
mail deliverer.  It's supplied with 4.2BSD but can also run under any other
UNIX variant.  I presume that the "command by mail" facility requires you to
"forward" mail to a program.  If I remember correctly, the "upas" mailer
that "Version 8" has also permits you to forward mail to a program.  It does
it using an extension of the USG UNIX "/bin/mail" technique of having the
first line of your mailbox say "forward to jblow".

> Has there been any attempt to identify items which are:
> 	1. BSD only
> 	2. System V only
> 	3. Able to function anywhere after possibly a few mods.
> 	4. Other ?

Unfortunately, no.  I suspect it's because a lot of users don't know what
features are common to all variants of UNIX and which are only in the one
they're running (of course, some users don't know which features are only in
the processor they're running on, as evidenced by the profusion of programs
assuming 32-bit "int"s, signed "char"s, VAX byte order, *et cetera ad
nauseam*).

	Guy Harris