[comp.mail.sendmail] EOL for Internet mailers

doug@seismo.gps.caltech.edu (10/02/90)

I am running sendmail 5.61+IDA enhancements.  I notice that the default
end_of_line terminator for mailers is "\n", or <newline>.

My IPC Mailer definition (which I call ether) had the following definition:

Mether,	P=[IPC], F=msDFMuCX, S=11, R=21, A=IPC $h

However, I find that there is at least 1 mailer (mac.dartmouth.edu) that
would not respond to SMTP lines that were terminated with simply a
<newline>.  When I changed the mailer definition to:

Mether,	P=[IPC], F=msDFMuCX, S=11, R=21, A=IPC $h, E=\r\n

which sets the eol to <return><newline>, I can successfully
exchange mail with that system.  So far, no other systems seem to be
adversely affected. 

My question is:
1.  Is there any "standard" (as defined by RFC or otherwise) as to what the
"proper" eol is for an IPC mailer?
2.  If "\n" is proper, will other mailers COMPLAIN about the extra 
<return>?  Will addresses, for example, get misinterpreted if there is an
extra "carriage return" on the end?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Doug Neuhauser			Div. of Geological and Planetary Sciences
doug@seismo.gps.caltech.edu	California Institute of Technology
818-356-3993			MS 252-21, Pasadena, CA  91125

rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) (10/02/90)

In article <1990Oct2.035725.5304@nntp-server.caltech.edu> doug@seismo.gps.caltech.edu () writes:
>
>I am running sendmail 5.61+IDA enhancements.  I notice that the default
>end_of_line terminator for mailers is "\n", or <newline>.
>
>My IPC Mailer definition (which I call ether) had the following definition:
>
>Mether,	P=[IPC], F=msDFMuCX, S=11, R=21, A=IPC $h
>
 All of the IDA versions of sendmail.cf I have seen have
     E=\r\n
on the internet smtp mailers.  I believe this is part of the defined SMTP
protocol.  Also all IDA version I have seen call these mailers TCP, or
some variation such as TCP-A.

 Somehow you picked up an non-standard sendmail.cf.

-- 
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=
  Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science               <rickert@cs.niu.edu>
  Northern Illinois Univ.
  DeKalb, IL 60115.                                  +1-815-753-6940

karl_kleinpaste@cis.ohio-state.edu (10/02/90)

doug@seismo.gps.caltech.edu writes:
   1.  Is there any "standard" (as defined by RFC or otherwise) as to what the
   "proper" eol is for an IPC mailer?

RFC821, section 4.1.1, page 19:

|       4.1.1.  COMMAND SEMANTICS
| 
|          The SMTP commands define the mail transfer or the mail system
|          function requested by the user.  SMTP commands are character
|          strings terminated by <CRLF>.

In other words, "E=\r\n" should always be set.  There's no reason ever
to use just "E=\n."

   2.  If "\n" is proper, will other mailers COMPLAIN about the extra 
   <return>?  Will addresses, for example, get misinterpreted if there is an
   extra "carriage return" on the end?

No.  And in fact there are other systems which demand strict
compliance with this section, such as DEC-20s running MAISER.

--karl

Craig_Everhart@TRANSARC.COM (10/02/90)

The standard (RFC 821, available via FTP from nic.ddn.mil or via mail
from service@nic.ddn.mil) says that the correct end-of-line indication
is carriage-return followed by line-feed (\r\n in C-ese).  Your SMTP
user agent hadn't been following the rules, and many other hosts forgave
you, but not all of them.  I predict that no other mailers will complain
about your now-correct use of the \r\n sequence.

		Craig