[Gllug] Mail programs

[Bruce Richardson]

On 10/12/01, 12:49:45 PM, "Paul Brazier" <pbrazier at cosmos-uk.co.uk> wrote 
regarding RE: [Gllug] Mail programs:


> I moved to mutt recently, very steep learning curve - I thought at first
> I'd just configure it and away I'd go but first I had to learn all about
> fetchmail/sendmail/procmail etc.

Traditional Unix mail clients like Mutt and Pine don't see local mail 
delivery as part of their job.  Their job is to read the mail that has 
been delivered.  The developers of such clients don't see a priority (or 
a need at all) to re-implement procmail or whatever local delivery agent 
you use.  This is a plus, not a minus.  Because these clients work with 
standard Unix mail folders, you can switch from one mail client to 
another without losing any mail and without having to export/import it 
into a different format.  And without having to write a whole new set of 
mail-processing rules.

That said, I think you're overstating it a bit.  Procmail, yes, you need 
that (or an equivalent app) for mail filtering.  Fetchmail is handy but 
both Pine and Mutt can connect directly to pop or imap servers and save 
local copies of what you read there.  Sendmail?  OK, they don't queue 
mail but expect there to be a mail-server but most distributions come 
with at least one brain-dead-point-me-at-your-isp mail server package.

> It does seem rather baffling at first
> but I'm slowly getting there and I can see it will be very powerful. I
> guess it falls inbetween an all-inclusive package like Evolution and a
> library of mail components that you glue together yourself.

The idea, basic to Unix, is that applications don't needlessly duplicate 
functions.  Lots of small apps that do their jobs well and don't try to 
do jobs that should be done by other apps.  So Mutt, Pine, Elm etc read 
your mail and let you write mail but don't waste time with delivery (in 
or out).

-- 

Bruce

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