>
> > So, does this mean sendmail is inconsistent about that leading '\n'?
>
> Looks like it. However, it is not actually breaking any rules:
Well, I can't imagine where you got the courage and stamina to replace
sendmail. I'm proud I found an inconsistency for you.
Marilyn
>
> (1) The SMTP interface appears to be following the RFCs precisely; a
> leading '\n' (or, actually '\r\n' in SMTP) is not being ignored - it is
> terminating the headers.
>
> (2) The specification of the command line interface between an MTA and
> some other process that is calling it is not laid down in any standard
> that I know of. Sendmail was first, and everybody else has just tried to
> imitate it so that the same MUAs continue to work. It is within
> Sendmail's rights to say "the message is passed on the standard input in
> RFC 822 format, except that leading blank lines are ignored". In fact,
> it already interprets "From " lines at the start of such messages (as
> does Exim) so perhaps the leading blank skipping is all part of that
> process, though it may not be deliberate, of course.
>
> It would be very nice if somebody produced a formal, MTA-independent
> definition of the MUA-MTA interface, and all us MTA implementors agreed
> to stick with it, but it's probably too late now.
>
> --
> Philip Hazel University of Cambridge Computing Service,
> ph10@??? Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.
>
>
>
> --
> ## List details at http://www.exim.org/mailman/listinfo/exim-users Exim details at http://www.exim.org/ ##
>
