On Tuesday 27 September 2005 01:50, Steve Lamb wrote:
> I'd be interested in any definition of a desktop where an SMTP
> server would be a requirement and not a "nice thing to have" in lieu of
> some alternative for bad behaving utilities that can't manage the
> failure of the SMTP server be it local or remote.
For a typical Windows-type desktop, it's not useful. But if you want to
run batch jobs, you need an MTA to handle the output. The "desktop" of a
typical Debian user will probably involve functions that require an MTA
of some kind.
> > Cron and at require a working MTA on the local machine (I think
> > nullmailer is probably sufficient).
>
> Never understood why that is the case. What do they do when the
> local MTA is unavailable? Be that as it may how Debian works it:
Why the heck wouldn't you just install an MTA? The Unix tradition is that
every machine has an MTA (although it might simply route everything to a
mail hub) so that other tools don't need to duplicate it's functionality,
in accordance with the philosophy given in ESR's Art of Unix Programming.
> cron doesn't require mail-transport-agent but does recommend it.
> At requires it. nullmailer fulfills that role. So in theory Debian
> could move away from Exim to nullmailer as a default install if the
> theory is that the default install is "smart-host for a desktop" and
> anything more complex would be specificly installed by the admin
> building the box.
I think cron ought to require mail-transport-agent, so the output isn't
lost. Your points in favour of making nullmailer the default, however,
are good.
> There's a whole 9 places difference between Exim4 installs, which
> is by default, and people who rip Exim4 out in favor of Postfix. If
> moving to nullmailer means it keeps the low-end functionality intact
> and makes it easier for those who choose Exim on Debian to interact
> with the larger Exim community at the nominal expense of having to do a
> quick [apt-get|aptitude] install exim4-daemon[-light|-heavy] I'd say
> it's worth consideration. :)
Why wouldn't Debian users who prefer exim still be able to apt-get|
aptitude it easily? There are packages for a variety of MTAs, all easy
to install the Debian way.
