Re: [exim] exim filters or procmail?

Zbigniew Szalbot wrote:

> Hello,
>
> May I ask for your advice concerning exim filtering capabilities as
> opposed to procmail?
>
> I need to do the following: when a mail comes with a defined subject, I
> need to automatically send a new multipart/alternative format email (its
> contents is all in one file) modifying the TO field so that it goes to the
> sender of original email and changing the subject to something like
> "welcome to...". And I need to be able to generate this email with a
> current date/time.
>
> Will I be better off learning procmail or can this be handled by exim
> filters? Many simple exmaples of auto_info with procmail are based on
> sendmail which I do not use.
>
> Thank you very much in advance!
>
> --
> Zbigniew Szalbot
>

One can compare apples and oranges - just reduce both to 'juice'..

Procmail:

Pro: - largely independent of the MTA, i.e. can swap under it sendmail, postfix,
courier, Exim if you really want to.. etc.

Con: - separate philosophy, sources, coding technique, syntax, support
community, IOW no real 'lock' to any one MTA. Can get out-of-sync from time to
time.

Exim with built-in exiscan:

- Pro: The "MTA" is really far more than an MTA. It already has all manner of
tools for complex delivery, archiving, copying, modifying, scanning, filtering
most things that should be modified, and many that should not as well.

Filtering and routing 'hooks' allow turning on the coffepot or monitoring the
weather if that is what you want. Can read any kind of file or DB, and with
specialized search tools, (ipsearch, lsearch, SQL calls... etc.)

All in the same syntax, one code-base, superbly integrated and supported feature
set.

Best debug tools and support community in the business.

"Stock" configuration closer to human-readable 'what you ask for is what
happens' than most other tools - MTA or whatever.


- Con: Do something stoopid and ignore the logs, and you may have disabled your
MTA as well as your filter/delivery mechanism. OTOH, that is usually 'fail safe'
not 'fail spewing garbage'.

You really SHOULD to read the docs. Once in a while, anyway... Or at least
search them, and/or this list. Reasonable learning curve, and worth the investment.

;-)

My bottom line? I am spoiled. Most of us are.

If Exim disappeared, we'd have to re-invent it, and it would look much the same,
'oz it is 'functionality' driven.

Not a lot wrong with it, IOW.

YMMV, but if you are not already a sendmail/postfix/procmail syntax mavin, why
go there?

Bill