This one time, at band camp, martin f krafft said: > also sprach Stephen Gran <sgran@debian.org> [2004.10.02.2156 +0200]: > > Does postfix not have something like exim's routers?(I really am > > asking - I don't know postfix well). I was under the impression > > that one of the strengths of it's modularity was that you could > > plug extra pieces in in the middle of a routing chain for stuff > > just like this. > > Postfix is a MTA, not a MDA. And no, postfix does not know routers. > You can chain filters, but not after the user has been determined. > This is on purpose as it's the domain of mail delivery agents such > as procmail. Remember the UNIX philosophy? Phil Hazel doesn't... I think that's oversimplifying a bit - if postfix can plug in things like A/V scanners or content filters, then it's more than "just an MTA" at this point too. I don't know if you need amavis or something to do this with postfix, but I was under the impression that it could do it natively, with the filter= stuff, or at least I was under the impression that it could from sites like http://regions.rgs.ru/dist/postfix/ I realize it's using external helper programs, but so so do all MTA's - exim doesn't have spamassassin built in, just hooks to it's API. If it can write to the mail spool, whether that's in /var/spool/mail or $HOME, than it is also certainly an MDA, just a limited one. I have never personally seen the advantage of dissociating the MDA from the MTA, myself. I tend to think it's a holdover from sendmail's limitations, and people have gotten under the impression that it's a strength rather than a weakness. I mean, it can already filter early in the email processing (or early enough to 5xx at smtp time, so I hear), and it can deliver, so why can't it filter just before delivery? Doesn't seem like a violation of the design philosophy, so much as an unimplemented possibility of the design. Getting OT into that 'My MTA is better hung' flamewar, though, which I don't want to have, and I don't want to argue with you, Martin - chalk it up to a long day and some tall beer :) Peace, -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ,''`. Stephen Gran | | : :' : sgran@debian.org | | `. `' Debian user, admin, and developer | | `- http://www.debian.org | -----------------------------------------------------------------
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