Re: mailwrapper *

From: Lexi Winter <lexi_at_le-fay.org>
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2024 12:01:59 UTC
Chris:
> As I read it, and use it; mailwrapper(8) simply *assumes* that there
> is *some* default (based on available options) MTA already installed,
> and points to it as needed. The sendmail/dma stuff is there as a
> system isn't really complete if one can't send mail. How had you
> intended to improve the process?

right: if you have mailwrapper, you also need an MTA.

but the situation here is if you have an MTA and *don't* have
mailwrapper, i.e. you build src WITHOUT_MAILWRAPPER.

in that case -- if i'm reading the Makefile correctly -- the build
process will create a symlink from 'mailwrapper' to either dma or
sendmail binary, so it appears to consumers that mailwrapper is
installed even though it's not; trying to use it simply calls the MTA
directly.

my proposal is to remove this functionality, i.e. the special handling
of the WITHOUT_MAILWRAPPER case, to simplify the Makefile and make it
less confusing to pkgbase-ify mailwrapper into its own package.

this functionality was modified for DMA in 3467e28f [0] in 2022, but
was originally added for sendmail in 2632dac8 [1], way back in 2002.
i assume the use-case was people who wanted to use sendmail but didn't
want to install mailwrapper for some reason, but nowadays, i would be
surprised if anyone is still doing this.

[0] https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/commit/?id=3467e28f3d114f35bdfa87d6afd373f9d291dfb3
[1] https://cgit.freebsd.org/src/commit/?id=2632dac82984593a7be37bafc570a93f82270249