Re: how to make desktop app send email?

[Maciej Katafiasz <mnews22 wp pl>]

W liście z sob, 17-07-2004, godz. 02:59, Rui Miguel Seabra pisze: 
> > > > > Certainly, it's pretty ashaming that UNIX still hasn't obvious way to
> > > > > send stupid email, despite pioneering it some 30 years ago.
> > > > It does - sendmail.  The problem is that modern clients don't use
> > > > sendmail to send mail, they all use their own built-in SMTP client code.
> > > 
> > > Evolutions uses underlying sendmail. I should know. I _always_ send
> > > email, even while offline.
> > 
> > Evolution has an option to use sendmail.
> 
> I think it's the default. Most distributions already install an MTA that
> can deliver email if you can resolve addresses.

Install is one thing, configure is another. Here on Sid, I'm promptly
asked to provide details of my mail setup, and I always choose "No
internet / Other trasport". Granted, I didn't ever _think_ of setting
MTA like sendmail, Evo is good enough.

> >  It also has an option to use
> > SMTP. I'd guess - and this is pure speculation - that most desktop users
> > configure it to use SMTP directly, since it's easier to configure SMTP
> > within evolution that to delve into sendmail [1] configuration.
> 
> Most desktop users: probably. Most GNU/Linux desktop users: unlikely.
> 
> But it's just as much speculation :)

IMHO, it's very much speculation ;). And remember, Aunt Tilly is also
"desktop user", I don't want her to even _suspect_ there's something
more to sending email (if nothing else, that's because 99% of free email
services provide instructions for setting MUA to use SMTP directly)

Anyway, the point of defining this MAPI is to provide way to send mail
regardless of method and agent used. Really, Win32 does that _very_ good
(read: I've never seen anyone having any trouble of using whatever mail
agent they choose[1]), and I really think it's the state of matters we
should be aming for. Yes, sendmail should be supported by that API, no
sendmail shouldn't _be_ that API.

[1] Except for Mozilla Seamonkey, which when installed with Mail/News,
always uses it to handle mailto:// URL's, no matter what MAPI handler is
set systemwide. But that's Mozilla's flaw.

Cheers,
Maciej

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