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FW: Simplifying Mime messages

2002-11-25 13:03:23
"LuKreme" wrote me privately and asked a question.  I responded
privately, but got a silly bounce (quoted below).  LuKreme,
please either keep it on the list or, if you do feel the need
to write privately, permit my reply to reach you!

The email address you are sending mail to does not accept 
personal email. 

This email address is a LIST ONLY email address and only receives mail
from subscribed mailing lists.


-----Original Message-----
From: Dallman Ross  
Sent: Monday, November 25, 2002 8:13 PM
To: 'LuKreme'
Subject: RE: Simplifying Mime messages


Why is the (.*\<)? used?

Because there is no requirement for a space to follow a colon-header.

        To:you

is perfectly valid, albeit rare.

So we allow zero or one number of {any number of chars + an inter-word
char}.  It will match any of these just fine:

        To:you
        To: you
        To:     you

(The last was a tab.)  It would theoretically match other things,
too, of course, but since procmail is leftward-parsimonious in its
matching, the tendency is to match as little as we need.

If you want to be more exact, you could use:

        To:[    ]*you

with a space and a tab in the bracket.  But the shorthand
stuff is easier for humans to parse, in that there is no
danger of losing the tab or misapprehending it for a space.
And there is not much lost in the "exchange" for procmail
when using the other syntax.

dman

-- 
Dallman Ross

"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably does not lead to
anywhere."
        Thoughts of Rev. Sunnan Kubose, from _Zen in the Markets_ 




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