[Info-vax] To MIME or not to MIME

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 8/4/2018 4:16 PM, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
> On 2018-08-04 17:20:28 +0000, Arne Vajhj said:
> 
>>> I believe I have mentioned Exchange Server and Postfix once or twice, 
>>> and I've mentioned that OpenVMS is not capable of running without a 
>>> mail server for many of these mail-related tasks with no provisions 
>>> in the default installation for sending and receiving mail from a 
>>> remote mail server and a mail server that might well be running 
>>> Exchange Server or Postfix or OpenSMTPD or various other choices 
>>> here, and I've mentioned my preference for Postfix to that of the 
>>> current TCP/IP Services Mail Server,
>>
>> That I don't agree with.
> 
> You don't agree with what?
> 
> Is OpenVMS able to operate in the default configuration, without a mail 
> server configured and running locally, and with routines such as MAIL$ 
> continuing to work for local and remote?
> 
> Because somebody or other around here likely uses that MAIL$ API.
> 
> Somebody else undoubtedly uses the MAIL command.
> 
> I'm sure of it.

I believe the right way is a mail library to access remote servers.

>> I believe it is much better to just add a mail library to access 
>> remote servers.
>>
>> For native code.
>>
>> Java, Python etc. already have such.
> 
> You know, I didn't think I had to mention that.  Wait, I did.  Ah, 
> well.  None of that is in the base distro of OpenVMS, and none of that 
> allows the more common mail-related operations to work.   As for your 
> list of languages, you utterly neglected to mention that both assembler 
> and even machine code can be used!

I don't expect assembler to be used for this purpose. But if it did then
a native library should work fine.

Java, Python and PHP ar especial because they come with a language
specific library for sending email that only requires basic TCP
from VMS.

Arne