Sendmail

[Jerry Callen]

[I didn't intend to touch off a brush fire...]

Regarding using telneting to port 25 as a means of finding the
sendmail version number, I wrote (among other things) that it is:

>         - a truly classic item to be added to the Unix Hater's list of
>           strange and unwonderful arcana.

John Chambers then disagreed, noting that telnet is a widespread, 
well-known program, SMTP at port 25 is a standard protocol, etc.
All true.

BUT - ask any Windoze user how to find the version number of the
program they are using and they will tell you "Go to the help menu,
pull it down, and select 'About...'."

How do I get the version number of perl? Of emacs? Of the Linux kernel?

Sure, there are simple ways to get this information, but they differ from
tool to tool, and you have to know them. Windoze has one consistent 
mechanism (at least for this...).

I'm not a Unix hater. I wouldn't be hanging out with a bunch of other
geeks on the BLU list if I were! :-) My sole point is that this is 
one of the things that Unix gets dinged for by people with an anti-Unix 
agenda: every tool works differently.

-- Jerry Callen                      Mobile: 617-388-3990
   Narsil                            FAX:    617-876-5331
   63 Orchard Street                 email:  jcallen at narsil.com
   Cambridge, MA 02140-1328

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