MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
mh-gen - generating the MH system
This documentation describes how to configure, generate, and
install the UCI version of the Rand _
\bM_
\bH system. Although the
_
\bM_
\bH system was originally developed by the Rand Corporation,
and is now in the public domain, the Rand Corporation
assumes no responsibility for _
\bM_
\bH or this particular modifi-
In addition, the Regents of the University of California
issue the following disclaimer in regard to the UCI version
"Although each program has been tested by its contribu-
tor, no warranty, express or implied, is made by the
contributor or the University of California, as to the
accuracy and functioning of the program and related
program material, nor shall the fact of distribution
constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is
assumed by the contributor or the University of Cali-
fornia in connection herewith."
This version of _
\bM_
\bH is in the public domain, and as such,
there are no real restrictions on its use. The _
\bM_
\bH source
code and documentation have no licensing restrictions what-
soever. As a courtesy, the authors ask only that you pro-
vide appropriate credit to the Rand Corporation and the
University of California for having developed the software.
_
\bM_
\bH is a software package that is neither supported by the
Rand Corporation nor the University of California. However,
since we do use the software ourselves and plan to continue
using (and improving) _
\bM_
\bH, bug reports and their associated
fixes should be reported back to us so that we may include
them in future releases. The current computer mailbox for
_
\bM_
\bH is Bug-MH@UCI.EDU (in the ARPA Internet), and
...!ucbvax!ucivax!bug-mh (UUCP). Presently, there are two
Internet discussion groups, MH-Users@UCI.EDU and
MH-Workers@UCI.EDU. If there is sufficient interest,
corresponding Usenet news groups may be established along
with the appropriate gateways.
This is a description of how one can bring up an _
\bM_
\bH system.
It is assumed that you have super-user privileges in order
to (re-)install _
\bM_
\bH. Super-user privileges are not required
to configure or generate _
\bM_
\bH.
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 1
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
Become the super-user and create a new directory under
/usr/src/local/ (or whatever) for the _
\bM_
\bH area. Tradition-
ally, the directory's name should be mh/. The distribution
tape contains the hierarchy for the mh.6/ directory. Bring
# mkdir /usr/src/local/mh
First, go to the conf/ directory.
This directory contains files that will produce source files
tailored for your choice of _
\bM_
\bH configuration. You should
edit only the file MH. This file contains configuration
directives. These configuration directives are read by the
_
\bm_
\bh_
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg program to produce customized files. For examples
of various configurations, look in the directory
conf/examples/. The file MH provided in conf/ is a reason-
Here are the _
\bM_
\bH configuraton options available:
The directory where user-invoked programs go (see
Support for debug mode of _
\bM_
\bH. Don't use this unless
you know what you're doing, which isn't likely if
you're reading this document!
The directory where pgm-invoked programs go (see manual
The directory where the maildrops are stored. If this
pathname is absolute (i.e., begins with a / ), then the
user's maildrop is a file called $USER in this direc-
tory. If the pathname is not absolute, then the user's
maildrop is in the user's home directory under the
The parent directory of the manual entries.
Where manual entries should be installed, relative to
the directory given with "mandir". Either "local" to
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 2
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
install manual entries under manl/, or "new" to install
manual entries under mann/, or "old" to install manual
entries under mano/, or "standard" to install manual
entries under man?/, or "gen" to generate but not
install them, or "none" to neither generate nor install
them. For example, to install manual entries under
/usr/man/u_man/man?, use "standard" and /usr/man/u_man
The location of the _
\bc_
\bh_
\bo_
\bw_
\bn (8) on your system. If _
\bc_
\bh_
\bo_
\bw_
\bn
is in your search path, just use the value of "chown".
On SYS5 systems, this should probably be "/bin/chown".
The default editor for _
\bM_
\bH.
How _
\bM_
\bH shuld backup existing files when installing a
Which message transport system to use. Either "mmdf"
to use _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF as the transport system, "mmdf2" to use
_
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI_
\bI as the transport system, "sendmail" to have
_
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl as the transport system, or, "mh" to have _
\bM_
\bH
as the transport system. On 4.2BSD UNIX systems you
can add the suffix "/smtp" to the mts setting. This
often yields a superior interface as _
\bM_
\bH will post mail
with the local _
\bS_
\bM_
\bT_
\bP server instead of interacting
directly with _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF or _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl. The "/smtp" suffix is
described in detail in the _
\bA_
\bd_
\bm_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bo_
\br'_
\bs _
\bG_
\bu_
\bi_
\bd_
\be.
Hence, for 4.2BSD UNIX systems, the "/smtp" suffix to
either "sendmail" or "mmdf2" is the preferred MTS con-
Support for the UCI BBoards facility. BBoards may be
enabled with any mts setting.
bbhome: /usr/spool/bboards
The home directory for the BBoards user.
Support for mail filtering on those systems in which
the message transport system isn't integrated with _
\bU_
\bU_
\bC_
\bP
This option is strictly for an _
\bM_
\bH system using either
_
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI as its transport system or one using
Support for POP service. This allows local delivery
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 3
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
for non-local users (a major win). See
support/pop/pop.rfc for more information on the POP.
This option currently works only on 4.2BSD UNIX sys-
tems. (It doesn't hurt to enable this option regard-
less of whether or not you intend to use POP.) If POP
is enabled, there are two additional options which are
of interest: "RPOP" and "DPOP". The former indicates
that support for the UNIX variant of POP, RPOP, which
uses privileged sockets for authentication be enabled.
This peacefully co-exists with the standard POP. The
"DPOP" option indicates that POP subscribers do not
have entries in the _
\bp_
\ba_
\bs_
\bs_
\bw_
\bd (5) file, and instead have
their own separate database (another major win). Both
of these options can be enabled via an "options" direc-
tive in the _
\bM_
\bH configuration file.
Support for the UCI BBoards facility via the POP ser-
vice. Requires both bboards and pop to be enabled.
`-D' options to _
\bc_
\bc (1).
Use on XENIX/v7 systems. Also, be sure to use
_
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl will assume `-nocc all' as the default
Directs _
\bM_
\bH to use alpha-timezones whenever possi-
Directs _
\bM_
\bH to favor `!' over `@'.
Optional for for 4.{2,3}BSD sites running Send-
Mail. Makes a lot of simplifying assumptions that
makes the code run a bit faster. Also enables one
other change: _
\bs_
\bc_
\ba_
\bn has a -[no]reverse switch which
does the obvious thing. _
\bM_
\bH purists hate this.
If you are running with the BIND code under
4.{2,3}BSD, be sure to define this.
Use on Berkeley UNIX systems on or after 4.2BSD.
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 4
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
Use on 4.1a Berkeley UNIX systems.
Use on 4.3 Berkeley UNIX systems. Also, be sure
If you previously ran a version of _
\bM_
\bH earlier than
mh.4 use this option. After a short grace period,
remove it and re-{configure,generate,install}
Enables the POP database, useful only if POP ser-
Directs _
\bM_
\bH to minimize address munging.
Defines the octal value for default folder-
protection. For example, FOLDPROT='"0700"'. The
Tells _
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl to be more conservative in generating
Defines the filename for alternate file name for
_
\bd_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt and _
\br_
\be_
\bp_
\bl. For example, LINK='"\\043"'. The
Hard-wires the local name for the host _
\bM_
\bH is run-
ning on. For example, locname='"PICKLE"'. It's
probably better to either let UNIX tell _
\bM_
\bH this
information, or to put the information in the host
Enables crude support for Brien Reid's MHE inter-
Enables _
\bM_
\bH to recognize the _
\bC_
\bS_
\bh_
\be_
\bl_
\bl's `~'-con-
struct. This is useful for sites that run with a
Defines the location of the _
\bm_
\bo_
\br_
\be (1) program.
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 5
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
For example, on ALTOS and DUAL systems,
MORE='"/usr/bin/more"'. The default is
Defines the octal value for default folder-
protection For example, MSGPROT='"0600"'. The
Directs _
\bM_
\bH to make private sequences the default.
Enable _
\bM_
\bH commands to read profile/context from
open fd:s without doing an open(); see mh-
profile(5) for the details.
Directs _
\bi_
\bn_
\bc to note UNIX From: lines as Return-
Enables the RPOP variant of POP, useful only if
Defines the prefix string for backup file names.
For example, SBACKUP='"\\043"'. The default is
Use on AT&T SYSTEM 5 UNIX system.
First, "_" and "#" are recognized as the prefixes
for scratch files. Second, support for the UCI
group-leadership mechanism is enabled in _
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bl_
\bi_
\bc_
\bt.
Third, support for $HOME/.signature files is
Directs the _
\bs_
\bc_
\ba_
\bn program to generate UK-style
Use on V7 UNIX systems. Also, be sure to use
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 6
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
Enable certain _
\bM_
\bH commands to act differently when
Options given directly to _
\bc_
\bc (1). The most common is
"-M" if you're running _
\bM_
\bH on an ALTOS.
curses: -lcurses -ltermlib
This should be the loader option required to load the
_
\bt_
\be_
\br_
\bm_
\bc_
\ba_
\bp (3) and _
\bc_
\bu_
\br_
\bs_
\be_
\bs (3) libraries on your system.
On SYS5 systems, it probably should be just "-lcurses".
Some sites have reported that both "-lcurses" and
"-ltermlib" are necessary.
Options given directly to _
\bl_
\bd (1) (via _
\bc_
\bc ) at the
beginning of the command line. Useful for machines
which require arguments to tell _
\bl_
\bd to increase the
stack space (e.g. the Gould, which uses "-m 8"). Usu-
ally, "-ns" is a good choice in any event.
Options given directly to _
\bl_
\bd (1) (via _
\bc_
\bc ) at the end
of the command line. The two most common are: "-ldbm"
if you're running MMDF with the _
\bd_
\bb_
\bm package; and,
"-lndir" if you are generating _
\bM_
\bH on a system which
does not load the new directory access mechanism by
default (e.g., 4.1BSD, SYS5). If you don't have
_
\bl_
\bi_
\bb_
\bn_
\bd_
\bi_
\br on your system, the sources are in
Support for the ALTOS loader.
Support for systems with _
\br_
\ba_
\bn_
\bl_
\bi_
\bb (1). For SYSTEM 5 sys-
tems, this should be "off" which tells _
\bM_
\bH to use _
\bl_
\bo_
\br_
\bd_
\be_
\br
and _
\bt_
\bs_
\bo_
\br_
\bt instead. Some SYSTEM 5 sites reported that
running this isn't always sufficient. If this is the
case, then you should edit conf/makefiles/uip to
include ../sbr/libmh.a and ../zotnet/libzot.a twice in
Support for the TTI _
\bt_
\br_
\bu_
\bs_
\bt_
\be_
\bd _
\bm_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl _
\ba_
\bg_
\be_
\bn_
\bt (TMA). Although
the TTI TMA is not in the public domain, the _
\bM_
\bH support
for the TTI TMA is in the public domain. You should
enable this option only if you are licensed to run the
TMA software (otherwise, you don't have the software in
your _
\bM_
\bH source tree).
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 7
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
Now edit conf/config/mtstailor, depending on your choice of
the setting for mts in the _
\bM_
\bH configuration file. for an
mts setting of "mh", look at the file conf/tailor/mhmts; for
an mts setting of "sendmail", "sendmail/smtp", "mmdf/smtp",
or "mmdf2/smtp", look at the file conf/tailor/sendmts; and,
for an mts setting of "mmdf", or "mmdf2", look at the file
Now install the configured files into the source areas.
You now proceed based on your choice of a transport system
(the setting for mts above). The best interface is achieved
with "sendmail" followed by "mmdf" or ("mmdf2"), and then
"mh" (stand-alone delivery, not recommended).
If you want _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl to transport messages for _
\bM_
\bH, then go
to the mts/sendmail/ directory.
This directory contains files whose definitions correspond
to the configuration of your _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl system. If you have
enabled BBoards or POP service, then you will need to
re-configure _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl. First, in the "local info" section
of your site's _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl configuration file, choose a free
macro/class (B is used in this distribution), and add these
Second, immediately after the inclusion of the zerobase
file, in the "machine dependent part of ruleset zero" sec-
# resolve names for the BBoards system
R$+<@$=B> $#bboards$@$2$:$1 topic@bboards
in your site's _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl configuration file. Finally, you
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 8
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
should link the file mts/sendmail/bboardsMH.m4 into your
_
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl cf/ directory and re-configure _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl.
If you have enabled POP service, a similar procedure must be
used on the POP service host, to re-configure _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl.
First, in the "local info" section of your site's _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl
configuration file, choose a free macro/class (P is used in
this distribution), and add these lines:
Second, immediately after the inclusion of the zerobase
file, in the "machine dependent part of ruleset zero" sec-
# resolve names for the POP system
R$+<@$=P> $#pop$@$2$:$1 subscriber@pop
in your site's _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl configuration file. Finally, you
should link the file mts/sendmail/popMH.m4 into your _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\b-
_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl cf/ directory and re-configure _
\bS_
\be_
\bn_
\bd_
\bM_
\ba_
\bi_
\bl.
If you want _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF to be your transport service, and have NOT
specified "mmdf/smtp" (or "mmdf2/smtp") as your mts setting,
then go to the mmdf/ directory. (If you're using
"mmdf/smtp" or "mmdf2/smtp" as your mts setting, then skip
This directory contains files whose definitions correspond
to the configuration of your _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF system.
If you're running _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI, then copy the following files from
wherever you keep the _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF sources to this directory:
mmdf/h/ch.h, mmdf/h/conf.h, utildir/conf_util.h,
utildir/ll_log.h, mmdf/h/mmdf.h, utildir/util.h,
mmdf/mmdf_lib.a, and utildir/util_lib.a.
If you're running _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI_
\bI, then copy the following files
from where you keep the _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF sources to this directory:
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 9
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
h/ch.h, h/conf.h, h/dm.h, h/ll_log.h, h/mmdf.h, h/util.h,
If you have enabled bboards, then the directories
support/bboards/mmdfI and support/bboards/mmdfII contain
information you'll need to put a UCI BBoards channel in your
_
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF configuration. Similarly, if you have enabled option
"mf" and are running _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI, then the zotnet/mf/mmdfI/
directory contains information you'll need to put a _
\bU_
\bU_
\bC_
\bP
channel in your _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI configuration. Finally, the direc-
tory support/pop/mmdfII contains information you'll need to
put a POP channel in your _
\bM_
\bM_
\bD_
\bF-_
\bI_
\bI configuration.
If you are using "mmdf/smtp" as your mts setting, then no
futher MTS-specific action is required on your part!
If you are using "mmdf2/smtp" as your mts setting, then no
futher MTS-specific action is required on your part!
If, instead, you want _
\bM_
\bH to handle its own mail delivery,
then no futher MTS-specific action is required on your part!
Go to the mh.6/ directory and generate the system.
This will cause a complete generation of the _
\bM_
\bH system. If
all goes well, proceed with installation. If not, complain,
as there "should be no problems" at this step.
If the directories you chose for the user-programs and
support-programs ("bin" and "etc" in the conf/MH file) don't
exist, you should create them at this point.
Before proceeding, you should familiarize yourself with the
_
\bA_
\bd_
\bm_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bo_
\br'_
\bs _
\bG_
\bu_
\bi_
\bd_
\be. To generate an _
\bn_
\br_
\bo_
\bf_
\bf version, go to
the doc/ directory and type:
% (cd doc/; make ADMIN.doc)
To generate a _
\bt_
\br_
\bo_
\bf_
\bf version, type
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 10
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
If you're already running _
\bM_
\bH at your site, you should also
read the _
\bm_
\bh._
\b6 changes document. The sources are in
Next, if you enabled support for the UCI BBoards facility,
then create a login called "bboards" with the following
characteristics: home directory is /usr/spool/bboards/ with
mode 755 (actually, use the value for "bbhome" given in the
_
\bM_
\bH configuration file), login shell is /bin/csh (or
/bin/sh), and, encrypted password field is "*". The
"bboards" login should own the /usr/spool/bboards/ direc-
tory. In addition to creating /usr/spool/bboards/, also
create /usr/spool/bboards/etc/ and
/usr/spool/bboards/archive/. These directories should also
be owned by the "bboards" login.
If you enabled support for POP, then on the POP service
host, create a login called "pop" with the following charac-
teristics: home directory is /usr/spool/pop/ with mode 755,
login shell is /bin/csh, and, encrypted password field is
"*". If you don't have /bin/csh on your system (V7), then
/bin/sh is just fine. The "pop" login should own the
/usr/spool/pop/ directory.
If this is not the first time you have installed _
\bM_
\bH, you may
wish to preserve the following files:
_
\bd_
\bi_
\br_
\be_
\bc_
\bt_
\bo_
\br_
\by _
\bf_
\bi_
\bl_
\be_
\bs
etc/ MailAliases, mtstailor
/usr/spool/bboards/ BBoards, .cshrc, .mh_profile
/usr/spool/bboards/etc/ *
As the super-user, and from the mh.6/ directory, install the
This will cause the _
\bM_
\bH processes and files to be transferred
to the appropriate areas with the appropriate attributes.
See the _
\bA_
\bd_
\bm_
\bi_
\bn_
\bi_
\bs_
\bt_
\br_
\ba_
\bt_
\bo_
\br'_
\bs _
\bG_
\bu_
\bi_
\bd_
\be for information on tailoring
_
\bM_
\bH for the MTS, BBoards, and POP.
In addition to this document, the administrator's guide, and
the user's manual, there are several documents referenced by
the user's manual which may be useful. The sources for all
of these can be found under the papers/ directory.
Consult the directory miscellany/ for the sources to a
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 11
MH-GEN(8) UNIX Programmer's Manual MH-GEN(8)
number of things which aren't part of the mainstream _
\bM_
\bH dis-
tribution, but which are still quite useful.
Too numerous to mention. Really.
The _
\bm_
\bh_
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg program should be smarter.
The Makefiles should know when _
\bm_
\bh_
\bc_
\bo_
\bn_
\bf_
\bi_
\bg has been run and
force "make clean" behavior.
MH INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS 4.2 BSD 12
projects / unix-history / blob