Mercurial > docs > diploma
comparison thesis/tex/1-Introduction.tex @ 393:6494832a798c
fixed all half-spaces after RF, RG, TODO
| author | meillo@marmaro.de |
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| date | Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:00:11 +0100 |
| parents | b4611d4e1484 |
| children | 8ef85e22ff7d |
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| 392:b4611d4e1484 | 393:6494832a798c |
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| 24 \index{mta} | 24 \index{mta} |
| 25 \name{Mail Transfer Agents} are the post offices for electronic mail. The basic job of an \MTA\ is to transport mail from senders to recipients, or more pedantic: from \MTA\ to \MTA. \sendmail, \exim, \qmail, \postfix, and, of course, \masqmail\ are \MTA{}s. \MTA{}s are explained in more detail in chapter~\ref{chap:mail-transfer-agents}. | 25 \name{Mail Transfer Agents} are the post offices for electronic mail. The basic job of an \MTA\ is to transport mail from senders to recipients, or more pedantic: from \MTA\ to \MTA. \sendmail, \exim, \qmail, \postfix, and, of course, \masqmail\ are \MTA{}s. \MTA{}s are explained in more detail in chapter~\ref{chap:mail-transfer-agents}. |
| 26 | 26 |
| 27 \item[\MUA{}:] | 27 \item[\MUA{}:] |
| 28 \index{mua} | 28 \index{mua} |
| 29 \name{Mail User Agents} are the software users deal with. A user writes and reads email with it. The \MUA{} passes outgoing mail to the nearest \MTA. Also the \MUA{} displays the contents of the user's mailbox. Well known \MUA{}s are \name{Mozilla Thunderbird} and \name{mutt} on \unix\ systems, and \name{Microsoft Outlook} on \name{Windows}. | 29 \name{Mail User Agents} are the software users deal with. A user writes and reads email with it. The \MUA{} passes outgoing mail to the nearest \MTA. Also the \MUA{} displays the contents of the user's mailbox. Well known \MUA{}s are \name{Mozilla Thunderbird} and \name{mutt} on Unix systems, and \name{Microsoft Outlook} on \name{Windows}. |
| 30 | 30 |
| 31 \item[\MDA{}:] | 31 \item[\MDA{}:] |
| 32 \index{mda} | 32 \index{mda} |
| 33 \name{Mail Delivery Agents} correspond to postmen in the real world. They receive mail, destined to recipients they are responsible for, from an \MTA, and deliver it to the mailboxes of those recipients. Many \MTA{}s include an own \MDA{}, but independent ones exist: \name{procmail} and \name{maildrop} are examples. | 33 \name{Mail Delivery Agents} correspond to postmen in the real world. They receive mail, destined to recipients they are responsible for, from an \MTA, and deliver it to the mailboxes of those recipients. Many \MTA{}s include an own \MDA{}, but independent ones exist: \name{procmail} and \name{maildrop} are examples. |
| 34 \end{description} | 34 \end{description} |
| 86 \section{The \masqmail\ project} | 86 \section{The \masqmail\ project} |
| 87 \label{sec:masqmail} | 87 \label{sec:masqmail} |
| 88 | 88 |
| 89 The \masqmail\ project\index{masqmail!the project} was initiated by \person{Oliver Kurth} in 1999. His aim was to create a small \MTA\ that is especially focused on computers with dial-up Internet connections\index{dial-up}. Throughout the next four years he worked steadily on it, releasing new versions every few weeks. During the active phase of development 53 version have been released. In average, this is a new version every 20 days. | 89 The \masqmail\ project\index{masqmail!the project} was initiated by \person{Oliver Kurth} in 1999. His aim was to create a small \MTA\ that is especially focused on computers with dial-up Internet connections\index{dial-up}. Throughout the next four years he worked steadily on it, releasing new versions every few weeks. During the active phase of development 53 version have been released. In average, this is a new version every 20 days. |
| 90 | 90 |
| 91 This thesis is based on the latest release of \masqmail---version 0.2.21, dated November 2005\index{masqmail!latest release}. It was released after a 28 month gap of inactivity. The source code of 0.2.21 is the same as of 0.2.20, with only build documents modified. The homepage of \masqmail\ \citeweb{masqmail:homepage2}\index{masqmail!homepage} does not include this latest release, but it can be retrieved from the \debian\ package pool\index{debian!package pool}\footnote{The \NAME{URL} is:\\\url{http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/m/masqmail/masqmail_0.2.21.orig.tar.gz}} \citeweb{packages.debian}. | 91 This thesis is based on the latest release of \masqmail---version 0.2.21, dated November 2005\index{masqmail!latest release}. It was released after a 28 month gap of inactivity. The source code of 0.2.21 is the same as of 0.2.20, with only build documents modified. The homepage of \masqmail\ \citeweb{masqmail:homepage2}\index{masqmail!homepage} does not include this latest release, but it can be retrieved from the \name{Debian} package pool\index{debian!package pool}\footnote{The \NAME{URL} is:\\\url{http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/m/masqmail/masqmail_0.2.21.orig.tar.gz}} \citeweb{packages.debian}. |
| 92 | 92 |
| 93 \masqmail\ is covered by the \name{General Public License}\index{gpl} (short: \NAME{GPL}) version two or any later version \cite{fsf:gpl}. This qualifies \masqmail\ as Free Software\index{free software} \cite{fsf:freesw-definition}. | 93 \masqmail\ is covered by the \name{General Public License}\index{gpl} (short: \NAME{GPL}) version two or any later version \cite{fsf:gpl}. This qualifies \masqmail\ as Free Software\index{free software} \cite{fsf:freesw-definition}. |
| 94 | 94 |
| 95 \person{Kurth} abandoned \masqmail\ after 2005 and no one adopted the project since then. Thus, the author of this thesis decided to take over responsibility for \masqmail\ now. He received \person{Kurth}'s permission to do so in private telephone conversation with \person{Kurth} on September 4, 2008. | 95 \person{Kurth} abandoned \masqmail\ after 2005 and no one adopted the project since then. Thus, the author of this thesis decided to take over responsibility for \masqmail\ now. He received \person{Kurth}'s permission to do so in private telephone conversation with \person{Kurth} on September 4, 2008. |
| 96 | 96 |
| 109 \hfill\citeweb{masqmail:homepage2} | 109 \hfill\citeweb{masqmail:homepage2} |
| 110 \end{quote} | 110 \end{quote} |
| 111 | 111 |
| 112 It is intended to cover a specific niche: non-permanent Internet connection and different \name{Internet Service Providers} (short: \NAME{ISP}s). | 112 It is intended to cover a specific niche: non-permanent Internet connection and different \name{Internet Service Providers} (short: \NAME{ISP}s). |
| 113 | 113 |
| 114 Although it can basically replace other \MTA{}s it is not \emph{generally} aimed to do so. The package description of \masqmail\ within \debian\ states this more clearly by changing the last sentence to:\index{debian!masqmail package} | 114 Although it can basically replace other \MTA{}s it is not \emph{generally} aimed to do so. The package description of \masqmail\ within \name{Debian} states this more clearly by changing the last sentence to:\index{debian!masqmail package} |
| 115 | 115 |
| 116 \begin{quote} | 116 \begin{quote} |
| 117 In these cases, MasqMail is a slim replacement for full-blown \MTA{}s such as sendmail, exim, qmail or postfix. | 117 In these cases, MasqMail is a slim replacement for full-blown \MTA{}s such as sendmail, exim, qmail or postfix. |
| 118 \hfill\citeweb{packages.debian:masqmail} | 118 \hfill\citeweb{packages.debian:masqmail} |
| 119 \end{quote} | 119 \end{quote} |
| 362 | 362 |
| 363 | 363 |
| 364 | 364 |
| 365 Although the development on \masqmail\ has been stopped in 2003, \masqmail\ still has its users. Having users is already reason enough for further development and maintenance. This applies especially when the software covers a niche and when requirements for such software in general changed. Both is the case for \masqmail. | 365 Although the development on \masqmail\ has been stopped in 2003, \masqmail\ still has its users. Having users is already reason enough for further development and maintenance. This applies especially when the software covers a niche and when requirements for such software in general changed. Both is the case for \masqmail. |
| 366 | 366 |
| 367 It is difficult to get numbers about users of Free Software because no one needs to tell anyone when he uses some software. \debian's \name{popcon} statistics \citeweb{popcon.debian} are a try to provided numbers. For January 2009, the statistics report 60 \masqmail\ installations of which 49 are in active use. If it is assumed that one third of all \debian\ users report their installed software\footnote{One third is a high guess as it means there would be only about 230 thousand \debian\ installations in total. But according to the \name{Linux Counter} \citeweb{counter.li.org} between 490 thousand and 12 million \debian\ users can be estimated.}, there would be in total around 150 active \masqmail\ installations in \debian. \name{Ubuntu} which also does \name{popcon} statistics \citeweb{popcon.ubuntu}, counts 82 installations with 13 active ones. If here also one third of all systems submit their data, 40 active installations can be added. Including a guessed amount of additional 30 installations on other \unix\ operating systems makes about 220 \masqmail\ installations in total. Of course one person may have \masqmail\ installed on more than one computer, but a total of 150 different users seems to be realistic. | 367 It is difficult to get numbers about users of Free Software because no one needs to tell anyone when he uses some software. \name{Debian}'s \name{popcon} statistics \citeweb{popcon.debian} are a try to provided numbers. For January 2009, the statistics report 60 \masqmail\ installations of which 49 are in active use. If it is assumed that one third of all \name{Debian} users report their installed software\footnote{One third is a high guess as it means there would be only about 230 thousand \name{Debian} installations in total. But according to the \name{Linux Counter} \citeweb{counter.li.org} between 490 thousand and 12 million \name{Debian} users can be estimated.}, there would be in total around 150 active \masqmail\ installations in \name{Debian}. \name{Ubuntu} which also does \name{popcon} statistics \citeweb{popcon.ubuntu}, counts 82 installations with 13 active ones. If here also one third of all systems submit their data, 40 active installations can be added. Including a guessed amount of additional 30 installations on other Unix operating systems makes about 220 \masqmail\ installations in total. Of course one person may have \masqmail\ installed on more than one computer, but a total of 150 different users seems to be realistic. |
| 368 \index{debian!popcon} | 368 \index{debian!popcon} |
| 369 \index{masqmail!users} | 369 \index{masqmail!users} |
| 370 | 370 |
| 371 %The increasing number of systems using \masqmail, as it is shown on the \name{popcon} graph \citeweb{popcon.debian:masqmail}, seems to be impressive in the beginning as \masqmail\ was not developed during that time. But it might come from the increasing popularity of \name{popcon} over the time. | 371 %The increasing number of systems using \masqmail, as it is shown on the \name{popcon} graph \citeweb{popcon.debian:masqmail}, seems to be impressive in the beginning as \masqmail\ was not developed during that time. But it might come from the increasing popularity of \name{popcon} over the time. |
| 372 | 372 |