Hi Simon,
Simon Richter wrote:
Harald,
Would it be possible to get rid of the need to install EMail (e.g. exim or sendmail) by default?
A lot of packages need at least the /usr/sbin/sendmail program, to be able to send email to the admin, for example cron or at, which send the
Sure.
I am not talking about runtime, but installation time. AFAIR the interface to use is called debconf. Obviously some packages want to be very sure that I get some important messages, and try to send me an EMail instead (or in addition).
The sendmail package told me at installation time that I could skip configuration now, and do the configuration later by calling sendmailconfig. Exim provides a similar option.
Obviously this option leads into a conflict with some subsequent packages relying upon a working EMail configuration within the same installation session.
My suggestion would be to use debconf only.
output of the program they ran. You should install the ssmtp package, which is just what you need (a simple MTA that does not offer SMTP service but follows the standard local calling conventions and can thus be used as a replacement for a full-featured mailer).
I have to admit, I haven't tried ssmtp yet. I am using sendmail for years.
Regards
Harri