<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1126" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have only just signed up to the list so aplogies
if these concerns have been asked already, I downloaded the archive but did not
find the answers in their.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyways, I am currently in the process of
developing my own custom mini-distro for a specific project I am working on.
However one of the keys goals is that I want to ensure it complies
with as many standards as possible (LSB, FSH etc), rather than these changes
being made at a later date (like the majority of distros are now having to
do). I feel it is also a good way to learn about Linux
itself.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My queries at the moment relate to the inclusion of
2 particular commands/utilities, namely sendmail & patch.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Can anyone expand on the rational as to why
sendmail is mandated by the LSB? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On a minimal system you may not need the particular
functionality of a MTA (or is it an MDA) or in the case of running
sendmail (or equivilent) as a daemon a mail server. </FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2>Also surely including such as program could be a security
risk. Basic security principle includes only having the programs you
require available on your system and no more don't they? Crackers
cannot exploit a program that does not exist, and sendmail doesn't have one of
the best security records.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Secondly, what is the reasoning behind including
patch as a core utility?<BR></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>I will fully admit to
not having much knowledge on this point, but is it not primarily a tool used in
development, such as applying updates to source code prior to recompilation
(although I believe it can be used to modify script files as well)?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks to anyone who can provide me with additional
reasoning on these issues.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lee</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>