.\" @(#)man/man8/mkaliases.an	1.3 8/2/92 03:32:36
.TH MKALIASES X_MAN8_EXT_X "31 January 1988" "Local"
.SH NAME
mkaliases \- build the aliases database for smail from the ASCII source file
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B mkaliases
.br
.if ! 'X_NEWALIASES_X'' .B "X_NEWALIASES_X"
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Mkaliases
reads the ASCII source file for an aliases database and builds the
aliases database according to the configuration information in
.IR "X_EDITME_X" .
Run this program whenever changes have been made to the ASCII source
file.  If this program is not used, smail may not notice the changes
that have been made.
.if ! 'X_NEWALIASES_X''\{.PP
.I "X_NEWALIASES_X"
is another name for the mkaliases program and is retained for
compatibility with BSD
.IR sendmail (8)
configurations.
\}
.PP
The aliases database can be in a
.IR dbm (3X)
database, a sorted text file, or a plain text file.  In the latter
case, the ASCII source file doubles as the database file.  In the case
of an aliases database accessed through the Sun YP service,
.IR mkdbm (8)
or the sun
.IR makedbm (8)
program must be used to build the YP database.  See the
.I Smail Administration Guide
(as yet unwritten) for more information on interfacing smail to the YP
service.
.PP
The
.IR mkline (8)
program, distributed with smail, is used to remove comments and
regularize the aliases file.  Then, for sorted databases, the
.IR mksort (8)
program, with the
.B \-f
option, is used to create the sorted database.
For
.I dbm
databases, the
.IR mkdbm (8)
program, again with the
.B \-f
option, is used to create the database.  In either case, care is taken
to ensure that smail never uses a truncated or partially built
database.  For plain text databases, a summary of the contents is
displayed, but no changes are actually made.  If the aliases file is
accessed through the YP service, a messages is displayed stating this
and no changes are actually made.
.SH FILES
.TP \w'X_PATH_ALIASES_FILE_X'u+3n
.I "X_PATH_ALIASES_FILE_X"
The name of the aliases database.  This is a
.if 'lsearch'X_ALIASES_TYPE_X' plain text file.
.if 'bsearch'X_ALIASES_TYPE_X' sorted text file.
.if 'dbm'X_ALIASES_TYPE_X' \fIdbm\fP database.
.if 'yp'X_ALIASES_TYPE_X' Sun YP database map name.
.if 'aliasyp'X_ALIASES_TYPE_X' Sun YP database map name.
.TP \w'X_PATH_ALIASES_FILE_X'u+3n
.I "X_EDITME_X"
The file giving the default configuration for smail.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.IR mkline (X_MAN8_EXT_X),
.IR mksort (X_MAN8_EXT_X),
.IR mkdbm (X_MAN8_EXT_X),
.IR smail (X_MAN5_EXT_X),
.IR smail (X_MAN8_EXT_X),
.IR ypclnt (3),
.if ''X_HAVE_YP_X' on systems that have Sun YP,
and
.IR dbm (3X).
.SH COPYRIGHT
Copyright(C)1987, 1988 Ronald S. Karr and Landon Curt Noll
.br
Copyright(C)1992 Ronald S. Karr
.br
See a file COPYING,
distributed with the source code,
or type
.I "smail -bc"
for distribution rights and restrictions
associated with this software.
