On Mon, 1 Jul 2002 Victor.Duchovnimorganstanley.com wrote:

> If you can spare a moment to pigeon-hole the book, I have a few questions
> that perhaps some others would also like to see answered:

My answers follow, but keep in mind that the book is still very much in
development so some of what I say could change. This also means that if
people feel strongly about something, speak up now. I can't make any
promises, but you never know...

> - What version(s) of Postfix does the book cover? A lot has changed
> between 1.0 (aka 20020228) and 1.1.X

1.1.X

> - What is the target audience of the book? Is it for novices, for
> experienced administrators, both?

The book is aimed primarily at system administrators. See below.

> - Does it endeavour to explain (conceptual), document (reference), or
> provide case studies/recipes (how-to)?

Most of the chapters, where it fits the topic, start with a conceptual
explanation and finish with instructions to carry out an example
configuration. I say 'where it fits the topic' because, for example, the
chapter on mailling lists has an explanation and then step-by-step
instructions, but the anit-spam chapter, on the other hand, is mostly
conceptual followed by a couple of examples.

> - Does it cover background material, IP, DNS, SMTP, RFC 821/822,
> POP, IMAP, MIME...

Only in so far as some understanding of those topics is necessary to
understand Postfix. So there may be some background explanation with
pointers to more detailed information.

> - Many of the people asking questions on the list don't understand the
> various uses of the word "virtual" or the distinction between
> Sendmail-style, Postfix-style and virtual mailbox domains. Are such
> disticntions explained in the book?

Yes.

> - Is the content_filter facility explained in detail?

Yes.

> - Multiple Postfix instances?

Not as a general topic, but it is mentioned with the explanation of virus
scanning.

> - SASL?
> - TLS?

Yes, in the same chapter, as a matter of fact.

> - Performance tuning?

Yes.

> - List management?

Yes.

> - Cyrus integration?

Yes.

> - Courier IMAP integration?

No. The IMAP integration refers to a general IMAP server (UW, if I recall)
and Cyrus. The idea being that Cyrus is probably the most difficult to get
working correctly.

> - Interoperability with Outlook/Exchange?

No.

> Bottom line, is this another introductory book, or is a comprehensive in
> depth reference? What are your plans for future revisions? Postfix is
> still evolving...

The working (and probably actual) title of the book is Postfix: The
Definitive Guide, and that's the goal for the book. I want it to be as
thorough as possible and as focused as possible, so that it doesn't go off
topic into related areas that are covered elsewhere.

It's definitely not an introductory book, but it tries to explain enough
that a person with some familiarity with Unix can make use of it. I would
expect that novices would need a Unix book at the same time they are
trying to follow instructions in this book. An experienced system
administrator who doesn't know anything about email should have no trouble
with it. The appendix contains alot of reference information.

My plans for future revisions are not as important as O'Reilly's plans,
which are left to be seen. But as you say, Postfix is still evolving and
assuming there is enough interest, I would think later editions are
likely, and I would certainly expect to be involved.

Kyle

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