Purpose of this document
========================

This document provides a road map of the Postfix mail system source
code distribution.  I suggest that you take a few minutes to read
it, and then proceed with the installation instructions.

Introduction
============

This is the first public release of the Postfix mail system. Thank
you for your interest in this project. Send me a postcard if you
like it. My postal address is below.

You must read the LICENSE file, if you didn't do so already. A copy
of the LICENSE must be distributed with every original, modified,
complete, source, or binary copy of this software or parts thereof.
I suggest that you keep a copy of the file in /etc/postfix/LICENSE.

Purpose of the Postfix mail system
==================================

Postfix aims to be an alternative to the widely-used sendmail
program.  Sendmail is responsible for 70% of all e-mail delivered
on the Internet.  With an estimated 100 million users, that's an
estimated 10 billion (10^10) messages daily. A stunning number.

Although IBM supported the Postfix development, it abstains from
control over its evolution. The goal is to have Postfix installed
on as many systems as possible. To this end, the software is given
away with no strings attached to it, so that it can evolve with
input from and under control by its users.

In other words, IBM releases Postfix only once. I will be around
to guide its development for a limited time.

On-line resources devoted to the Postfix mail system
====================================================

Web sites:

    http://www.postfix.org/		current release information
    http://www.ibm.com/alphaworks/	the original distribution site

Mail addresses (please do NOT send mail to my address at work):

    postfix-XXX@postfix.org		Postfix mailing lists
    wietse@porcupine.org		the original author

In order to subscribe to a mailing list, see http://www.postfix.org/.

Acknowledgements
================

This release could not have happened without the input from a team
of competent alpha testers. Their names appear in numerous places
in the HISTORY file. I appreciate the input from my colleagues at
the IBM Global Security Analysis Laboratory:  Paul Karger, Dave
Safford, Douglas Schales, and Leendert van Doorn.  I also appreciate
the support by Charles Palmer under whose leadership I began this
project, and who had the privilege to name the software, twice.

If you wish to express your appreciation for the Postfix software,
you are welcome to send a postcard to:

	Wietse Venema
	IBM T.J Watson Research Center
	P.O. Box 704, 
	Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
	USA

Roadmap of the Postfix source distribution
==========================================

Point your browser at html/index.html for Postfix documentation,
for manual pages, and for the unavoidable Postfix FAQ. Expect to
see updated versions on-line at http://www.postfix.org/

Point your MANPATH environment variable at the `man' directory (use
an absolute path) for UNIX-style on-line manual pages.  These pages
are also available through the HTML interface, which allows you to
navigate faster.

The RELEASE_NOTES file describes new features, and lists incompatible
changes with respect to previous Postfix versions.

The INSTALL file provides a step-by-step guide for building and
installing Postfix on many popular UNIX platforms.

The COMPATIBILITY file lists features that Postfix does or does
not yet implement, and how well it works with other software.

The HISTORY file gives a detailed log of changes to the software.

The PORTING file discusses how to go about porting Postfix to other
UNIX platforms. Some people are looking into a port to Windows NT.
We'll see. This software uses every trick in the book that I learned
about UNIX.

The TODO file lists things that still need to be done. If you want
to set your teeth into one of those problems, drop me a note at
wietse@porcupine.org to avoid duplication of effort.

Documentation:

    html/		HTML format
    man/		UNIX on-line manual page format

Example files:

    conf/		sample configuration files
    examples/		chroot environments, virtual domains

Library routines:

    dns/		DNS client library
    global/		Postfix-specific support routines
    util/		General-purpose support routines

Command-line utilities:

    postalias/		Alias database management
    postcat/		List Postfix queue file
    postconf/		Configuration utility
    postfix/		Postfix administrative interface
    postkick/		Postfix IPC for shell scripts
    postlock/		Postfix locking for shell scripts
    postlog/		Postfix logging for shell scripts
    postmap/		Postfix lookup table management
    sendmail/		Sendmail compatibility interface

Postfix daemons:

    bounce/		Bounce or defer mail
    cleanup/		Canonicalize and enqueue mail
    error/		Trivial error mailer
    local/		Local delivery
    master/		Postfix resident superserver
    pickup/		Local pickup
    pipe/		Pipe delivery
    qmgr/		Queue manager
    showq/		List Postfix queue status
    smtp/		SMTP client
    smtpd/		SMTP server
    trivial-rewrite/	Address rewriting and resolving

Test programs:

    fsstone/		Measure file system overhead
    smtpstone/		SMTP server torture test

Miscellaneous:

    auxiliary/		Auxiliary software etc.
    bin/		Postfix command executables
    conf/		Sample configuration files
    include/		Installed include files
    lib/		Installed object libraries
    libexec/		Postfix daemon executables