dbformmail (1) - Linux Manuals

dbformmail: write a shell script that will send e-mail to many people

NAME

dbformmail - write a shell script that will send e-mail to many people

SYNOPSIS

dbformmail [-m MECHANISM] format_file.txt

DESCRIPTION

Read a ``form mail'' message from the file FORMAT_FILE.TXT, filling in underscore-preceded column-names with data. Output a shell script which will send each message through some mail transport MECHANISM.

Do not use this program for evil or I will have to come over and have words with you.

Note that this program does NOT actually SEND the mail. It writes a shell script that will send the mail for you. I recommend you save it to a file, check it (one last time!), then run it with sh.

Unlike most Fsdb programs, this program does not output a FSDB file.

OPTIONS

-m MECHANISM
Select the mail-sending mechanism. Choose ``Mail'' or ``sendmail''. Defaults to ``Mail''.

This module also supports the standard fsdb options:

-d
Enable debugging output.
-i or --input InputSource
Read from InputSource, typically a file name, or "-" for standard input, or (if in Perl) a IO::Handle, Fsdb::IO or Fsdb::BoundedQueue objects.
-o or --output OutputDestination
Write to OutputDestination, typically a file name, or "-" for standard output, or (if in Perl) a IO::Handle, Fsdb::IO or Fsdb::BoundedQueue objects.
--autorun or --noautorun
By default, programs process automatically, but Fsdb::Filter objects in Perl do not run until you invoke the run() method. The "--(no)autorun" option controls that behavior within Perl.
--help
Show help.
--man
Show full manual.

SAMPLE USAGE

Input:

    #fsdb account passwd uid gid fullname homedir shell
    johnh * 2274 134 John_Heidemann /home/johnh /bin/bash
    greg * 2275 134 Greg_Johnson /home/greg /bin/bash
    root * 0 0 Root /root /bin/bash
    # this is a simple database

Sample form (in the file form.txt):

    To: _account
    From: the sysadmin <root>
    Subject: time to change your password

    Please change your password regularly.
    Doesn't this message make you feel safer?

Command:

    cat DATA/passwd.fsdb | dbformmail form.txt >outgoing.sh

Output (in outgoing.sh):

    #!/bin/sh
    sendmail 'johnh' <<'END'
    To: johnh
    From: the sysadmin <root>
    Subject: time to change your password
    
    Please change your password regularly.
    Doesn't this message make you feel safer?

    END
    sendmail 'greg' <<'END'
    (etc.)

And to send the mail, run

    sh outgoing.sh

AUTHOR and COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 1991-2015 by John Heidemann <johnh [at] isi.edu>

This program is distributed under terms of the GNU general public license, version 2. See the file COPYING with the distribution for details.

SEE ALSO

Fsdb.