ultrix man page for aliases

aliases(5)							File Formats Manual							aliases(5)

Name
       aliases - aliases file for sendmail

Description
       The  aliases  file  is  an ASCII file that describes user ID aliases that are used in It is formatted as a series of lines in the following
       form:
       name: name_1, name2, name_3, . . .
       The name is the name to alias, and the name_n are the aliases for that name.  Each is separated from the next by a new line.

       Continuation lines begin with white space.  Comment lines begin with a number sign (#).

       You can only assign aliases to local names.  Loops are not allowed because a message should be sent to a person only once.

       After an alias has been applied, local and valid recipients who have a file in their home directory can have messages forwarded to the list
       of users defined in that file.

       This  is  only the raw data file; the actual information pertaining to aliases is placed into binary format in the files and using the pro-
       gram The command should be executed each time the aliases file changes.	This command allows the new changes to take effect.

Restrictions
       Because of restrictions in a single alias cannot contain more than approximately 1000 bytes of information.  You can specify longer aliases
       by chaining; that is, use a dummy name for the last name in the alias, which creates a continuation alias.

       The  database  may  be distributed in a network by a naming service, such as Yellow Pages or BIND/Hesiod.  See the Guide to Yellow Pages or
       the chapter on Hesiod in the Guide to BIND for setup information.

Files
See Also
       newaliases(1), dbm(3x), sendmail(8)
       "SENDMAIL Installation and Operation Guide", ULTRIX Supplementary Documents, Vol. III: System Manager
       Guide to the BIND/Hesiod Service
       Guide to the Yellow Pages Service

																	aliases(5)