Option value syntax

Option settings in Unified Configuation, that is, values in the file , generally are typed XML elements. The  utility performs type checking on  the configuration settings it makes, and the    utility will issue an error if an attempt is made to set an invalid  value. The immediate validation and feedback the  utility  provides on configuration option settings is one of the advantages  available by using the Unified Configuration. In contrast, with a legacy configuration, errors in option setting syntax or option  values might not be reported until a process attempted to execute; for instance in the case of the MTA, perhaps not until an    or  similar command were issued.

Note: The errors reported by the  utility are typically  much easier to understand and hence correct than the general  XML errors that would be reported by an XML validation of. This is a significant reason why it is important to use   to inspect and modify the MTA  configuration, rather than attempt to modify    directly.

The  utility can show the type of any option,  and the default value, if any, using the   switch and    switch, respectively; for instance: msconfig&#x3e; show mta.enable -type mta.enable&#x3e;: bool msconfig&#x3e; show mta.enable -default mta.enable: 0 The  interactive help text for an option may also  provide additional guidance on proper values for an option; for  instance, msconfig&#x3e; help option enable The  utility knows the type permitted for each option and will issue a (reasonably clear) error if an attempt is made  to set an invalid value. For instance: msconfig&#x3e; set mta.enable "localhost" Error setting option mta.enable: Option value is not a valid value for the option (-23)
 * 1) msconfig

Available Types
For the underlying  Unified Configuration, quite  a few different XML types are defined and can potentially be declared  as valid for various option values, including but not necessarily  limited to (as this list can be expected to grow) those shown below. Note that NUL characters are not allowed in string types. Note also that all list types are space separated lists; in particular, CRs and  LFs are not allowed, leading and trailing spaces are not allowed, and  runs of two or more (unquoted) spaces are not allowed.



 String and character types

 UTF8 string 

 UTF8 character 

 UTF8 text node 

 String (UTF8) 

 Non-empty string (UTF8) 

 ASCII string 

 Non-empty ASCII string 

 ASCII character </li>

 Printable ASCII string </li>

 Printable ASCII character </li>

 Printable ASCII string list </li>

 Enumerated string case-sensitive </li>

 Enumerated string case-insensitive </li>

 Name </li>

 Name list </li>

 URL </li>

</ul>

</li>

 Numeric types

 32 bit integer </li>

 List of 32 bit integers </li>

 Unsigned 32 bit integer </li>

 List of 32 bit unsigned integers </li>

 Unsigned 64 bit integer </li>

 Unsigned 16 bit integer </li>

<li> List of unsigned 16 bit integers </li>

<li> Boolean </li>

<li> Boolean true-only </li>

<li> Floating point </li>

<li> Unsigned octal (maximum length 9 octal digits) </li>

<li> Enumerated 32 bit integer values </li>

</ul>

</li>

<li> Time types

<li> ISO 8601 time </li>

<li> List of ISO 8601 times </li>

<li> ISO 8601 duration </li>

<li> List of ISO 8601 durations </li>

<li> ISO 8601 duration OR time </li>

</ul>

</li>

<li> Host, domain, and IP types

<li> Domain </li>

<li> Domain and port </li>

<li> Host </li>

<li> Host and port </li>

<li> IPv4 </li>

<li> IPv4 list </li>

<li> IPv6 </li>

<li> IPv6 list </li>

<li> IPv4 literal </li>

<li> Domain literal list </li>

<li> IPv4 and post </li>

<li> Host list </li>

<li> IPv4 range </li>

</ul>

</li>

<li> File and directory types

<li> MTA-specific directory path </li>

<li> MTA-specific file path </li>

<li> MTA-specific file path list </li>

<li> Directory path </li>

<li> Absolute directory path </li>

<li> File path </li>

<li> Relative path </li>

<li> Path </li>

<li> File name </li>

</ul>

</li>

<li> Password type </li>

<li> LDAP types

<li> LDAP URL </li>

<li> LDAP attribute name </li>

<li> LDAP DN </li>

</ul>

</li>

<li> Address types

<li> RFC 822 address </li>

</ul>

</li>

<li> Bit mask </li>

<li> Various enumerated types </li>

</ul>

See also:
 * Configuration syntax