Re: Can not get a filter recognised for one email source

> Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:10:27 +0000
> From: "N.J. Mann" <[email protected]>
> To: Anne Wilson <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: Can not get a filter recognised for one email source
> Cc: [email protected]
>
> In message <[email protected]>,
>  Anne Wilson ([email protected]) wrote:
> > On Wednesday 16 February 2011 12:13:34 N.J. Mann wrote:
> > > In message <[email protected]>,
> > >
> > >  Anne Wilson ([email protected]) wrote:
> > > > I get regular emails from one list, that always end up in my Inbox, 
> > > > no matter
> > > >
> > > > what I put in the recipes.  At the moment these two recipes are in 
> > > > place:
> > > > :0
> > > >
> > > > * (^From|^To|^Subject): .*(Janome|embroidery|Embroidery|emblibrary| 
> > > > empressmills)
> > > > ${MAILDIR}.INBOX.Sewing/
> > > >
> > > > :0
> > > >
> > > > * ^From: .*Debra\@emblibrary.com
> > > > ${MAILDIR}.INBOX.Sewing/
> > >
> > > You have a space character in both recipes which should not be there. 
> > > Try:
> > >
> > >  * (^From|^To|^Subject):.*(Janome|embroidery|Embroidery|emblibrary|
> > >
> > > and
> > >
> > >  * ^From:.*Debra\@emblibrary.com
> > >
> > OK, I've made the change.  Now I wait a few days for the next message 
> > :-)
> >
> > Funny, though.  All my recipes have a space there, and the others all 
> > work.
>
> I cut from my reply the header information you quoted, so here it is 
> again:
>
> > > > Received: from mail.emblibrary.com ([69.54.45.82]) (envelope-from 
> > > > <[email protected]>) from: [email protected] subject: Feather 
> > > > Your Nest - New at Embroidery Library! X-Envelope-From: 
> > > > [email protected]
>
> With a regexp of
>   ^From: .*Debra
>   it will not match from: [email protected] because it is expecting 
>   'from:' followed by one space, followed by one 'any' character, 
>   followed by zero or more 'any' characters, followed by 'Debra', &c.  If 
>   you had either  from: Debra  or  from:.*Debra  it would match.  This is 
>   because there is only one character between  from:  and Debra  and your 
>   regexp is expecting at least two.

You are, quite simply, *WRONG*  It is expecting 'from:' followed by one 
space, followed by 'any character',*ZERO*OR*MORE* times, followed by the
literal string.   ".*" matches _zero_or_more_ of 'any character'.

'*' (like '+' and '?') is only a "qualifier" of the preceding atom, it does 
not specify any match in and of itself.

Don't believe me?  See the procmailrc manpage, specifically the 'extended 
regular expressions' sections, and *READ* the description of what "a*" means.


"Those of you who think you know it all are very annoying to those of us
who do."  <grin>