-k

-k

---

Specify column for key or key name

V8.7 and above

Beginning with V8.7, sendmail began to support a flat text-file form of database. The /etc/ hosts file is an example of such a flat file, in that it is organized in a line-by-line manner:

 123.45.67.89      here.our.domain 

When such files are read as databases (with the text type, text), you need to specify which column contains the key and which contains the value.

For nisplus , netinfo , and ph database maps, the -k switch specifies the name (text) of the desired column.

When the -k switch specifies which column contains the key, its absence defaults to 0 for the text type (which is indexed beginning with 0), and defaults to the name of the first column for the nisplus type. See also -v (-v) for the returned value's column, and -z (-z) for the column delimiter .

Finally, note that for ldap database maps the -k switch has a different meaning, one that is particular to that type.