Programming Internet Mail (Hardcover)

~ David Wood (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For most users, e-mail is just another application on their computers. For developers, however, Internet e-mail involves a dizzying array of standards and formats. Programming Internet Email takes all of today's e-mail standards and puts them together in a readable form.

David Wood has compiled his knowledge of a broad array of topics to create this fine guide for both developers and the technologically curious. He explains what makes Internet e-mail work and then dives into the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME), Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME), Open Pretty Good Protocol (OpenPGP), and Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) standards. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), and vCard--the e-mail version of business cards--are also covered.

For each topic, the book simply explains its purpose and then presents its command usage with code examples. This discussion will be understood best by programmers, but the opening introductions easily reach those with more general expertise.

Beyond the basics, Wood presents the Java Mail API, antispamming techniques, attachment scrubbing, and Java-based IMAP mailbox monitoring.

While this book is a simple collection of separate technology discussions, it offers universal information on e-mail. Illustrative and filled with facts, this book will help you design your own e-mail client--or simply understand how one works. --Stephen W. Plain

Review

"I have known Mark Hankins and his family for over 25 years. The faith message that he preaches is life changing and energizing. I consider him to be one of my good friends. Mark Hankins, in my opinion is the Prince of Preachers. You will be tremendously blessed as you study his teachings and allow your faith to increase." --Jesse Duplantis

"Spirit of Faith will inspire you to the truth that faith really can move mountains. Pastor Mark Hankins does an incredible job of making you hungry to live a life that is actively driven by faith." --Joyce Meyer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly; 1st edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565924797
• ISBN-13: 978-1565924796
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #293,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #98 in

  Books > Computers & Internet > Software > E-mail

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great idea; flawed execution, November 5, 1999

By A Customer

I really wanted to like this book. We've needed a good book or books on email protocols and how to implement code using them for a long time; I hoped this would be it.

Unfortunately, it isn't.

First of all, the coverage of the actual protocols is incomplete. The basic protocols are there, but many essential extensions are missing. For example, the coverage of ESMTP mentions but doesn't describe the very important DSN extension (delivery notifications). The SASL extensions (secure authentication) to ESMTP, POP3, and IMAP4 aren't described. And so on. Understanding and use of such facilities is vital in implementing modern email software.

Second, there are many incorrect technical details in this book. For example, the MAIL FROM command in various example SMTP dialogues is missing the required <> delimiters around the address. While omitting these delimiters will work with some servers, it won't with others. The devil is always in the details in protocol design and implementation, and reference works need to get these sorts of details right.

Third, various fundamental aspects of email systems aren't covered. For example, there is little if any discussion of mailing list implementation. A significant fraction of email applications have to deal with such things.

Finally, the best thing about this book is that it presents some actual email applications. Unfortunately, the applications that are presented are very limited in scope. It is almost as if in trying to be both a protocol reference and an implementation guide this book hasn't done justice to either topic.

In summary, if you want a reference book on email protocols, Kevin Johnson's new book, "Internet Email protocols: A Developer's Guide" is much more complete and accurate. Unfortunately, the world is still waiting for a book that covers the nitty gritty details of writing email applications.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This topic is absolute dynamite, December 3, 1999

By	James Sibbald (Maine) - See all my reviews

Six months ago there were no books on how to program email using standard protocols. Now there are three! Kevin Johnson, John Rhoton and David Wood have all brought out excellent books on the subject. My only gripes with this book are that it has no sample code available and too many errors. If your budget is tight just get Rhoton's book and a copy of the RFCs, but if you are serious about this stuff you are going to need all three books as well as all the mail RFCs.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a technical book should be., September 18, 2000

By	sporkdude "sporkdude" (San Jose, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This book is an excellent introduction to e-mail programming and protocols. It is as easy to read as any novel, explains everything neatly and concisely, and provides excellent examples.

This covers what a mail server does and how it works, but really concentrates on mail client-server interaction. It goes into SMTP, ESMTP, MIME, POP3, IMAP, and vCard format. The examples are clear and concise, and it includes actual code in Perl and Java. This provides the reader with excellent, platform independent ways to do what they need to do.

The writing style is excellent. One of the most fluid technical books I've ever read. In fact, all I needed was one Sunday to read the book from front to back.

The code provided is superb. It's easy to use, easy to understand, and aides in the learning process. For me, the code is invaluable. It has personally saved me countless hours of work.

Finally, this book doesn't delve in tremendous detail. It tells the reader how to program for e-mail, but doesn't go into the RFC's as much as many people would like it to. I think, however, that this is a real strength. Many technical books bog the reader down with irrelevant information. This books avoids this, but still gives the user information on how to retrieve any additional information if needed.

Though there are not many e-mail programming books out there, this is by far the best one. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.