Difference between revisions of "Using E-mail"
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==Message Format== | ==Message Format== | ||
− | An e-mail message is divided into two | + | An e-mail message is divided into two components; the header and the body. The header consists of a number of fields that give information about the message. The body of an e-mail is the content of the message. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) by itself only allows simple text in the body of an e-mail. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) extends this to allow non-text attachments, additional languages and more. |
===Message Header=== | ===Message Header=== | ||
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Revision as of 22:13, 6 December 2009
IntroductionBlah blah blah
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...by studentsBe careful if you decide to set up your own e-mail client. If you are using POP3, many clients will delete messages from the server by default. That means that the copy of the e-mail on your computer will be the only copy. If anything happens to it you can't get it back and you won't be able to download it from another computer. If you want to leave a copy on the server, find out how to turn that option on in the client you are using. Make sure you turn it on before you connect for the first time. </td> </tr> </table> E-mail ClientsWhen accessing your e-mail you need to connect to an e-mail server. An e-mail client is a program that connects to your e-mail server and allows you to manage your messages. There a variety of e-mail clients available. Microsoft Office Outlook is an example of a retail client. There are also many open source clients available such as Mozilla Thunderbird. WebmailWebmail allows you to access your e-mail through a web browser. With webmail you can easily manage your e-mail from any computer with an internet connection, without having to install or configure an e-mail client. Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail are a few popular webmail services that are available for free. E-mail ServersFor most people, your e-mail system will consist of two servers. Outgoing mail will be handled by a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server. Incoming mail is often handled by a Post Office Protocol (POP3) server or an Internet Mail Address Protocol (IMAP) server. Your incoming and outgoing mail servers will often be located on the same machine. SMTPWhen you send an e-mail your e-mail client will connect to your SMTP server. It will send your e-mail address, the recipients address and the message to this server. The SMTP server will split the recipients address into a user name and a domain name. The domain name will be used to find the incoming mail server that it should pass the message to. If your recipient is on the same domain as you, the server will likely not have to perform this look-up. The message is then passed along to the incoming mail server. If the SMTP is unable to send the message, it will be put in a queue. It will attempt to resend the message and will notify you if it is having difficulties. POP3Post Office Protocol (POP3) is one of the common choices for incoming mail servers. POP3 was designed with temporary internet connections in mind. Rather than permanently store messages on the server, they are downloaded for local access. By default, messages are deleted from the server once they are downloaded, but you can set up your e-mail client to keep a copy on the server. The server stores all messages for a user in a text file. When a new message arrives it is simply appended to the bottom of the file. IMAPThe Internet Mail Address Protocol (IMAP) allows you to store and manage all of your messages on the server. This makes it easier to access your e-mail from multiple locations. Messages are not deleted when downloaded and you can organize your messages in folders that will exist no matter where you access the server from. Message FormatAn e-mail message is divided into two components; the header and the body. The header consists of a number of fields that give information about the message. The body of an e-mail is the content of the message. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) by itself only allows simple text in the body of an e-mail. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) extends this to allow non-text attachments, additional languages and more. Message HeaderBlah blah blah Message BodyBlah blah blah MIMEMIME stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. It is a message encoding standard that allows you to include things like special characters and non-text attachments with an e-mail. Plain Text and HTMLBlah blah blah Further Readings
References
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