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Messaging Access SDK Guide

About This Guide

The Messaging Access SDK Guide is the developer's guide and reference to the Netscape Messaging Access software development kit (SDK), version 3.5, for writing messaging applications.

The Messaging Access SDK Guide tells you how to tap the capabilities of familiar and powerful Internet Access Protocols, POP3, IMAP4, SMTP, and MIME, in your messaging applications.

This guide describes the Java version of the Messaging Access SDK.

NOTE: For system requirements and installation information, see the ReadMe file that is available on the Netscape web site. §
This chapter includes the following sections:

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Who Should Read This Guide

The Messaging Access SDK Guide is designed for developers who want to create messaging applications based on the standard Internet protocols SMTP, POP3, MIME, and IMAP4.

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What's in This Guide

This is the guide to read if you want to write messaging applications using a variety of messaging access APIs. This guide comes in two versions, which document the C and Java versions of the Messaging Access SDK. You are reading the Java version of the Guide.

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Organization

To provide quick access to conceptual information, task-based development information, and reference information, the guide consists of these parts:

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Quick Reference to Tasks

To help you find the information you need more quickly, look in the column on the left for the task you want to perform. Click the title in the column on the right to go directly to the appropriate chapter.

If you want to do this: See this chapter:

Learn more about Netscape Access APIs.

Chapter 1, "Introducing the Messaging Access SDK."

Understand how the Access APIs work together in a Messaging Access SDK application.

Chapter 1, "Introducing the Messaging Access SDK."

Send email messages.

Chapter 2, "Sending Mail with SMTP."

Encode/decode and parse messages. Add attachments to messages.

Chapter 3, "Building and Parsing MIME Messages."

Retrieve manage messages on the server.

Chapter 4, "Receiving Mail with IMAP4,"

Retrieve messages, messages attributes, and parts of messages.

Chapter 5, "Receiving Mail with POP3."

Find out which Internet Protocol commands are called by Messaging Access SDK methods.

Chapter 6, "Reference to Protocols."

Find out what you need to know about using multithreading in your messaging applications.

Appendix A, "Writing Multithreaded Applications with the Messaging Access SDK."

To look up the Java classes and methods you need for your messaging application, see Part 2, "Messaging Access SDK Java Reference."

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Conventions Used in This Guide

Fonts. All program code listings, URLs, and other program names appear in Courier, a monospace font. Placeholders, which you replace with your own value, are in italicized Courier font.

Note Formats. This guide emphasizes information with several types of note formats:

NOTE: Information of interest to the developer but not essential to understanding the surrounding topic. §

WARNING: Information that can affect the development decisions you make or the development environment you choose. Don't miss these notes. §
Terminology. This guide uses the word command to represent Internet Protocol commands, and the word method to represent the Messaging Access SDK Java implementation that calls this command. For example, the Messaging Access SDK IMAP4Client.close method sends the CLOSE IMAP4 protocol command.

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Where to Find More Information

For information for developers, see the Netscape DevEdge site.

For information about the Java programming language, see the Sun Java web site.

This guide tells you how to use each Protocol API for Messaging Access SDK tasks. Internet Protocols are introduced and described in RFC (Request for Comments) documents from the Network Working Group. For further information about the Protocols, see the following RFCs.

SMTP RFCs
MIME RFCs
IMAP4 RFCs
POP3 RFCs
NOTE: An index to RFCs is available through the Internet FAQ Consortium. §
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Last Updated: June 3, 1998

Copyright © 1998 Netscape Communications Corporation