Subj : Re: SMTP and POP3
To   : Chris Hoppman
From : Jasen Betts
Date : Sat Nov 09 2002 06:43 am

Hi Chris.

07-Nov-02 08:20:44, Chris Hoppman wrote to Simon Woodland

CH> hrm, yep. Let me try it this way.  SMTP recieves mail on port 25
CH> and also sends mail on port 25.  When it recieves the mail does it
CH> store it in a file format upon the server?  Or, tempary store it
CH> until it is --> To sort of answer my own question.  It passes it
CH> off to the pop3 server.  Now, does that store it in a file on the
CH> server.  Or it doesn't store it at all and just passes it off to
CH> the pop3 server and that does it. Sorry, I have this source code
CH> for a smtp & pop3 server and want to figure out the code.

the answer is maybe... is it one program or two (or three...)?

if it';s one program internally it can do it any way that it wants.
FWIW email messages are text files, (7-bit ascii for the most part)
so if there are files there shouldn't be much problems using them.

seeing as you have a nwtwork app, the most useful thing to have if you
want to modify or debug network apps is two computers and a network between
them. set it up and see what it does.

CH> I just
CH> want to use the smtp to dump the mail it recieves to a file for
CH> convertion to NetMail format but I am not sure if I am able to do
CH> that.  The code is in oop(slash delphi-1)(slash tpascal 7)(slahs
CH> visualpascal) in which I am not that good with *yet* and tring to
CH> figure out what is going on with the code is having my head spin.
CH> I haven't been able to look at it for a couple of months.  Well,
CH> since I postted the question.  (alot of stuff sided track'd me).
CH> Anyhow, since then I have found a few sites that example just what
CH> you told me, but not the internal workings and was hoping someone
CH> could fill me in.

Smtp and pop3 both work over a telnet connection (like zmodem ususally
works over a dialup connection), the messages are transferred as plain text
after some passwording and other setup etc...

The telnet code is complex but for the most psart can be ignored (it won't
need any modification)  the interesting stuff will be where the smtp code
is.

if you want details try a unix manual entry get a book (google should find
you a few). or get a book.

-=> Bye <=-

---
* Origin: They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid! (3:640/531.42)