Network Working Group                                          M. Butler
Request for Comments: 937                                      J. Postel
                                                               D. Chase
                                                          J. Goldberger
                                                         J. K. Reynolds
Obsoletes: RFC 918                                                   ISI
                                                          February 1985


                   POST OFFICE PROTOCOL - VERSION 2


Status of this Memo

  This RFC suggests a simple method for workstations to dynamically
  access mail from a mailbox server.  This RFC specifies a proposed
  protocol for the ARPA-Internet community, and requests discussion and
  suggestions for improvement.  This memo is a revision of RFC 918.
  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Introduction

  The intent of the Post Office Protocol Version 2 (POP2) is to allow a
  user's workstation to access mail from a mailbox server.  It is
  expected that mail will be posted from the workstation to the mailbox
  server via the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).  For further
  information see RFC-821 [1] and RFC-822 [2].

  This protocol assumes a reliable data stream such as provided by TCP
  or any similar protocol.  When TCP is used, the POP2 server listens
  on port 109 [4].

System Model and Philosophy

  While we view the workstation as an Internet host in the sense that
  it implements IP, we do not expect the workstation to contain the
  user's mailbox.  We expect the mailbox to be on a server machine.

  We believe it is important for the mailbox to be on an "always up"
  machine and that a workstation may be frequently powered down, or
  otherwise unavailable as an SMTP server.

  POP2 is designed for an environment of workstations and servers on a
  low-delay, high-throughput, local networks (such as Ethernets).  POP2
  may be useful in other environments as well, but if the environment
  is substantially different, a different division of labor between the
  client and server may be appropriate, and a different protocol
  required.

  Suppose the user's real name is John Smith, the user's machine is
  called FIDO, and that the mailbox server is called DOG-HOUSE.  Then



Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 1]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  we expect the user's mail to be addressed to [email protected]
  (not [email protected]).

  That is, the destination of the mail is the mailbox on the server
  machine.  The POP2 protocol and the workstation are merely a
  mechanism for viewing the messages in the mailbox.

  The user is not tied to any particular workstation for accessing his
  mail.  The workstation does not appear as any part of the mailbox
  address.

  This is a very simple protocol.  This is not a user interface.  We
  expect that there is a program in the workstation that is friendly to
  the user.  This protocol is not "user friendly".  One basic rule of
  this protocol is "if anything goes wrong close the connection".
  Another basic rule is to have few options.

  POP2 does not parse messages in any way.  It does not analyze message
  headers (Date:, From:, To:, Cc:, or Subject:).  POP2 simply transmits
  whole messages from a mailbox server to a client workstation.

The Protocol

  The POP2 protocol is a sequence of commands and replies.  The design
  draws from many previous protocols of the ARPA-Internet community.

     The server must be listening for a connection.  When a connection
     is opened the server sends a greeting message and waits for
     commands.  When commands are received the server acts on them and
     responds with replies.

     The client opens a connection, waits for the greeting, then sends
     the HELO command with the user name and password arguments to
     establish authorization to access mailboxes.  The server returns
     the number of messages in the default mailbox.

     The client may read the default mailbox associated with the user
     name or may select another mailbox by using the FOLD command.  The
     server returns the number of messages in the mailbox selected.

     The client begins a message reading transaction with a READ
     command.  The read command may optionally indicate which message
     number to read, the default is the current message (incremented
     when a message is read and set to one when a new folder is
     selected).  The server returns the number of characters in the
     message.




Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 2]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


     The client asks for the content of the message to be sent with the
     RETR command.  The server sends the message data.

     When all the data has been received the client sends an
     acknowledgment command.  This is one of ACKS, ACKD, and NACK.

        ACKS means "I've received the message successfully and please
        keep it in the mailbox".

        ACKD means "I've received the message successfully and please
        delete it from the mailbox".

        NACK means "I did not receive the message and please keep it in
        the mailbox".

     In the case of ACKS or ACKD the server increments the current
     message indicator.  In the case of NACK the current message
     indicator stays the same.

     In all cases the server returns the number of characters in the
     (now) current message.

     The client terminates the session with the QUIT command.  The
     server returns an ok.


























Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 3]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  The Normal Scenario

          Client                    Server
          ------                    ------
                               Wait for Connection
     Open Connection  -->
                          <--  + POP2 Server Ready
                               Wait for Command
     HELO Fred Secret -->
                          <--  #13 messages for you
                               Wait for Command
     READ 13          -->
                          <--  =537 characters in that message
                               Wait for Command
     RETR             -->
                          <--  (send the message data)
                               Wait for Command
     ACKS             -->
                          <--  =0 no more messages
                               Wait for Command
     QUIT             -->
                          <--  + OK
     Close connection --> <--  Close connection
                               Wait for Connection (go back to start)

Conventions

  Arguments

     These arguments have system specific definitions.

        user - A login account name.

        password - The password for the login account.

        mailbox - A mailbox name (also called a mail folder).














Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 4]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Default Mailboxes

     TOPS-20

        MAIL.TXT.1 - from login directory

     UNIX

        both
           /usr/spool/mail/user
        and
           /usr/user/Mail/inbox/*

           where "user" is the user value supplied in the HELO command.

  End of Line

     End of Line is Carriage Return (CR) followed by Line Feed (LF).
     This sequence is indicated by "CRLF" in this document.  This end
     of line convention must be used for commands and replies.

  Message Length

     The reply to the READ command or an acknowledgment command (ACKS,
     ACKD, NACK) is the length (a character count) of the next message
     to be transmitted.  This includes all the characters in the data
     transmitted.  CRLF counts as two characters.  A length of zero
     means the message does not exist or is empty.  A request to
     transmit a message of zero length will result in the server
     closing the connection.  The message is transmitted in the
     standard internet format described in RFC-822 [2] and NVT-ASCII.
     This may be different from the storage format and may make
     computing the message length from the stored message non-trivial.

  Message Numbers

     The reply to the HELO and FOLD commands is a count of the number
     of messages in a the selected mailbox.  The READ command has a
     message number as an optional argument.  These numbers are
     decimal, start at one, and computed with respect to the current
     mailbox.  That is, the first message in a mailbox is message
     number 1.

  Numbers

     All numbers in this memo and protocol are decimal.




Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 5]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Quoting

     In a few cases, there may be a need to have a special character in
     an argument (user, password, or mailbox) that is not allowed by
     the syntax.  For example, a space in a password. To allow for
     this, a quoting convention is defined.  Unfortunately, such
     quoting conventions "use up" another otherwise uninteresting
     character.  In this protocol the back slash "\" is used as the
     quote character.  To include a space in an argument the two
     character sequence "back-slash, space" is transmitted.  To include
     a back-slash in an argument the two character sequence
     "back-slash, back-slash" is transmitted.  This quoting convention
     is used in the command arguments only, it is not used in the mail
     data transmitted in response to a RETR command.

  Reply Strings

     The first character is required to be as specified (i.e.,
     "+", "-", "=", "#").  The optional strings that follow can be
     whatever the implementer thinks is appropriate.

Definitions of Commands and Replies

  Summary of Commands and Replies

     Commands                          Replies
     --------                          -------
     HELO user password                + OK
     FOLD mailbox                      - Error
     READ [n]                          #xxx
     RETR                              =yyy
     ACKS
     ACKD
     NACK
     QUIT















Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 6]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Commands

     HELO user password

        The Hello command identifies the user to the server and carries
        the password authenticating this user.  This information is
        used by the server to control access to the mailboxes.  The
        Hello command is the "HELO" keyword, followed by the user
        argument, followed by the password argument, followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "#nnn"

                 where nnn is the number of messages in the default
                 mailbox,"

              "- error report" and Close the connection.

     FOLD mailbox

        The Folder command selects another mailbox or mail folder.  The
        server must check that the user is permitted read access to
        this mailbox.  If the mailbox is empty or does not exist, the
        number of messages reported is zero.  The Folder command is the
        "FOLD" keyword, followed by the mailbox argument, followed by
        CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "#nnn"

                 where nnn is the number of messages in this mailbox.

     READ [nnn]

        The Read command begins a message reading transaction.  If the
        Read command is given without an argument the current message
        is  implied (the current message indicator is incremented  by
        the ACKS or ACKD commands).  If an argument is used with the
        Read command it is the message number to be read, and this
        command sets the current message indicator to that value.  The
        server returns the count of characters in the message to be
        transmitted.  If there is no message to be read, the count of
        zero is returned.  If the message was previously deleted with
        the ACKD command, the count of zero is returned.  The Read
        command is followed by the RETR command, the READ command, the
        FOLD command, or the QUIT command.  Do not attempt to RETR a


Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 7]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


        message of zero characters.  The Read command is the "READ"
        keyword, optionally followed by the message number argument,
        followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "=ccc"

                 where ccc is the number of characters in this message.

     RETR

        The Retrieve command confirms that the client is ready to
        receive the mail data.  It must be followed by an
        acknowledgment command.  The server will close the connection
        if asked to transmit a message of zero characters (i.e.,
        transmit a non-existent message).  The message is transmitted
        according to the Internet mail format standard RFC-822 [2] in
        NVT-ASCII.  The Retrieve command is the "RETR" keyword,
        followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              the message data

              Close the connection

     ACKS

        The Acknowledge and Save command confirms that the client has
        received and accepted the message.  The ACKS command ends the
        message reading transaction.  The message is kept in the
        mailbox.  The current message indicator is incremented.  The
        server returns the count of characters in the now current
        message to be transmitted.  If there is no message to be read
        or the message is marked deleted, the count of zero is
        returned.  The Acknowledge and Save command is the "ACKS"
        keyword, followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "=ccc"

                 where ccc is the number of characters in the next
                 message.





Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 8]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


     ACKD

        The Acknowledge and Delete command confirms that the client has
        received and accepted the message.  The ACKD command ends the
        message reading transaction.  If the user is authorized to have
        write access to the mailbox, the message is deleted from the
        mailbox.  Actually, the message is only marked for deletion.
        The actual change is made  when the mailbox is released at the
        end of the session or when the client selects another mailbox
        with the FOLD command.  The messages are not renumbered until
        the mailbox is released.  If the user does not have write
        access to the mailbox no change is made to the mailbox.  The
        response is the same whether or not the message was actually
        deleted.  The current message indicator is incremented.  The
        server returns the count of characters in the now current
        message to be transmitted.  If there is no message to be read
        or the message is marked deleted, the count of zero is
        returned.  The Acknowledge and Delete command is the "ACKD"
        keyword, followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "=ccc"

                 where ccc is the number of characters in the next
                 message.

     NACK

        The Negative Acknowledge command reports that the client did
        not receive the message.  The NACK command ends the message
        reading transaction.  The message is kept in the mailbox.  The
        current message indicator remains the same.  The server returns
        the count of characters in the current message.  Since the
        count to be returned is for the message just transmitted it the
        message must exist and not be marked deleted, and the count
        must be positive (non-zero).  The Negative Acknowledge command
        is the "NACK" keyword, followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "=ccc"

                 where ccc is the number of characters in this message.






Butler, et. al.                                                 [Page 9]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


     QUIT

        The Quit command indicates the client is done with the session.
        The server sends an OK response and then closes the connection.
        The Quit command is the "QUIT" keyword, followed by CRLF.

           Possible responses:

              "+ OK" and Close the connection

  Replies

     Greeting

        The greeting is sent by the server as soon as the connection is
        established.  The greeting is a plus sign, followed by the
        protocol name ("POP2"), followed by the server host name,
        optionally followed by text, and ending with a CRLF.

     +

        The success or plus sign response indicates successful
        completion of the operation specified in the command.  The
        success response is a plus sign, optionally followed by text,
        and ending with a CRLF.

     -

        The failure or minus sign response indicates the failure of the
        operation specified in the command.  The failure response is a
        minus sign, optionally followed by text, and ending with a
        CRLF.

     =

        The length or equal sign response tells the length in
        characters of the message referenced by the command.  The
        length response is a equal sign, followed by a number,
        optionally followed by text, and ending with a CRLF.

     #

        The count or number sign response tells the number of messages
        in a folder or mailbox referenced by the command.  The count
        response is a number sign, followed by a number, optionally
        followed by text, and ending with a CRLF.




Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 10]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Timeouts

     In any protocol of this type there have to be timeouts.  Neither
     side wants to get stuck waiting forever for the other side
     (particularly is the other side has gone crazy or crashed).

     The client expects a reply to a command fairly quickly and so
     should have a short timeout for this.  This timeout is called T1.

        For some servers, it may take some processing to compute the
        number of messages in a mailbox, or the length of a message, or
        to reformat a stored message for transmission, so this time out
        has to allow for such processing time.  Also care must be taken
        not to timeout waiting for the completion of a RETR reply while
        a long message is in fact being transfered.

     The server expects the session to progress with some but not
     excessive delay between commands and so should have a long timeout
     waiting for the next command.  This time out is T2.

        One model of use of this protocol is that any number of
        different types of clients can be built with different ways of
        interacting with the human user and the server, but still
        expecting the client to open the connection to the server,
        present a sequence of commands, and close the connection,
        without waiting for intervention by the human user.  With such
        client implementations, it is reasonable for the server to have
        a fairly small value for timeout T2.

        On the other hand, one could easily have the client be very
        human user directed with the user making decisions between
        commands.  This would cause arbitrary delays between client
        commands to the server, and require the value of timeout T2 to
        be quite large.

Implementation Discussion

  Comments on a Server on TOPS-20

     On TOPS-20, a mailbox is a single file.  New messages are appended
     to the file.  There is a separator line between messages.

     The tricky part of implementing a POP2 server on TOPS-20 is to
     provide for deleting messages.  This only has to be done for the
     mailboxes (files) for which the user has write access.  The
     problem is to avoid both (1) preventing other users from accessing
     or updating the mailbox for long periods, and (2) accidentally
     deleting a message the user has not seen.


Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 11]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


     One suggestion is as follows:

        When a mailbox is first selected, if the user has write access,
        rename the mailbox file to some temporary name.  Thus new
        messages will be placed in a new instance of the mailbox file.
        Conduct all POP2 operation on the temporary mailbox file
        (including deleting messages).  When the POP2 session is over
        or another mailbox is selected, prepend any messages left
        undeleted in the temporary file to the new instance of the
        mailbox file.

  Sizes

     The maximum length of a command line is 512 characters (including
     the command word and the CRLF).

     The maximum length of a reply line is 512 characters (including
     the success indicator (+, -, =, #) and the CRLF).

     The maximum length of a text line is 1000 characters (including
     CRLF).

  ISI has developed a POP2 server for TOPS-20 and for Berkeley 4.2
  Unix, and a POP2 client for an IBM-PC and for Berkeley 4.2 Unix.

Extensions Not Supported

  POP2 does not examine the internal data of messages.  In particular,
  the server does not parse message headers.

  The server doesn't have any state information (i.e., it doesn't know
  from one session to the next what has happened).  For example, the
  server doesn't know which messages were received since the last time
  the user used POP2, so it can't send just the "new" messages.
















Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 12]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Examples

  Example 1:

          Client                    Server
          ------                    ------
                               Wait for connection
     Open connection  -->
                          <--  + POP2 USC-ISIF.ARPA Server
     HELO POSTEL SECRET -->
                          <--  #2 messages in your mailbox
     READ             -->
                          <--  =537 characters in message 1
     RETR             -->
                          <--  [data of message 1]
     ACKD             -->
                          <--  =234 characters in message 2
     RETR             -->
                          <--  [data of message 2]
     ACKD             -->
                          <--  =0 no more messages
     QUIT             -->
                          <--  + OK, bye, bye
     Close connection --> <--  Close connection
                               Go back to start

























Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 13]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Example 2:

          Client                    Server
          ------                    ------
                               Wait for connection
     Open connection  -->
                          <--  + POP2 ISI-VAXA.ARPA server here
     HELO smith secret -->
                          <--  #35 messages
     FOLD /usr/spool/mail/smith -->
                          <--  #27 messages
     READ  27         -->
                          <--  =10123 characters in that message
     RETR             -->
                          <--  [data of message 27]
     ACKS             -->
                          <--  =0 no more messages
     QUIT             -->
                          <--  + bye, call again sometime.
     Close connection --> <--  Close connection
                               Go back to start

  Example 3:

          Client                    Server
          ------                    ------
                               Wait for connection
     Open connection  -->
                          <--  + POP2 ISI-VAXA.ARPA server here
     HELO Jones secret -->
                          <--  #0 messages
     READ             -->
                          <--  Close connection
     Close connection -->
                               Go back to start















Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 14]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Formal Syntax

  <digit>    = 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

  <letter>   = A | B | C | ... | Z
               a | b | c | ... | z

  <punct>    = ! | " | # | $ | % | & | ' | ( | ) | * |
               + | , | - | / | : | < | = | > | ? | @ |
               [ | ] | ^ | _ | ` | { | | | } | ~

  <quote>    = \

  <any>      = any one of the 128 ASCII codes

  <CR>       = carriage return, code 10

  <LF>       = line feed, code 13

  <SP>       = space, code 32

  <CRLF>     = <CR> <LF>

  <print>    = <letter> | <digit> | <punct> | <quote> <any>

  <char>     = <print> | <SP>

  <word>     = <print> | <print> <word>

  <string>   = <char> | <char> <string>

  <ld>       = <letter> | <digit>

  <ldh>      = <letter> | <digit> | -

  <ldhs>     = <ldh> | <ldh> <ldhs>

  <name>     = <letter> [ [ <ldhs> ] <ld> ]

  <host>     =  <name> | <name> . <host>

  <user>     = <word>

  <password> = <word>

  <mailbox>  = <string>

  <number>   = <digit> | <digit> <number>


Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 15]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  <helo>     = HELO <SP> <user> <SP> <password> <CRLF>

  <fold>     = FOLD <SP> <mailbox> <CRLF>

  <read>     = READ [<SP> <number>] <CRLF>

  <retr>     = RETR <CRLF>

  <acks>     = ACKS <CRLF>

  <ackd>     = ACKD <CRLF>

  <nack>     = NACK <CRLF>

  <quit>     = QUIT <CRLF>

  <ok>       = + [<SP> <string>] <CRLF>

  <err>      = - [<SP> <string>] <CRLF>

  <count>    = # <number> [<SP> <string>] <CRLF>

  <greet>    = + <SP> POP2 <SP> <host> [<SP> <string>] <CRLF>

  <length>   = = <number> [<SP> <string>] <CRLF>

  <command>  = <helo> | <fold> | <read> | <retr> |
               <acks> | <ackd> | <nack> | <quit>

  <reply>    = <ok> | <err> | <count> | <length> | <greet>




















Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 16]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Client State Diagram


                         |                    ^  + BYE
                         |  Open              |  -----
                         |           Greet    |  Close
                         V           -----    |
                     +-------+       QUIT    +-------+
                     | CALL  |-------------->| EXIT  |
                     +-------+               +-------+
                         |                       ^
                         |  Greet                |
                         |  -----                |
                         |  HELO                 |
             +---->+     |                       |
       #NNN  ^     |     |        #NNN           |
       ----  |     V     V        ----           |
       FOLD  |    +-------+       QUIT           |
             +<---| NMBR  |--------------------->+
                  +-------+                      ^
                   ^     |                       |
                   |     |  #NNN                 |
                   |     |  ----                 |
             =CCC  |     |  READ                 |
             ----  |     |                       |
             FOLD  |     |        =CCC           |
                   |     V        ----           |
       =CCC  +--->+-------+       QUIT           |
       ----  ^    | SIZE  |--------------------->+
       READ  +<---+-------+
                   ^     |
                   |     |  =CCC
             data  |     |  ----
             ----  |     |  RETR
             ack   |     |
                   |     V
                  +-------+
                  | XFER  |
                  +-------+











Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 17]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Server State Diagram


                      +<----------------------+  Close
                      |                       |  -----
              Listen  |                       |  Close
                      V                       |
                  +-------+                  +-------+
                  | LSTN  |                  | DONE  |
                  +-------+                  +-------+
                      |                          ^
                      |  Open                    |
                      |  -----                   |
                      |  Greet                   |
                      |                          |
                      |           QUIT           |
                      V           -----          |
                  +-------+       + BYE          |
                  | AUTH  |--------------------->+
                  +-------+                      ^
                      |                          |
                      |  HELO                    |
                      |  ----                    |
                      |  #NNN                    |
                      |                          |
                      |           QUIT           |
                      V           -----          |
       FOLD  +--->+-------+       + BYE          |
       ----  ^    | MBOX  |--------------------->+
       #NNN  +<---+-------+                      ^
                   ^     |                       |
                   |     |  READ                 |
             FOLD  |     |  ----                 |
             ----  |     |  =CCC                 |
             #NNN  |     |        QUIT           |
                   |     V        -----          |
       READ  +--->+-------+       + BYE          |
       ----  ^    | ITEM  |--------------------->+
       =CCC  +<---+-------+
                   ^     |
                   |     |  RETR
             ack   |     |  ----
             ----  |     |  data
             =CCC  |     |
                   |     V
                  +-------+
                  | NEXT  |
                  +-------+


Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 18]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Combined Flow Diagram


  +----+
  |CALL|<------------------------------------------------------------+
  |LSTN|                                                             ^
  +----+                                                             |
   | Greet                                                           |
   |                                                                 |
   |  +----------------------------------------------------->+       |
   |  ^ QUIT                                                 |       |
   V  |                                                      V       |
  +----+        +----+                                      +----+   |
  |CALL| HELO   |NMBR|                                      |EXIT|   |
  |AUTH|------->|AUTH|                                      |AUTH|   |
  +----+        +----+                                      +----+   |
                 | #NNN                                   + Bye |    |
                 |                                              |    |
                 |  +------------------------------------>+     |    |
                 |  ^ QUIT                                |     |    |
                 V  |                                     V     |    |
           +--->+----+        +----+                     +----+ |    |
      FOLD ^    |NMBR| READ   |SIZE|                     |EXIT| |    |
      ---- |    |MBOX|------->|MBOX|                     |MBOX| |    |
      #NNN +<---+----+        +----+                     +----+ |    |
                    ^           | =CCC                 + Bye |  |    |
                    |           |                            |  |    |
               FOLD +<--------+ | +------------------->+     |  |    |
               ----           ^ | ^ QUIT               |     |  |    |
               #NNN           | V |                    V     |  |    |
                        +--->+-----+        +----+    +----+ |  |    |
                   READ ^    |SIZE | RETR   |XFER|    |EXIT| |  |    |
                   ---- |    | ITEM|------->|ITEM|    |ITEM| |  |    |
                   =CCC +<---+-----+        +----+    +----+ |  |    |
                                ^             | data      |  |  |    |
                                |             |           |  |  |    |
                           =CCC |             V     + Bye |  |  |    |
                              +----+        +----+        |  |  |    |
                              |SIZE|    Ack |XFER|        |  |  |    |
                              |NEXT|<-------|NEXT|        |  |  |    |
                              +----+        +----+        |  |  |    |
                                                          |  |  |    |
                                                          |  |  |    |
                                                          V  V  V    |
                                                         +-------+   |
                                                         | EXIT  |-->+
                                                         | DONE  |
                                                         +-------+


Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 19]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Client Decision Table


         |            STATE                 |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  INPUT  | CALL | NMBR | SIZE | XFER | EXIT |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  Greet  |  2   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  #NNN   |  1   |  3   |  1   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  =CCC   |  1   |  1   |  4   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  data   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  5   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  + Bye  |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  Close  |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  other  |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|
  Timeout|  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  6   |
  -------+----------------------------------|



























Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 20]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Actions:

     1.  This is garbage.  Send "QUIT", and go to EXIT state.

     2.  (a) If the greeting is right then send "HELO"
             and go to NMBR state,
         (b) Else send "QUIT" and go to EXIT state.

     3.  (a) If user wants this folder and NNN > 0
             then send "READ" and go to SIZE state,
         (b) If user wants a this folder and NNN = 0
             then send "QUIT" and go to EXIT state,
         (c) If user wants a different folder
             then send "FOLD" and go to NMBR state.

     4.  (a) If user wants this message and CCC > 0
             then send "RETR" and go to XFER state,
         (b) If user wants a this message and CCC = 0
             then send "QUIT" and go to EXIT state,
         (c) If user wants a different message
             then send "READ" and go to SIZE state.

     5.  (a) If user wants this message kept
             then send "ACKS" and go to SIZE state,
         (b) If user wants a this message deleted
             then send "ACKD" and go to SIZE state,
         (c) If user wants a this message again
             then send "NACK" and go to SIZE state.

     6.  Close the connection.




















Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 21]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Server Decision Table


         |              STATE
  -------+-----------------------------------------
  INPUT  | LSTN | AUTH | MBOX | ITEM | NEXT | DONE |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  Open   |  2   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  HELO   |  1   |  3   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  FOLD   |  1   |  1   |  5   |  5   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  READ   |  1   |  1   |  6   |  6   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  RETR   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  7   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  ACKS   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  8   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  ACKD   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  8   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  NACK   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  8   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  QUIT   |  1   |  4   |  4   |  4   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  Close  |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  9   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  other  |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|
  Timeout|      |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |  1   |
  -------+-----------------------------------------|



















Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 22]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


  Actions:

     1.  This is garbage.  Send "- error", and Close the connection.

     2.  Send the greeting. Go to AUTH state.

     3.  (a) If authorized user then send "#NNN" and go tp MBOX state,
         (b) Else send "- error" and Close the connection.

     4.  Send "+ Bye" and go to DONE state.

     5.  Send "+NNN" and go to MBOX state.

     6.  Send "=CCC" and go to ITEM state.

     7.  If message exists then send the data and got to NEXT state,
         Else Close the connection.

     8.  Do what ACKS/ACKD/NACK require and go to ITEM state.

     9.  Close the connection.





























Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 23]



RFC 937                                                    February 1985
Post Office Protocol


Acknowledgment

  We would like to acknowledge the helpful comments that we received on
  the first version of POP described in RFC 918, and the draft of POP2
  distributed to interested parties.

References

  [1]  Postel, J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", RFC 821,
  USC/Information Sciences Institute, August 1982.

  [2]  Crocker, D., "Standard for the Format of ARPA-Internet Text
  Messages", RFC 822, University of Delaware, August 1982.

  [3]  Reynolds, J.K., "Post Office Protocol", RFC 918, USC/Information
  Sciences Institute, October 1984.

  [4]  Reynolds, J.K., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC 923,
  USC/Information Sciences Institute, October 1984.































Butler, et. al.                                                [Page 24]