Class 39: Mail Protocols

Held Friday, May 5, 2000

Overview

Today we'll consider mail protocols (particularly SMTP, the unnamed format in RFC 822, and MIME.

Notes

• Math/CS picnic, next Friday, 5pm. Merrill Park. Sign up.
• An announcement from Eric Nana Otto: Writers, philosophers, artists, musicians, scientists, and all other talented Grinnellians, who are interested in supplementing their liberal arts education with entrepreneurial skills, and students who want to learn more about entrepreneurship, this is for you! Come to the first general meeting of Grinnell Entrepreneurs at 9:00pm Tuesday, May 9, Forum Coffeehouse.
• The Final Exam is more-or-less ready.

Contents

• Electronic Mail
• SMTP
• Simple Mail Format
• MIME

Summary

Electronic Mail

• What are the requirements?
• How have they evolved?

SMTP

• How should a mail transfer process work?
• Some basics.
• Why does SMTP have hops?

Simple Mail Format

• Requirements?
• Head and body
• Ending the message.

MIME

• More to come.