Mail::Box::Manager(3) User Contributed Perl DocumentationMail::Box::Manager(3)NAMEMail::Box::Manager - manage a set of folders
INHERITANCEMail::Box::Manager
is a Mail::Reporter
Mail::Box::Manager is extended by
Mail::Box::Manage::User
SYNOPSIS
use Mail::Box::Manager;
my $mgr = new Mail::Box::Manager;
# Create folder objects.
my $folder = $mgr->open(folder => $ENV{MAIL});
my $message1 = $folder->message(0);
$mgr->copyMessage('Draft', $message);
my @messages = $folder->message(0,3);
$mgr->moveMessage('Outbox', @messages, create => 1 );
$mgr->close($folder);
# Create thread-detectors (see Mail::Box::Thread::Manager)
my $t = $mgr->threads($inbox, $outbox);
my $threads = $mgr->threads(folder => $folder);
foreach my $thread ($threads->all)
{ $thread->print;
}
$mgr->registerType(mbox => 'Mail::Box::MyType');
DESCRIPTION
The manager keeps track on a set of open folders and a set of message-
thread supporting objects. You are not obliged to use this object (you
can directly create a Mail::Box::Mbox if you prefer), but you will
create more portable and safer code if you do use it.
METHODS
Constructors
Mail::Box::Manager->new(ARGS)-Option--Defined in --Default
autodetect undef
default_folder_type 'mbox'
folder_types <all standard types>
folderdir [ '.' ]
folderdirs <synonym for C<folderdir>>
log Mail::Reporter 'WARNINGS'
trace Mail::Reporter 'WARNINGS'
autodetect => TYPE|ARRAY-OF-TYPES
Select only a subset of the folder types which are implemented by
MailBox to be detected automatically. This may improve the auto-
detection of folder types. Normally, all folder types will be
tried when a folder's name is incorrect, but this option limits
the types which are checked and therefore may respond faster.
default_folder_type => NAME|CLASS
Specifies the default folder type for newly created folders. If
this option is not specified, the most recently registered type
is used (see registerType() and the new(folder_types) option.
folder_types => NEW-TYPE | ARRAY-OF-NEW-TYPES
Add one or more new folder types to the list of known types. The
order is important: when you open a file without specifying its
type, the manager will start trying the last added list of types,
in order.
Each TYPE is specified as an array which contains name, class,
and defaults for options which overrule the usual defaults. You
may specify folder-specific defaults as OPTIONS. They override
the settings of the manager.
folderdir => DIRECTORY
The default directory, or directories, where folders are located.
The "Mail::Box::Manager" can autodetect the existing folder-
types. There may be different kinds of folders opened at the
same time, and messages can be moved between those types,
although that may result in a loss of information depending on
the folder types.
folderdirs => [DIRECTORIES]
log => LEVEL
trace => LEVEL
Attributes
$obj->defaultFolderType
Returns the default folder type, some class name.
$obj->folderTypes
Returns the list of currently defined folder types.
example:
print join("\n", $manager->folderTypes), "\n";
$obj->folderdir
In list context, this returns all folderdirs specified. In SCALAR
context only the first.
$obj->registerType(TYPE, CLASS [,OPTIONS])
With "registerType" you can register one TYPE of folders. The
CLASS is compiled automatically, so you do not need to "use" them
in your own modules. The TYPE is just an arbitrary name.
The added types are prepended to the list of known types, so they
are checked first when a folder is opened in autodetect mode.
example:
$manager->registerType(mbox => 'Mail::Box::Mbox',
save_on_exit => 0, folderdir => '/tmp');
Manage open folders
$obj->close(FOLDER, OPTIONS)
"close" removes the specified folder from the list of open folders.
Indirectly it will update the files on disk if needed (depends on
the Mail::Box::new(save_on_exit) flag for each folder). OPTIONS are
passed to Mail::Box::close() of the folder.
The folder's messages will also be withdrawn from the known message
threads. You may also close the folder directly. The manager will
be informed about this event and take appropriate actions.
-Option--Default
close_by_self <false>
close_by_self => BOOLEAN
Used internally to avoid confusion about how the close was
started. Do not change this.
example:
my $inbox = $mgr->open('inbox');
$mgr->close($inbox);
$inbox->close; # alternative
$obj->closeAllFolders(, OPTIONS)
"closeAllFolders" calls close() for each folder managed by this
object. It is called just before the program stops (before global
cleanup).
$obj->isOpenFolder(FOLDER)
Returns true if the FOLDER is currently open.
example:
print "Yes\n" if $mgr->isOpenFolder('Inbox');
$obj->open([FOLDERNAME], OPTIONS)
Open a folder which name is specified as first parameter or with
the option flag "folder". The folder type is autodetected unless
the "type" is specified.
"open" carries options for the manager which are described here,
but may also have additional options for the folder type. For a
description of the folder options, see the options to the
constructor Mail::Box::new() for each type of mail box.
-Option--Default
authenticate 'AUTO'
create <false>
folder $ENV{MAIL}
folderdir '.'
type <first, usually C<mbox>>
authenticate => TYPE|ARRAY-OF-TYPES|'AUTO'
The TYPE of authentication to be used, or a list of TYPES which
the client prefers. The server may provide preferences as well,
and that order will be kept. This option is only supported by a
small subset of folder types, especially by POP and IMAP.
create => BOOLEAN
Create the folder if it does not exist. By default, this is not
done. The "type" option specifies which type of folder is
created.
folder => NAME|URL
Which folder to open, specified by NAME or special URL. The URL
format is composed as
type://username:password@hostname:port/foldername
Like real URLs, all fields are optional and have smart defaults,
as long as the string starts with a known folder type. Far from
all folder types support all these options, but at least they are
always split-out. Be warned that special characters in the
password should be properly url-encoded.
When you specify anything which does not match the URL format, it
is passed directly to the "new" method of the folder which is
opened.
folderdir => DIRECTORY
The directory where the folders are usually stored.
type => FOLDERTYPENAME|FOLDERTYPE
Specify the type of the folder. If you do not specify this
option while opening a folder for reading, the manager checks all
registered folder types in order for the ability to open the
folder. If you open a new folder for writing, then the default
will be the most recently registered type. (If you add more than
one type at once, the first of the list is used.)
example: opening folders via the manager
my $jack = $manager->open(folder => '=jack',
type => 'mbox');
my $rcvd = $manager->open('myMail',
type => 'Mail::Box::Mbox', access => 'rw');
my $inbox = $manager->open('Inbox')
or die "Cannot open Inbox.\n";
my $pop = 'pop3://myself:secret@pop3.server.com:120/x';
my $send = $manager->open($url);
my $send = $manager->open(folder => '/x',
type => 'pop3', username => 'myself', password => 'secret'
server_name => 'pop3.server.com', server_port => '120');
$obj->openFolders
Returns a list of all open folders.
Manage existing folders
$obj->delete(FOLDERNAME, OPTIONS)
Remove the named folder. The OPTIONS are the same as those for
open().
The deletion of a folder can take some time. Dependent on the type
of folder, the folder must be read first. For some folder-types
this will be fast.
-Option--Default
recursive <folder's default>
recursive => BOOLEAN
Some folder can only be recursively deleted, other have more
flexibility.
Move messages to folders
$obj->appendMessage([FOLDER|FOLDERNAME,] MESSAGES, OPTIONS)
Append one or more messages to a folder (therefore, an
"appendMessages()" is defined as well). You may specify a
FOLDERNAME or an opened folder as the first argument. When the name
is that of an open folder, it is treated as if the folder-object
was specified, and not directly access the folder-files. You may
also specify the foldername as part of the options list.
If a message is added to an already opened folder, it is only added
to the structure internally in the program. The data will not be
written to disk until a write of that folder takes place. When the
name of an unopened folder is given, the folder is opened, the
messages stored on disk, and then the folder is closed.
A message must be an instance of a Mail::Message. The actual
message type does not have to match the folder type--the folder
will try to resolve the differences with minimal loss of
information. The coerced messages (how the were actually written)
are returned as list.
The OPTIONS is a list of key/values, which are added to
(overriding) the default options for the detected folder type.
example:
$mgr->appendMessage('=send', $message, folderdir => '/');
$mgr->appendMessage($received, $inbox->messages);
my @appended = $mgr->appendMessages($inbox->messages,
folder => 'Drafts');
$_->label(seen => 1) foreach @appended;
$obj->copyMessage([FOLDER|FOLDERNAME,] MESSAGES, OPTIONS)
Copy a message from one folder into another folder. If the
destination folder is already opened, Mail::Box::copyTo() is used.
Otherwise, Mail::Box::appendMessages() is called.
You need to specify a folder's name or folder object as the first
argument, or in the options list. The options are the same as
those which can be specified when opening a folder.
-Option--Default
share <false>
share => BOOLEAN
Try to share the physical storage of the messages. The folder
types may be different, but it all depends on the actual folder
where the message is copied to. Silently ignored when not
possible to share.
example:
my $drafts = $mgr->open(folder => 'Drafts');
my $outbox = $mgr->open(folder => 'Outbox');
$mgr->copyMessage($outbox, $drafts->message(0));
my @messages = $drafts->message(1,2);
$mgr->copyMessage('=Trash', @messages,
folderdir => '/tmp', create => 1);
$mgr->copyMessage($drafts->message(1),
folder => '=Drafts' folderdir => '/tmp',
create => 1);
$obj->moveMessage([FOLDER|FOLDERNAME,] MESSAGES, OPTIONS)
Move a message from one folder to another.
BE WARNED that removals from a folder only take place when the
folder is closed, so the message is only flagged to be deleted in
the opened source folder.
BE WARNED that message labels may get lost when a message is moved
from one folder type to an other. An attempt is made to translate
labels, but there are many differences in interpretation by
applications.
$mgr->moveMessage($received, $inbox->message(1))
is equivalent to
$mgr->copyMessage($received, $inbox->message(1), share => 1);
$inbox->message(1)->delete;
-Option--Default
share <true>
share => BOOLEAN
Manage message threads
$obj->threads([FOLDERS], OPTIONS)
Create a new object which keeps track of message threads. You can
read about the possible options in Mail::Box::Thread::Manager. As
OPTIONS specify one folder or an array of FOLDERS. It is also
permitted to specify folders before the options.
example:
my $t1 = $mgr->threads(folders => [ $inbox, $send ]);
my $t2 = $mgr->threads($inbox);
my $t3 = $mgr->threads($inbox, $send);
Internals
$obj->decodeFolderURL(URL)
Try to decompose a folder name which is specified as URL (see
open()) into separate options. Special characters like @-sign,
colon, and slash used in the user or password parts must be passed
URL-encoded.
$obj->toBeThreaded(FOLDER, MESSAGES)
Signal to the manager that all thread managers which are using the
specified folder must be informed that new messages are coming in.
$obj->toBeUnthreaded(FOLDER, MESSAGES)
Signal to the manager that all thread managers which are using the
specified folder must be informed that new messages are or going
out.
Error handling
$obj->AUTOLOAD
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->addReport(OBJECT)
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->defaultTrace([LEVEL]|[LOGLEVEL, TRACELEVEL]|[LEVEL, CALLBACK])
Mail::Box::Manager->defaultTrace([LEVEL]|[LOGLEVEL,
TRACELEVEL]|[LEVEL, CALLBACK])
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->errors
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->log([LEVEL [,STRINGS]])
Mail::Box::Manager->log([LEVEL [,STRINGS]])
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->logPriority(LEVEL)
Mail::Box::Manager->logPriority(LEVEL)
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->logSettings
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->notImplemented
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->report([LEVEL])
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->reportAll([LEVEL])
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->trace([LEVEL])
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->warnings
See "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
Cleanup
$obj->DESTROY
See "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->inGlobalDestruction
See "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter
DETAILS
Managing open folders
It is useful to start your program by creating a folder manager object,
an Mail::Box::Manager. The object takes a few burdons from your neck:
· autodetect the type of folder which is used.
This means that your application can be fully folder type
independent.
· autoload the required modules
There are so many modules involved in MailBox, that it is useful to
have some lazy autoloading of code. The manager knows which
modules belong to which type of folder.
· avoid double openings
Your programming mistakes may cause the same folder to be opened
twice. The result of that could be very destructive. Therefore,
the manager keeps track on all open folders and avoids the same
folder to be opened for the second time.
· close folders at clean-up
When the program is ending, the manager will cleanly close all
folders which are still open. This is required, because the
autodestruct sequence of Perl works in an unpredicatable order.
· message thread detection
MailBox can discover message threads which span multiple folders.
Any set of open folders may be grouped in a tree of replies on
replies on replies. When a folder is closed, it will automatically
be removed from the threads, and a new folder can dynamically be
added to the structure.
The manager is really simplifying things, and should therefore be the
base of all programs. However, it is possible to write useful programs
without it.
Managing a user
One step further is the Mail::Box::Manage::User object (since MailBox
v2.057), which not only keeps track on open folders, but also collects
information about not-open folders.
The user class is, as the name says, targeted on managing one single
user. Where the Mail::Box::Manager will open any set of folder files,
probably from multiple users, the user class want one root folder
directory.
In many aspects, the user manager simplifies the task for user-based
servers and other user-centric applications by setting smart defaults.
On many places in the documentation you can read that it is useful to
have a manager object. There are two of them: the Mail::Box::Manager,
which maintains a set of open folders, and an extension of it: the
Mail::Box::Manage::User.
DIAGNOSTICS
Error: Folder $name is already open.
You cannot ask the manager for a folder which is already open. In
some older releases (before MailBox 2.049), this was permitted, but
then behaviour changed, because many nasty side-effects are to be
expected. For instance, an Mail::Box::update() on one folder
handle would influence the second, probably unexpectedly.
Error: Folder $name is not a Mail::Box; cannot add a message.
The folder where the message should be appended to is an object
which is not a folder type which extends Mail::Box. Probably, it
is not a folder at all.
Warning: Folder does not exist, failed opening $type folder $name.
The folder does not exist and creating is not permitted (see
open(create)) or did not succeed. When you do not have sufficient
access rights to the folder (for instance wrong password for POP3),
this warning will be produced as well.
The manager tried to open a folder of the specified type. It may
help to explicitly state the type of your folder with the "type"
option. There will probably be another warning or error message
which is related to this report and provides more details about its
cause. You may also have a look at new(autodetect) and
new(folder_types).
Warning: Folder type $type is unknown, using autodetect.
The specified folder type (see open(type), possibly derived from
the folder name when specified as url) is not known to the manager.
This may mean that you forgot to require the Mail::Box extension
which implements this folder type, but probably it is a typo.
Usually, the manager is able to figure-out which type to use by
itself.
Error: Illegal folder URL '$url'.
The folder name was specified as URL, but not according to the
syntax. See decodeFolderURL() for an description of the syntax.
Error: No foldername specified to open.
"open()" needs a folder name as first argument (before the list of
options), or with the "folder" option within the list. If no name
was found, the MAIL environment variable is checked. When even
that does not result in a usable folder, then this error is
produced. The error may be caused by an accidental odd-length
option list.
Error: Package $package does not implement $method.
Fatal error: the specific package (or one of its superclasses) does
not implement this method where it should. This message means that
some other related classes do implement this method however the
class at hand does not. Probably you should investigate this and
probably inform the author of the package.
Error: Use appendMessage() to add messages which are not in a folder.
You do not need to copy this message into the folder, because you
do not share the message between folders.
Warning: Use moveMessage() or copyMessage() to move between open
folders.
The message is already part of a folder, and now it should be
appended to a different folder. You need to decide between copy or
move, which both will clone the message (not the body, because they
are immutable).
Warning: Will never create a folder $name without having write access.
You have set open(create), but only want to read the folder.
Create is only useful for folders which have write or append access
modes (see Mail::Box::new(access)).
SEE ALSO
This module is part of Mail-Box distribution version 2.097, built on
January 26, 2011. Website: http://perl.overmeer.net/mailbox/
LICENSE
Copyrights 2001-2011 by Mark Overmeer. For other contributors see
ChangeLog.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself. See
http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html
perl v5.14.1 2011-01-26 Mail::Box::Manager(3)
