Electronic Mail A Basic Knowhow
Electronic mail, popularly known as email, is a process of exchanging messages digitally
. In this process messages are stored and forwarded through different storage servers. In these servers email data are stored and fetched when required.
A Brief Detail
An email has two parts: the header and the body. The header contains important information like senders address, the time email was sent and delivered etc.
Email was initially just a text message. However, with the gradual improvement in technology, attachments became a part of emails too. Gone are those days when email messages had a meager size limit of a few KBs. Nowadays, messages of more than 10 MB can be sent easily.
Email Clients
Now lets find out what the email clients are. There are different standalone email clients like MS Outlook, Outlook express, Thunderbird, Seamonkey etc. On the other hand, there are also some popular web based email clients like Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo etc. Whichever email client you use, the tasks performed are overall the same. Following are some of the activities that your email client will let you do:
Shows you a list of all of the messages in your mailbox by displaying the message headers. The header shows you who sent the mail, the subject of the mail and may also show the time and date of the message and the message size.
Lets you select a message header and read the body of the e-mail message.
Lets you create new messages and send them. You type in the e-mail address of the recipient and the subject of the message, and then type the body of the message.
Lets you add attachments to the messages you send and also save the attachments from messages you receive.
Email Servers
Now that we have learnt about email clients, lets find out what else is required for the complete functioning of the process. The most important of all, without which emails will not work, is the Email Server for the clients to connect to.
There are different servers for different purposes. POP/POP3, IMAP servers handle incoming email, SMTP server handles outgoing email.
POP stands for POST OFFICE PROTOCOL and IMAP stands for INTERNET MESSAGE ACCESS PROTOCOL.
There are certain differences between POP/POP3 and IMAP server. The differences majorly lie in the way these servers operate. Both have their own pros and cons.
POP3 always downloads all new emails locally to your computer.
IMAP downloads message summaries and doesn't download the entire message until you want it to.
POP3 downloads all emails into 1 mail folder called "Inbox".
IMAP preserves your folder structure in a main folder called "imap.*.com".
POP3 is useful if you only access your email from one computer, since the email is typically downloaded locally (this is the default and can be changed).
IMAP allows email to be manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office, and a notebook computer while traveling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth between these computers.
With POP3, your emails can be automatically erased from the server after they are downloaded freeing up space in your account.
IMAP keeps all emails on the server until you erase them.
Now lets throw some light on the SMTP server. Lets find out what it is and what its functions are. SMTP stands for SIMPLE MAIL TRANSFER PROTOCOL. SMTP is used for delivering emails to the recipients email address. It is used in conjunction with a POP/POP3 or IMAP server. Email clients use either a POP3 or IMAP along with SMTP. Without these, mails can only be received; you wont be able to send mails.
The last protocol is the HTTP, which stands for HYPER TEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL. This is not a protocol which is dedicated for email communications, though it can be used to compose or retrieve mails. This is also called web based email.
The last one is the usage of MS Exchange for email clients like OUTLOOK. This is used in corporate environments with MS infrastructure solutions. Its major features include email, calendar, contacts and tasks etc. It also can be synched to a hand held device or a mobile. It also supports data storage.
MS exchange has come a long way with its different versions starting from Exchange 1.0. The most recent version is MS Exchange Server 2010.
by:James Madison
3 Stroller Safety Tips You Cant Ignore Why Radio Controlled Clocks Are the World's Most Accurate Clock Safety Switches: Keeping Safe Want To Know Where To Buy Electronics? Vital Road Side Signage For Safety Give Your Child More Freedom With A Child Safety Tracking Device Vehicular Safety For Children Understanding The Importance Of Fire Safety Training Understanding Fire Safety Regulations And Fire Risk Assessment The Power Of Health And Safety Cartoons For Children And Adults Browns Ladders launches nationwide safety training courses Occupational Safety Training: Ensure Highest Safety Standards At Workplace Important Safety Precautions In Concrete Pumping