Requiem

[Steve Lamb]

On Wed, Jun 14, 2000 at 08:00:37PM -0400, Larry Ebbitt wrote:
> I surely do wish some kind soul would explain to me the
> advantages of IMAP.  I can't imagine it being good enough 
> to switch to a  <shudder> command line interface.

    Note to self, add search engine capability to archives, maybe add FAQ.

    From the archives a message from me back in 10/98.  I'd provide a link but
that month is one of the several that cause hypermail to choke.  Someone was
asking the difference between IMAP and LDAP.

--- SNIP ---

    IMAP = Internet Mail Access Protocol.

    Most people know that POP (Post Office Protocol) is for retrieving mail
and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is for sending mail.  IMAP is a
cross between POP and NFS (Network File System).  I say that beacuse IMAP
allows you to manipulate email messages on the server as if they were local.
You can have remote folders that store mail, you only retrieve the headers
and the portions of the mail that you want to look at, etc.

    The main advantage of IMAP, for me, is that the mail is stored at the
servers.  Since half my mail is at work and the other half is at home
(professional mail versus personal mail) it would be easier for me to have
things filtered as the servers get them and then have PMMail access those
folders remotely.  I just shutdown PMMail at one location and start up at the
other.  Currently I actually archive up the accounts I want to move back and
forth and carry them on a ZIP disk.

    Another advantage of IMAP is that only the parts you want to download are
downloaded.  Say someone sends you a 300k attachment, a picture of their new
brat.  With POP you download the whole 300k so you can read the message "Hey,
it's my new brat!" and then get disgusted and delete it.  With IMAP the MUA
downloads the header which gives you the information of the message (number
of attachments, who it is from, subject, etc.)  Then you can double clikc and
the MUA will download only the part you just requested, the body.  It shows
the body.  "Hey, it's my new brat!"  You then get disgusted and delete it
from the server without ever having to download the 300k attachment.

    LDAP is....  Uhm, crap, can't remember the name.  It is, in a nutshell, a
centralized addressbook.  For the internet in general I don't feel it is too
useful.  However, people on this list have pointed out that their company has
an LDAP server to lookup internal email addresses.  In that context it is
EXTREMELY useful.

--- SNIP ---

    Please note that I am understating the capabilities of both and LDAP is
more than address lookup, that is just the most common use for email clients.

 
-- 
         Steve C. Lamb         | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
         ICQ: 5107343          | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
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