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'
    

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The folder's messages will also be withdrawn from the known message threads.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>
    

 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>>
    

 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>
    

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>
    

 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>
    

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()

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->addReport($object)

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->defaultTrace( [$level]|[$loglevel, $tracelevel]|[$level, $callback] )

Mail::Box::Manager->defaultTrace( [$level]|[$loglevel, $tracelevel]|[$level, $callback] )

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->errors()

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->log( [$level, [$strings]] )

Mail::Box::Manager->log( [$level, [$strings]] )

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->logPriority($level)

Mail::Box::Manager->logPriority($level)

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->logSettings()

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->notImplemented()

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->report( [$level] )

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->reportAll( [$level] )

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->trace( [$level] )

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

$obj->warnings()

Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

Cleanup

$obj->DESTROY()

Inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter

Managing open folders

• 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

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.