NAME

Mail::Field::Received -- mostly RFC822-compliant parser of Received headers

SYNOPSIS

  use Mail::Field;

  my $received = Mail::Field->new('Received', $header);
  my $results = $received->parse_tree();
  my $parsed_ok = $received->parsed_ok();
  my $diagnostics = $received->diagnostics();

DESCRIPTION

Don't use this class directly! Instead ask Mail::Field for new instances based on the field name!

Mail::Field::Received provides subroutines for parsing Received headers from e-mails. It mostly complies with RFC822, but deviates to accomodate a number of broken MTAs which are in common use. It also attempts to extract useful information which MTAs often embed within the "(comments)".

It is a subclass derived from the Mail::Field and Mail::Field::Generic classes.

ROUTINES

debug
Returns current debugging level obtained via the "diagnostics" method. If a parameter is given, the debugging level is changed. The default level is 3.
diagnose
```
  $received->diagnose("foo", "\n");
    
```
Appends stuff to the parser's diagnostics buffer.
diagnostics
```
  my $diagnostics = $received->diagnostics();
    
```
Returns the contents of the parser's diagnostics buffer.
parse
The actual parser. Returns the object (Mail::Field barfs otherwise).
parsed_ok
```
  if ($received->parsed_ok()) {
    ...
  }
    
```
Returns true if the parse succeed, or if it failed, but was permitted to fail for some reason, such as encountering evidence of a known broken (non-RFC822-compliant) format mid-parse.

parse_tree

  my $parse_tree = $received->parse_tree();

Returns the actual parse tree, which is where you get all the useful information. It is returned as a hashref whose keys are strings like `from', `by', `with', `id', `via' etc., corresponding to the components of Received headers as defined by RFC822:

  received    =  "Received"    ":"            ; one per relay
                    ["from" domain]           ; sending host
                    ["by"   domain]           ; receiving host
                    ["via"  atom]             ; physical path
                   *("with" atom)             ; link/mail protocol
                    ["id"   msg-id]           ; receiver msg id
                    ["for"  addr-spec]        ; initial form
                     ";"    date-time         ; time received

The corresponding values are more hashrefs which are mini-parse-trees for these individual components. A typical parse tree looks something like:

  {
   'by' => {
            'domain' => 'host5.hostingcheck.com',
            'whole' => 'by host5.hostingcheck.com',
            'comments' => [
                           '(8.9.3/8.9.3)'
                          ],
           },
   'date_time' => {
                   'year' => 2000,
                   'week_day' => 'Tue',
                   'minute' => 57,
                   'day_of_year' => '1 Feb',
                   'month_day' => ' 1',
                   'zone' => '-0500',
                   'second' => 18,
                   'hms' => '21:57:18',
                   'date_time' => 'Tue, 1 Feb 2000 21:57:18 -0500',
                   'hour' => 21,
                   'month' => 'Feb',
                   'rest' => '2000 21:57:18 -0500',
                   'whole' => 'Tue, 1 Feb 2000 21:57:18 -0500'
                  },
   'with' => {
              'with' => 'ESMTP',
              'whole' => 'with ESMTP'
             },
   'from' => {
              'domain' => 'mediacons.tecc.co.uk',
              'HELO' => 'tr909.mediaconsult.com',
              'from' => 'tr909.mediaconsult.com',
              'address' => '193.128.6.132',
              'comments' => [
                             '(mediacons.tecc.co.uk [193.128.6.132])',
                            ],
              'whole' => 'from tr909.mediaconsult.com (mediacons.tecc.co.uk [193.128.6.132])
'  
             },
   'id' => {
            'id' => 'VAA24164',
            'whole' => 'id VAA24164'
           },
   'comments' => [
                  '(mediacons.tecc.co.uk [193.128.6.132])',
                  '(8.9.3/8.9.3)'
                 ],
   'for' => {
             'for' => '<adam@spiers.net>',
             'whole' => 'for <adam@spiers.net>'
            },
   'whole' => 'from tr909.mediaconsult.com (mediacons.tecc.co.uk [193.128.6.132]) by host5.hostingcheck.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA24164 for <adam@spiers.net>; Tue, 1 Feb 2000 21:57:18 -0500'
  }

BUGS

Doesn't use Parse::RecDescent, which it maybe should.

Doesn't offer a `strict RFC822' parsing mode. To implement that would be a royal pain in the arse, unless we move to Parse::RecDescent.

AUTHOR

Adam Spiers <adam@spiers.net>