Subject: Detailed server documentation

From: "Russ Atkind" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 22:56:59 -0500

Hey Mark and others,

I am developing an IMAP client and would like to know if there is any
documentation available on the choices that the popular IMAP4rev1 servers
make within the bounds of the specs -- either server-specific docs, or docs
that discuss several servers.  Stuff like how they handle namespaces, how
they interpret the reference argument, how they deal with multi-access and
the commands whose behavior may vary, etc.  I have looked around a
considerable amount and found nothing, but with so many conferences, etc.,
it would seem really surprising if none of this stuff had been documented.

Russ

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From: Chris Newman <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 14:40:51 -0800 (PST)

> it would seem really surprising if none of this stuff had been documented.

If you wrote a client based on assumptions from such a list, then your
client will break against a compliant server someone may write in the
future and it will be your fault.  Therefore, I assume you don't need this
information for your client, but are simply asking out of curiosity.
Here's a few:

Cyrus:
 * Uses "." delimiter
 * Reference is used as base for relative paths.  Relative paths begin
   with a "."
 * Can have on the order of 10,000 folders in response to LIST "" *
 * A mailbox can be both selectable and have sub-mailboxes
 * CREATE foo.  is a noop
 * Personal folders are in "INBOX.*", public folders at top level

UW:
 * Uses "/" as primary delimiter, but "." for newsgroups
 * Reference is used as base for relative paths.  Relative paths are those
   which don't begin with "/".
 * With some drivers a mailbox can be both selectable and have
   sub-mailboxes, but not with default Unix driver.
 * CREATE foo/  creates a \NOSELECT folder
 * Personal folders are sometimes at the top level and sometimes under a
   user-specific sub-directory such as mail/ or sometimes in a magic
   namespace (#mh), public folders are in various places reached by
   namespaces or other escape characters.
 * Some drivers don't support multiple read-write selects of the same
   folder.

Innosoft VMS:
 * Uses NIL hierarchy delimiter  (this will change to "/" in the future)
 * Path is appended to reference
 * newer versions support multiple read-write access
 * personal folders at top level, public folders are available through
   escape characters (VMS paths)

That's not a bad sample for odd behaviors.

		- Chris

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From: Alexey Melnikov <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 03:21:30 +0300

> information for your client, but are simply asking out of curiosity.

Chris, you remind me that I wanted to ask you about the status of NAMESPACE
draft. Did your know any server, that implemented it?

BTW: I suggest to create special web page (at www.imap.org? or I can suggest
website of my firm as alternative), describing extensions, supported by different
servers/clients. This will prevent people from asking many times : "Who
implemented extension XXX?". Has this idea any interest?

Alexey
------------------------------------------
SMTP/POP3/IMAP4/ACAP servers creation team
"ACAP Explorer" client
Imap Development Kit (my own product)

Epsylon Technologies, Russia
 http://www.demo.ru
------------------------------------------

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From: Mark Crispin <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 16:26:44 -0800 (PST)

On Wed, 25 Mar 1998 03:21:30 +0300, Alexey Melnikov wrote:
> I wanted to ask you about the status of NAMESPACE

My server implements NAMESPACE.

Pine 4.00 uses it at the client level.