This is Consider-IMAP-instead-of-POP in view mode; [Up]
Date: Sun 22-Mar-1990 23:07:28 From: Unknown Subject: Consider IMAP instead of POP Recently there have been a lot of messages on TCP-IP asking about POP-based software. There is an alternative to POP, IMAP, described in RFC-1064. The IMAP protocol is technically superior to POP; it provides significantly more advanced server functionality (including server-based RFC-822 parsing and a server-based search engine) which allows for simpler, yet more powerful, clients. We've been chary about advertising, since we're actively working on various IMAP-based tools and don't want people to get the wrong idea about our software based on incomplete development versions. However, that doesn't mean that IMAP is vapor; it's been in use at Stanford University, the University of Washington, NTT, and other organizations for years. A beta IMAP distribution is available for anonymous FTP as pub/imap.tar.Z from Internet host ftphost.CAC.Washington.EDU, IP address [128.95.112.1]. On Unix, the commands "uncompress imap.tar.Z" followed by "tar xf imap.tar" will give you an IMAP directory. This distribution includes: (1) IMAP client for Xerox Lisp (no further development planned) (2) IMAP server for DEC-20/TOPS-20 (no further development planned) (3) IMAP server for BSD Unix (contact yeager@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU for updates; this software is under active development) (4) Portable IMAP client library in C, with OS-dependent interfaces for BSD Unix, TOPS-20, Macintosh, and MS-DOS. (4a) portable "test" IMAP client (4b) BSD Unix IMAP client with MM-like interface (4c) NeXT GUI client in advanced and stripped-down form (contact me for updates; this software is being changed daily) Sources to everything except for (4c) are included. In addition, Stanford University has developed a Macintosh client; contact yeager@SUMEX-AIM.STANFORD.EDU for information on how to obtain a beta copy. I have been contacted by various individuals who are developing MS-DOS clients; I don't know if any have been released yet. The main thrust of my recent efforts has been in the NeXT client. I should caution that the NeXT GUI client is still in beta test and that one functionality (the address book) doesn't work at all. However, it has been operable enough for me to use as my primary mail UA for a year now. >From: lane@sumex-aim.stanford.edu (Christopher Lane)
Date: Sun 24-Mar-1990 01:05:19 From: Unknown Subject: Re: Consider IMAP instead of POP In IMAP, you've advertised as as a feature great server search facilities, and the fact that the server protects the client from as much state as possible. It would seem to me that such an approach would produce a bottleneck of server resources far faster than POP would. In a large scale arena such as SUMEX, would it not be better to design a protocol where you assume that the free cycles will be on MANY client machines, rather than a few servers? I suppose taken to extremes I should stick to FTP, but I would see where both POP and IMAP (and FTP) have their places...
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