Feedback service mail service

    All (and if not all, then many) modern mail services are based on a bunch of very old, but time-tested POP3, SMTP or, less commonly, IMAP4 protocols. POP3 protocol allows you to receive mail, SMTP - send. IMAP4 differs from POP3 only in developed means of storing and searching mail on the server (I specifically exaggerate, do not pay attention).

    We create a letter, click "Send". A connection is made to the SMTP server, an email is sent. We click “Receive”, the mail program connects to the POP3 server, checks for the presence of letters and, if there are any, merges them into the computer. Everything is simple.

    But what should I do if I want to receive a letter, not checking my mailbox thirty-three times, but one, guaranteed? Modern popular mail services allow you to activate the service "notification to the mailbox". The question is, what's the point? Do I have to check one box to find out if I received a letter to another? Rave. There is also a “mobile phone notification” service. But this option does not suit me personally, because it requires money. Yes, and call operative the reception of mail through this service I would beware.

    And here comes the idea (I was not the first one to come, I'm sure!) Of a mail service with the principle of feedback. One of the options for implementing this feedback I will describe below. In the client program, together with the standard functions for receiving messages, a small smtp server (small letters for a small service) is included, which can only receive a notification of a new message. In the notification body, you can already transfer any information, such as the name of the sender, the time of receipt of correspondence or the letter itself. Thus, you can save on traffic well (we do not frantically check the mail countlessly, but wait for the notification), slightly increasing the load on the server with an unnecessary operation (although we will immediately offload it by reducing the number of calls).

    I repeat, this is only one way of organizing the interaction of the server and the client. You can also consider notifications on IM, but the value is precisely in the automation of the process and its transparency to the user.

    What do you think about this?

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