NAME

Mail::Box::File - handle file-based folders

INHERITANCE

Mail::Box::File
  is a Mail::Box
  is a Mail::Reporter

Mail::Box::File is extended by
  Mail::Box::Dbx
  Mail::Box::Mbox

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

Mail::Box::File is the base-class for all file-based folders: folders which bundle multiple messages into one single file. Usually, these messages are separated by a special line which indicates the start of the next one.

Extends "DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Box.

OVERLOADED

Extends "OVERLOADED" in Mail::Box.

overload: "": Inherited, see "OVERLOADED" in Mail::Box
overload: @{}: Inherited, see "OVERLOADED" in Mail::Box
overload: cmp: Inherited, see "OVERLOADED" in Mail::Box

METHODS

Extends "METHODS" in Mail::Box.

Constructors

Extends "Constructors" in Mail::Box.

Mail::Box::File->new(%options)

-Option           --Defined in     --Default
 access             Mail::Box        'r'
 body_delayed_type  Mail::Box        Mail::Message::Body::Delayed
 body_type                           <see description>
 coerce_options     Mail::Box        []
 create             Mail::Box        <false>
 extract            Mail::Box        10240
 field_type         Mail::Box        undef
 fix_headers        Mail::Box        <false>
 folder             Mail::Box        $ENV{MAIL}
 folderdir          Mail::Box        $ENV{HOME}.'/Mail'
 head_delayed_type  Mail::Box        Mail::Message::Head::Delayed
 head_type          Mail::Box        Mail::Message::Head::Complete
 keep_dups          Mail::Box        <false>
 lock_extension                      '.lock'
 lock_file          Mail::Box        <foldername><lock-extension>
 lock_timeout       Mail::Box        1 hour
 lock_type          Mail::Box        Mail::Box::Locker::DotLock
 lock_wait          Mail::Box        10 seconds
 locker             Mail::Box        undef
 log                Mail::Reporter   'WARNINGS'
 manager            Mail::Box        undef
 message_type       Mail::Box        Mail::Box::File::Message
 multipart_type     Mail::Box        Mail::Message::Body::Multipart
 remove_when_empty  Mail::Box        <true>
 save_on_exit       Mail::Box        <true>
 trace              Mail::Reporter   'WARNINGS'
 trusted            Mail::Box        <depends on folder location>
 write_policy                        undef

access => MODE

body_delayed_type => CLASS

body_type => CLASS|CODE

The default body_type option for File folders, which will cause messages larger than 10kB to be stored in files and smaller files in memory, is implemented like this:

sub determine_body_type($$)
{   my $head = shift;
    my $size = shift || 0;
    'Mail::Message::Body::'
       . ($size > 10000 ? 'File' : 'Lines');
}

coerce_options => ARRAY

create => BOOLEAN

extract => INTEGER | CODE | METHOD | 'LAZY'|'ALWAYS'

field_type => CLASS

fix_headers => BOOLEAN

folder => FOLDERNAME

folderdir => DIRECTORY

head_delayed_type => CLASS

head_type => CLASS

keep_dups => BOOLEAN

lock_extension => FILENAME|STRING

When the dotlock locking mechanism is used, the lock is created with a hardlink to the folder file. For Mail::Box::File type of folders, this file is by default named as the folder-file itself followed by .lock. For example: the Mail/inbox folder file will have a hardlink made as Mail/inbox.lock.

You may specify an absolute filename, a relative (to the folder's directory) filename, or an extension (preceded by a dot). So valid examples are:

.lock        # appended to the folder's filename
my_own_lockfile.test   # full filename, same dir
/etc/passwd            # somewhere else

When the program runs with less privileges (as normal user), often the default inbox folder can not be locked with the lockfile name which is produced by default.

lock_file => FILENAME

lock_timeout => SECONDS

lock_type => CLASS|STRING|ARRAY

lock_wait => SECONDS

locker => OBJECT

log => LEVEL

manager => MANAGER

message_type => CLASS

multipart_type => CLASS

remove_when_empty => BOOLEAN

save_on_exit => BOOLEAN

trace => LEVEL

trusted => BOOLEAN

write_policy => 'REPLACE'|'INPLACE'|undef

Sets the default write policy, as default for a later call to write(policy). With undef, the best policy is autodetected.

The folder

Extends "The folder" in Mail::Box.

$obj->addMessage($message, %options)

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->addMessages(@messages)

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

Mail::Box::File->appendMessages(%options)

Appending messages to a file based folder which is not opened is a little risky. In practice, this is often done without locking the folder. So, another application may write to the folder at the same time... :( Hopefully, all goes fast enough that the chance on collision is small.

All %options of Mail::Box::Mbox::new() can be supplied.

-Option   --Defined in     --Default
 folder     Mail::Box        <required>
 lock_type                   NONE
 message    Mail::Box        undef
 messages   Mail::Box        undef
 share      Mail::Box        <false>

folder => FOLDERNAME
lock_type => ...: See Mail::Box::new(lock_type) for possible values.
message => MESSAGE
messages => ARRAY-OF-MESSAGES
share => BOOLEAN

$obj->close(%options)

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->copyTo($folder, %options)

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->delete(%options)

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->filename()

Returns the filename for this folder, which may be an absolute or relative path to the file.

example:

print $folder->filename;

$obj->folderdir( [$directory] )

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->name()

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->organization()

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->size()

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->type()

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->update(%options)

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

$obj->url()

Inherited, see "The folder" in Mail::Box

Folder flags

Extends "Folder flags" in Mail::Box.

$obj->access(): Inherited, see "Folder flags" in Mail::Box
$obj->isModified(): Inherited, see "Folder flags" in Mail::Box
$obj->modified( [BOOLEAN] ): Inherited, see "Folder flags" in Mail::Box
$obj->writable(): Inherited, see "Folder flags" in Mail::Box

The messages

Extends "The messages" in Mail::Box.

$obj->current( [$number|$message|$message_id] ): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->find($message_id): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->findFirstLabeled( $label, [BOOLEAN, [$msgs]] ): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->message( $index, [$message] ): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->messageId( $message_id, [$message] ): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->messageIds(): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->messages( <'ALL'|$range|'ACTIVE'|'DELETED'|$label| !$label|$filter> ): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->nrMessages(%options): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box
$obj->scanForMessages($message, $message_ids, $timespan, $window): Inherited, see "The messages" in Mail::Box

Sub-folders

Extends "Sub-folders" in Mail::Box.

$obj->listSubFolders(%options)
Mail::Box::File->listSubFolders(%options): Inherited, see "Sub-folders" in Mail::Box
$obj->nameOfSubFolder( $subname, [$parentname] )
Mail::Box::File->nameOfSubFolder( $subname, [$parentname] ): Inherited, see "Sub-folders" in Mail::Box
$obj->openRelatedFolder(%options): Inherited, see "Sub-folders" in Mail::Box
$obj->openSubFolder($subname, %options): Inherited, see "Sub-folders" in Mail::Box
$obj->topFolderWithMessages()
Mail::Box::File->topFolderWithMessages(): Inherited, see "Sub-folders" in Mail::Box

Internals

Extends "Internals" in Mail::Box.

$obj->coerce($message, %options)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->create($foldername, %options)

Mail::Box::File->create($foldername, %options)

-Option   --Defined in--Default
 folderdir  Mail::Box   undef

folderdir => DIRECTORY

$obj->determineBodyType($message, $head)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->folderToFilename( $foldername, $folderdir, [$subext] )

Mail::Box::File->folderToFilename( $foldername, $folderdir, [$subext] )

Translate a folder name into a filename, using the $folderdir value to replace a leading =. $subext is only used for MBOX folders.

Mail::Box::File->foundIn( [$foldername], %options )

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->lineSeparator( [<STRING|'CR'|'LF'|'CRLF'>] )

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->locker()

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->messageCreateOptions( [$type, $config] )

Returns a key-value list of options to be used each time a new message is read from a file. The list is preceded by the $type of message which has to be created.

This data is used by readMessages() and updateMessages(). With $type and $config, a new configuration is set.

$obj->moveAwaySubFolder($directory, $extension)

The $directory is renamed by appending the $extension, which defaults to ".d", to make place for a folder file on that specific location. false is returned if this failed.

$obj->parser()

Create a parser for this mailbox. The parser stays alive as long as the folder is open.

$obj->read(%options)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->readMessages(%options)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->storeMessage($message)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->toBeThreaded($messages)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->toBeUnthreaded($messages)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

$obj->updateMessages(%options)

For file based folders, the file handle stays open until the folder is closed. Update is therefore rather simple: move to the end of the last known message, and continue reading...

$obj->write(%options)

-Option      --Defined in     --Default
 force         Mail::Box        <false>
 policy                         undef
 save_deleted  Mail::Box        <false>

force => BOOLEAN

policy => 'REPLACE'|'INPLACE'|undef

In what way will the mail folder be updated. If not specified during the write, the value of the new(write_policy) at folder creation is taken.

Valid values:

REPLACE

First a new folder is written in the same directory as the folder which has to be updated, and then a call to move will throw away the old immediately replacing it by the new.

Writing in REPLACE module is slightly optimized: messages which are not modified are copied from file to file, byte by byte. This is much faster than printing the data which is will be done for modified messages.
INPLACE

The original folder file will be opened read/write. All message which where not changed will be left untouched, until the first deleted or modified message is detected. All further messages are printed again.
undef

As default, or when undef is explicitly specified, first REPLACE mode is tried. Only when that fails, an INPLACE update is performed.

INPLACE will be much faster than REPLACE when applied on large folders, however requires the truncate function to be implemented on your operating system (at least available for recent versions of Linux, Solaris, Tru64, HPUX). It is also dangerous: when the program is interrupted during the update process, the folder is corrupted. Data may be lost.

However, in some cases it is not possible to write the folder with REPLACE. For instance, the usual incoming mail folder on UNIX is stored in a directory where a user can not write. Of course, the root and mail users can, but if you want to use this Perl module with permission of a normal user, you can only get it to work in INPLACE mode. Be warned that in this case folder locking via a lockfile is not possible as well.

save_deleted => BOOLEAN

$obj->writeMessages(%options)

Inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Box

Other methods

Extends "Other methods" in Mail::Box.

$obj->timespan2seconds($time)
Mail::Box::File->timespan2seconds($time): Inherited, see "Other methods" in Mail::Box

Error handling

Extends "Error handling" in Mail::Box.

$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, $callback] )
Mail::Box::File->defaultTrace( [$level]|[$loglevel, $tracelevel]|[$level, $callback] ): Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->errors(): Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->log( [$level, [$strings]] )
Mail::Box::File->log( [$level, [$strings]] ): Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->logPriority($level)
Mail::Box::File->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

Extends "Cleanup" in Mail::Box.

$obj->DESTROY(): Inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Box

DETAILS

File based folders

File based folders maintain a folder (a set of messages) in one single file. The advantage is that your folder has only one single name, which speeds-up access to all messages at once.

The disadvantage over directory based folder (see Mail::Box::Dir) is that you have to construct some means to keep all message apart, for instance by adding a message separator, and this will cause problems. Where access to all messages at once is faster in file based folders, access to a single message is (much) slower, because the whole folder must be read.

DETAILS

Extends "DETAILS" in Mail::Box.

DIAGNOSTICS

Error: Cannot append messages to folder file $filename: $!

Appending messages to a not-opened file-organized folder may fail when the operating system does not allow write access to the file at hand.

Error: Cannot create directory $dir for folder $name.

While creating a file-organized folder, at most one level of directories is created above it. Apparently, more levels of directories are needed, or the operating system does not allow you to create the directory.

Error: Cannot create folder file $name: $!

The file-organized folder file cannot be created for the indicated reason. In common cases, the operating system does not grant you write access to the directory where the folder file should be stored.

Error: Cannot get a lock on $type folder $self.

A lock is required to get access to the folder. If no locking is needed, specify the NONE lock type.

Error: Cannot move away sub-folder $dir

Warning: Cannot remove folder $name file $filename: $!

Writing an empty folder will usually cause that folder to be removed, which fails for the indicated reason. new(remove_when_empty)

Warning: Cannot remove folder $name file $filename: $!

Writing an empty folder will usually cause that folder to be removed, which fails for the indicated reason. new(remove_when_empty) controls whether the empty folder will removed; setting it to false (0) may be needed to avoid this message.

Error: Cannot replace $filename by $tempname, to update folder $name: $!

The replace policy wrote a new folder file to update the existing, but was unable to give the final touch: replacing the old version of the folder file for the indicated reason.

Warning: Changes not written to read-only folder $self.

You have opened the folder read-only --which is the default set by new(access)--, made modifications, and now want to close it. Set close(force) if you want to overrule the access mode, or close the folder with close(write) set to NEVER.

Error: Copying failed for one message.

For some reason, for instance disc full, removed by external process, or read-protection, it is impossible to copy one of the messages. Copying will proceed for the other messages.

Error: Destination folder $name is not writable.

The folder where the messages are copied to is not opened with write access (see new(access)). This has no relation with write permission to the folder which is controlled by your operating system.

Warning: Different messages with id $msgid

The message id is discovered more than once within the same folder, but the content of the message seems to be different. This should not be possible: each message must be unique.

Error: File too short to get write message $nr ($size, $need)

Mail::Box is lazy: it tries to leave messages in the folders until they are used, which saves time and memory usage. When this message appears, something is terribly wrong: some lazy message are needed for updating the folder, but they cannot be retrieved from the original file anymore. In this case, messages can be lost.

This message does appear regularly on Windows systems when using the 'replace' write policy. Please help to find the cause, probably something to do with Windows incorrectly handling multiple filehandles open in the same file.

Warning: Folder $name file $filename is write-protected.

The folder is opened writable or for appending via new(access), but the operating system does not permit writing to the file. The folder will be opened read-only.

Error: Folder $name not deleted: not writable.

The folder must be opened with write access via new(access), otherwise removing it will be refused. So, you may have write-access according to the operating system, but that will not automatically mean that this delete method permits you to. The reverse remark is valid as well.

Error: Invalid timespan '$timespan' specified.

The string does not follow the strict rules of the time span syntax which is permitted as parameter.

Warning: Message-id '$msgid' does not contain a domain.

According to the RFCs, message-ids need to contain a unique random part, then an @, and then a domain name. This is made to avoid the creation of two messages with the same id. The warning emerges when the @ is missing from the string.

Error: Package $package does not implement $method.

Fatal error: the specific package (or one of its superclasses) does not implement this method where it should. This message means that some other related classes do implement this method however the class at hand does not. Probably you should investigate this and probably inform the author of the package.

Error: Unable to create subfolder $name of $folder.

The copy includes the subfolders, but for some reason it was not possible to copy one of these. Copying will proceed for all other sub-folders.

Error: Unable to update folder $self.

When a folder is to be written, both replace and inplace write policies are tried, If both fail, the whole update fails. You may see other, related, error messages to indicate the real problem.

LICENSE

Copyrights 2001-2023 by [Mark Overmeer]. For other contributors see ChangeLog.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/

To install Mail::Box, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.

cpanm

cpanm Mail::Box

CPAN shell

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install Mail::Box

For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.

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NAME

INHERITANCE

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

OVERLOADED

METHODS

Constructors

The folder

Folder flags

The messages

Sub-folders

Internals

Other methods

Error handling

Cleanup

DETAILS

File based folders

DETAILS

DIAGNOSTICS

SEE ALSO

LICENSE

Module Install Instructions