Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
use a
mail client
(email software installed on your computer) or you can
log into a web-based interface maintained by your email provider.
mail client
Software installed on a computer
that is used to compose and manage email.
Figure.9 2
Email is a store-and-forward system involving mail servers on the Internet. Mail is forwarded from one mail server to another and
then is stored until the recipient picks it up.
Most providers that offer free email services, like Google, Yahoo!, and
AOL, are primarily web-based. These types of email accounts are some-
times referred to as
HTTP email accounts
. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer
Protocol) is a protocol for web content transmission. You might be able
to set up certain mail clients to work with those accounts, but it is gener-
ally expected that you will use the web interface.
HTTP email account
An email account
designed to be used with a web interface, and
uses web technology for email management.
On the other hand, a mail client is customarily used for most email accounts
that someone pays for, either directly or indirectly. For example, the email
accounts at your workplace, the accounts that your ISP provides to you, and
the accounts that you have through a web-hosting service (for example, if you
own a domain name) are all designed to be used with a mail client.
Two kinds of email accounts are designed to be used with mail clients: a
POP account
and an
IMAP account
. Each uses a different protocol for
receiving mail, and offers slightly different advantages.
POP account
An email account designed to be
used with an email client and uses POP protocol
for receiving mail.
IMAP account
An email account designed
to be used with an email client and uses IMAP
protocol for receiving mail.
◾
Post Office Protocol (POP)
is a literal store-and-forward proto-
col. It holds the messages until you pick them up, but it doesn't
maintain any direct communication with your email client. You can
choose to leave the messages on the server or delete them from
the server after you pick them up, but what you do with them after
that point is of no concern to the server. For example, you could
delete an email from your email client, and the message would
continue to persist on the server. POP accounts work well for
people who always work with their email from the same computer.
Post Office Protocol (POP)
A protocol for
receiving email through a mail client.
◾
Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP)
is a modified version of
store-and-forward. It continues to hold your messages even after you
Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP)
A
protocol for receiving email through a mail client.
