MIME -- Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions

MIME is used to build mail messages containing multiple attachments which can then be sent using the SMTP protocol across the Internet.

Mime is defined in the standards documents RFC 2045 - 2049

Mime Creation

The create function can be used to create an Mime module eg.

    (create Mime)

Once created, this module is tailored using its properties and methods.

Mime Properties

An Mime module supports the following properties:

property name	property type	description
`separator`	String	separating character used on `Content-Type` lines
`headers`	List	a-list of attribute/value pairs
`version`	String	MIME version of a message
`contentType`	String	the `Content-Type` of the message
`contentTransferEncoding`	String	the `Content-Transfer-Encoding` of the message
`contentDisposition`	String	the `Content-Disposition` of the message
`mediaType`	String	the media-type fragment (in lower-case) of the `Content-Type`
`mediaSubType`	String	the media sub-type fragment (in lower-case) of the `Content-Type`
`mediaOptions`	List	the a-list of options from the `Content-Type`
`dispositionType`	String	the disposition-type fragment (in lower-case) of the `Content-Disposition`
`dispositionOptions`	List	a-list of attribute/value pairs of options from the `Content-Disposition`
`errorClass`	Integer	class of Mime-specific errors

Mime Methods

The Mime module supports the following methods.

method name	description
`newBoundary`	create a new boundary to separate attachments
`startMultipart`	start to build a multipart message
`attachFile`	append a file attachment -- the content type is determined by the filename extension
`attachTextFile`	append a plain text file attachment
`attachHTMLFile`	append an HTML file attachment
`attachGIF`	append an GIF image attachment
`attachJPEG`	append an JPEG image attachment
`attachBitmap`	append an BMP image attachment
`attachMsWord`	append an MS Word document - an optional `Binary` data item may be supplied which is the content, otherwise the file is opened and the content sent
`attachPlain`	append a plain text attachment
`attachMail`	append a mail message attachment
`attachHTML`	append an HTML attachment
`attach`	append arbitray attachment
`buildMultipart`	build the multipart message, returning `(contentType, dataString)`
`splitHeader`	split the header off from the message
`useContentType`	use the supplied content type
`useHeader`	get the header info from the supplied text
`splitLine`	split a line in the format `xxxxx; attrib=value ...`
`splitMultipart`	split the multipart body -- returns a list of `(header body)` pairs
`splitBinaryMultipart`	split the binary multipart body -- returns a list of `(header body)` pairs where body is a `Binary`
`findPart`	attempt to find a bodypart of the given media type and sub type

`newBoundary`

Create a new boundary to separate attachments.

Arguments: none

Return type: String

`startMultipart`

Start to build a multipart message.

Arguments: none

Return type: the empty List

`attachMsWord`

Append an MS Word document - an optional Binary data item may be supplied which is the content, otherwise the file is opened and the content sent.

Arguments:

filename	`String`
(optional) data	`Binary`

Return type: the empty List

`attachPlain`

Append a plain text attachment.

Arguments:

data String

Return type: the empty List

`attachFile`

Append a file attachment -- the content type is determined by the filename extension.

Arguments:

path String

Return type: the empty List

`attachTextFile`

Append a text file attachment.

Arguments:

path String

Return type: the empty List

`attachHTMLFile`

Append an HTML file attachment.

Arguments:

path String

Return type: the empty List

`attachGIF`

Append a GIF image file attachment.

Arguments:

path String

Return type: the empty List

`attachJPEG`

Append a JPEG image file attachment.

Arguments:

path String

Return type: the empty List

`attachBitmap`

Append a bitmap image file attachment.

Arguments:

path String

Return type: the empty List

`attachMail`

Append a mail message attachment.

Arguments:

subject	`String`
data	`String`

Return type: the empty List

`attachHTML`

Append an HTML attachment.

Arguments:

data String

Return type: the empty List

`attach`

Append arbitray attachment.

Arguments:

headers	`List`
data	`String`

Return type: the empty List

`buildMultipart`

Build the multipart message, returning (contentType, dataString).

Arguments:

boundary String

Return type: List

`splitHeader`

Split the header off from the message.

Arguments:

msg String

Return type: String

`useContentType`

Use the supplied content type.

Arguments:

cType String

Return type: the empty List

`useHeader`

Get the header info from the supplied text.

Arguments:

header String

Return type: the empty List

`splitLine`

Split a line in the format


     xxxxx; attrib=value ...

Arguments:

line String

Return type: List

`splitMultipart`

Split the multipart body -- returns a list of (header body) pairs.

Arguments:

msg String

Return type: List

`splitBinaryMultipart`

Split the binary multipart body -- returns a list of (header body) pairs where body is a Binary.

Arguments:

msg Binary

Return type: List

`findPart`

Attempt to find a bodypart of the given media type and sub type.

Arguments:

mediaType	`String`
subType	`String`
parts	`List`

Return type: List

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Related topics: communications classes, objects