Fetchmail
Encyclopedia
Fetchmail is an open source software utility for POSIX
-compliant operating systems which is used to retrieve e-mail
from a remote POP3
, IMAP
, ETRN or ODMR
mail server to the user's local system. It was developed from the popclient program, written by Carl Harris.
Its chief significance is perhaps that its author, Eric S. Raymond
, used it as a model to discuss his theories of open source
software development in a widely-read and influential essay on software development methodologies, The Cathedral and the Bazaar
.
is not supported.
Some programmers, including Dan Bernstein, getmail
creator Charles Cazabon and FreeBSD developer Terry Lambert, have criticized Fetchmail's design, its number of security holes, and that it was prematurely put into "maintenance mode". In 2004, a new team of maintainers took over Fetchmail development, and laid out development plans that in some cases broke with design decisions that Eric Raymond had made in earlier versions.
POSIX
POSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
-compliant operating systems which is used to retrieve e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
from a remote POP3
Post Office Protocol
In computing, the Post Office Protocol is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by local e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a remote server over a TCP/IP connection. POP and IMAP are the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval. Virtually all modern...
, IMAP
Internet Message Access Protocol
Internet message access protocol is one of the two most prevalent Internet standard protocols for e-mail retrieval, the other being the Post Office Protocol...
, ETRN or ODMR
On-Demand Mail Relay
On-Demand Mail Relay is an SMTP extension standardized in RFC 2645 that allows e-mail to be relayed to the recipient after he has been authenticated...
mail server to the user's local system. It was developed from the popclient program, written by Carl Harris.
Its chief significance is perhaps that its author, Eric S. Raymond
Eric S. Raymond
Eric Steven Raymond , often referred to as ESR, is an American computer programmer, author and open source software advocate. After the 1997 publication of The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Raymond was for a number of years frequently quoted as an unofficial spokesman for the open source movement...
, used it as a model to discuss his theories of open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software development in a widely-read and influential essay on software development methodologies, The Cathedral and the Bazaar
The Cathedral and the Bazaar
The Cathedral and the Bazaar is an essay by Eric S. Raymond on software engineering methods, based on his observations of the Linux kernel development process and his experiences managing an open source project, fetchmail. It examines the struggle between top-down and bottom-up design...
.
Design
By design Fetchmail's only means of delivering messages is by submitting them the local MTA; delivering directly to mail folders such as maildirMaildir
The Maildir e-mail format is a common way of storing e-mail messages, where each message is kept in a separate file with a unique name, and each folder is a directory...
is not supported.
Some programmers, including Dan Bernstein, getmail
Getmail
getmail is a simple mail retrieval agent intended as a replacement for fetchmail, implemented in Python. It can retrieve mail from POP3, IMAP4 and Standard Dial-up POP3 Service servers, with or without SSL...
creator Charles Cazabon and FreeBSD developer Terry Lambert, have criticized Fetchmail's design, its number of security holes, and that it was prematurely put into "maintenance mode". In 2004, a new team of maintainers took over Fetchmail development, and laid out development plans that in some cases broke with design decisions that Eric Raymond had made in earlier versions.
See also
- Mail retrieval agentMail retrieval agentA mail retrieval agent is a computer application that retrieves or fetches e-mail from a remote mail server and works with an mail delivery agent to deliver mail to a local or remote email mailbox. MRAs may be external applications by themselves or be built into a bigger application like an MUA...
- getmailGetmailgetmail is a simple mail retrieval agent intended as a replacement for fetchmail, implemented in Python. It can retrieve mail from POP3, IMAP4 and Standard Dial-up POP3 Service servers, with or without SSL...
- fdm (e-mail utility)Fdm (e-mail utility)fdm is a simple, lightweight replacement for mail fetch, filter and delivery programs such as fetchmail and procmail ....