We do something like this, and there are two ways to skin this cat. I
would also suggest that you think about the security of the solution,
based on your sample it appears I'd be able to get alerts for any
client.
If you will have everyone send their requests to the same email address
then the simplest thing to do is have your email provider setup that box
(alertretriever@xxxxxxxxxxx) and just leave the messages in the box.
Then on a periodic basis (1 minute? 5 minutes? etc.) from the i make a
POP3 connection to the mailbox and retrieve the messages that are
waiting there. POP3 is a really trivial protocol to learn and could be
easily setup with Scott's socket examples (if he doesn't already have an
example of a POP3 client). Then you just parse the body and go from
there.
Or... (and this is what we've done). Setup a custom SMTP server and
handle the messages as they arrive. This is clearly more work, but the
SMTP protocol itself it relatively simple. The advantage to this
approach is that you have complete control of the inbound email address.
That is, instead of everyone sending to alertretriever@xxxxxxxxxxx and
then you having to parse out the client from the body you could have
client 12345 send an email to client-12345@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and you
could have client 23456 send an email to
client-23456@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Since you have complete control over
the "mailboxes" available you can do all sorts of things based on an
inbound email to that mailbox.
-Walden
--
Walden H Leverich III
Tech Software
(516) 627-3800 x3051
WaldenL@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.TechSoftInc.com
Quiquid latine dictum sit altum viditur.
(Whatever is said in Latin seems profound.)
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