com.oreilly.servlet

Class MailMessage

java.lang.Object

com.oreilly.servlet.MailMessage

public class MailMessage
extends java.lang.Object

A class to help send SMTP email. It can be used by any Java program, not just servlets. Servlets are likely to use this class to:

• Send submitted form data to interested parties
• Send an email page to an administrator in case of error
• Send the client an order confirmation

This class is an improvement on the sun.net.smtp.SmtpClient class found in the JDK. This version has extra functionality, and can be used with JVMs that did not extend from the JDK. It's not as robust as the JavaMail Standard Extension classes, but it's easier to use and easier to install.

It can be used like this:

 String mailhost = "localhost";  // or another mail host
 String from = "Mail Message Servlet <MailMessage@somedomain.com%gt;";
 String to = "to@somedomain.com";
 String cc1 = "cc1@somedomain.com";
 String cc2 = "cc2@somedomain.com";
 String bcc = "bcc@somedomain.com";
  
 MailMessage msg = new MailMessage(mailhost);
 msg.from(from);
 msg.to(to);
 msg.cc(cc1);
 msg.cc(cc2);
 msg.bcc(bcc);
 msg.setSubject("Test subject");
 PrintStream out = msg.getPrintStream();
  
 Enumeration enum = req.getParameterNames();
 while (enum.hasMoreElements()) {
   String name = (String)enum.nextElement();
   String value = req.getParameter(name);
   out.println(name + " = " + value);
 }
  
 msg.sendAndClose();
 

Be sure to set the from address, then set the recepient addresses, then set the subject and other headers, then get the PrintStream, then write the message, and finally send and close. The class does minimal error checking internally; it counts on the mail host to complain if there's any malformatted input or out of order execution.

An attachment mechanism based on RFC 1521 could be implemented on top of this class. In the meanwhile, JavaMail is the best solution for sending email with attachments.

Still to do:

• Figure out how to close the connection in case of error

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Constructor and Description
MailMessage() Constructs a new MailMessage to send an email.
MailMessage(java.lang.String host) Constructs a new MailMessage to send an email.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
void	bcc(java.lang.String bcc) Sets the bcc address.
void	cc(java.lang.String cc) Sets the cc address.
void	from(java.lang.String from) Sets the from address.
java.io.PrintStream	getPrintStream() Returns a PrintStream that can be used to write the body of the message.
void	sendAndClose() Sends the message and closes the connection to the server.
void	setHeader(java.lang.String name, java.lang.String value) Sets the named header to the given value.
void	setSubject(java.lang.String subj) Sets the subject of the mail message.
void	to(java.lang.String to) Sets the to address.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

MailMessage

public MailMessage()
            throws java.io.IOException

Constructs a new MailMessage to send an email. Use localhost as the mail server.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem contacting the mail server

MailMessage

public MailMessage(java.lang.String host)
            throws java.io.IOException

Constructs a new MailMessage to send an email. Use the given host as the mail server.

Parameters:

host - the mail server to use

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem contacting the mail server

Method Detail

from

public void from(java.lang.String from)
          throws java.io.IOException

Sets the from address. Also sets the "From" header. This method should be called only once.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem reported by the mail server

to

public void to(java.lang.String to)
        throws java.io.IOException

Sets the to address. Also sets the "To" header. This method may be called multiple times.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem reported by the mail server

cc

public void cc(java.lang.String cc)
        throws java.io.IOException

Sets the cc address. Also sets the "Cc" header. This method may be called multiple times.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem reported by the mail server

bcc

public void bcc(java.lang.String bcc)
         throws java.io.IOException

Sets the bcc address. Does NOT set any header since it's a *blind* copy. This method may be called multiple times.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem reported by the mail server

setSubject

public void setSubject(java.lang.String subj)

Sets the subject of the mail message. Actually sets the "Subject" header.

setHeader

public void setHeader(java.lang.String name,
                      java.lang.String value)

Sets the named header to the given value. RFC 822 provides the rules for what text may constitute a header name and value.

getPrintStream

public java.io.PrintStream getPrintStream()
                                   throws java.io.IOException

Returns a PrintStream that can be used to write the body of the message. A stream is used since email bodies are byte-oriented. A writer could be wrapped on top if necessary for internationalization.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem reported by the mail server

sendAndClose

public void sendAndClose()
                  throws java.io.IOException

Sends the message and closes the connection to the server. The MailMessage object cannot be reused.

Throws:

java.io.IOException - if there's any problem reported by the mail server