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| 55 | <H1><A NAME="SECTION00131000000000000000000"> |
| 56 | 11.10 <tt class="module">imaplib</tt> -- |
| 57 | IMAP4 protocol client</A> |
| 58 | </H1> |
| 59 | |
| 60 | <P> |
| 61 | <A NAME="module-imaplib"></A> |
| 62 | |
| 63 | <P> |
| 64 | <a id='l2h-3392' xml:id='l2h-3392'></a><a id='l2h-3393' xml:id='l2h-3393'></a><a id='l2h-3394' xml:id='l2h-3394'></a> |
| 65 | <P> |
| 66 | This module defines three classes, <tt class="class">IMAP4</tt>, <tt class="class">IMAP4_SSL</tt> |
| 67 | and <tt class="class">IMAP4_stream</tt>, which encapsulate a |
| 68 | connection to an IMAP4 server and implement a large subset of the |
| 69 | IMAP4rev1 client protocol as defined in <a class="rfc" id='rfcref-90207' xml:id='rfcref-90207' |
| 70 | href="http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2060.html">RFC 2060</a>. It is backward |
| 71 | compatible with IMAP4 (<a class="rfc" id='rfcref-90209' xml:id='rfcref-90209' |
| 72 | href="http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1730.html">RFC 1730</a>) servers, but note that the |
| 73 | "<tt class="samp">STATUS</tt>" command is not supported in IMAP4. |
| 74 | |
| 75 | <P> |
| 76 | Three classes are provided by the <tt class="module">imaplib</tt> module, |
| 77 | <tt class="class">IMAP4</tt> is the base class: |
| 78 | |
| 79 | <P> |
| 80 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 81 | <td><nobr><b><span class="typelabel">class</span> <tt id='l2h-3395' xml:id='l2h-3395' class="class">IMAP4</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 82 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>host</var><big>[</big><var>, port</var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 83 | <dd> |
| 84 | This class implements the actual IMAP4 protocol. The connection is |
| 85 | created and protocol version (IMAP4 or IMAP4rev1) is determined when |
| 86 | the instance is initialized. |
| 87 | If <var>host</var> is not specified, <code>''</code> (the local host) is used. |
| 88 | If <var>port</var> is omitted, the standard IMAP4 port (143) is used. |
| 89 | </dl> |
| 90 | |
| 91 | <P> |
| 92 | Three exceptions are defined as attributes of the <tt class="class">IMAP4</tt> class: |
| 93 | |
| 94 | <P> |
| 95 | <dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-3396' xml:id='l2h-3396' class="exception">IMAP4.error</tt></b></dt> |
| 96 | <dd> |
| 97 | Exception raised on any errors. The reason for the exception is |
| 98 | passed to the constructor as a string. |
| 99 | </dd></dl> |
| 100 | |
| 101 | <P> |
| 102 | <dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-3397' xml:id='l2h-3397' class="exception">IMAP4.abort</tt></b></dt> |
| 103 | <dd> |
| 104 | IMAP4 server errors cause this exception to be raised. This is a |
| 105 | sub-class of <tt class="exception">IMAP4.error</tt>. Note that closing the instance |
| 106 | and instantiating a new one will usually allow recovery from this |
| 107 | exception. |
| 108 | </dd></dl> |
| 109 | |
| 110 | <P> |
| 111 | <dl><dt><b><span class="typelabel">exception</span> <tt id='l2h-3398' xml:id='l2h-3398' class="exception">IMAP4.readonly</tt></b></dt> |
| 112 | <dd> |
| 113 | This exception is raised when a writable mailbox has its status |
| 114 | changed by the server. This is a sub-class of |
| 115 | <tt class="exception">IMAP4.error</tt>. Some other client now has write permission, |
| 116 | and the mailbox will need to be re-opened to re-obtain write |
| 117 | permission. |
| 118 | </dd></dl> |
| 119 | |
| 120 | <P> |
| 121 | There's also a subclass for secure connections: |
| 122 | |
| 123 | <P> |
| 124 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 125 | <td><nobr><b><span class="typelabel">class</span> <tt id='l2h-3399' xml:id='l2h-3399' class="class">IMAP4_SSL</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 126 | <td><var></var><big>[</big><var>host</var><big>[</big><var>, port</var><big>[</big><var>, |
| 127 | keyfile</var><big>[</big><var>, certfile</var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var><big>]</big><var></var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 128 | <dd> |
| 129 | This is a subclass derived from <tt class="class">IMAP4</tt> that connects over an |
| 130 | SSL encrypted socket (to use this class you need a socket module that |
| 131 | was compiled with SSL support). If <var>host</var> is not specified, |
| 132 | <code>''</code> (the local host) is used. If <var>port</var> is omitted, the |
| 133 | standard IMAP4-over-SSL port (993) is used. <var>keyfile</var> and |
| 134 | <var>certfile</var> are also optional - they can contain a PEM formatted |
| 135 | private key and certificate chain file for the SSL connection. |
| 136 | </dl> |
| 137 | |
| 138 | <P> |
| 139 | The second subclass allows for connections created by a child process: |
| 140 | |
| 141 | <P> |
| 142 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 143 | <td><nobr><b><span class="typelabel">class</span> <tt id='l2h-3400' xml:id='l2h-3400' class="class">IMAP4_stream</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 144 | <td><var>command</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 145 | <dd> |
| 146 | This is a subclass derived from <tt class="class">IMAP4</tt> that connects |
| 147 | to the <code>stdin/stdout</code> file descriptors created by passing |
| 148 | <var>command</var> to <code>os.popen2()</code>. |
| 149 | |
| 150 | <span class="versionnote">New in version 2.3.</span> |
| 151 | |
| 152 | </dl> |
| 153 | |
| 154 | <P> |
| 155 | The following utility functions are defined: |
| 156 | |
| 157 | <P> |
| 158 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 159 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-3401' xml:id='l2h-3401' class="function">Internaldate2tuple</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 160 | <td><var>datestr</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 161 | <dd> |
| 162 | Converts an IMAP4 INTERNALDATE string to Coordinated Universal |
| 163 | Time. Returns a <tt class="module"><a href="module-time.html">time</a></tt> module tuple. |
| 164 | </dl> |
| 165 | |
| 166 | <P> |
| 167 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 168 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-3402' xml:id='l2h-3402' class="function">Int2AP</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 169 | <td><var>num</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 170 | <dd> |
| 171 | Converts an integer into a string representation using characters |
| 172 | from the set [<code>A</code> .. <code>P</code>]. |
| 173 | </dl> |
| 174 | |
| 175 | <P> |
| 176 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 177 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-3403' xml:id='l2h-3403' class="function">ParseFlags</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 178 | <td><var>flagstr</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 179 | <dd> |
| 180 | Converts an IMAP4 "<tt class="samp">FLAGS</tt>" response to a tuple of individual |
| 181 | flags. |
| 182 | </dl> |
| 183 | |
| 184 | <P> |
| 185 | <dl><dt><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr valign="baseline"> |
| 186 | <td><nobr><b><tt id='l2h-3404' xml:id='l2h-3404' class="function">Time2Internaldate</tt></b>(</nobr></td> |
| 187 | <td><var>date_time</var>)</td></tr></table></dt> |
| 188 | <dd> |
| 189 | Converts a <tt class="module"><a href="module-time.html">time</a></tt> module tuple to an IMAP4 |
| 190 | "<tt class="samp">INTERNALDATE</tt>" representation. Returns a string in the form: |
| 191 | <code>"DD-Mmm-YYYY HH:MM:SS +HHMM"</code> (including double-quotes). |
| 192 | </dl> |
| 193 | |
| 194 | <P> |
| 195 | Note that IMAP4 message numbers change as the mailbox changes; in |
| 196 | particular, after an "<tt class="samp">EXPUNGE</tt>" command performs deletions the |
| 197 | remaining messages are renumbered. So it is highly advisable to use |
| 198 | UIDs instead, with the UID command. |
| 199 | |
| 200 | <P> |
| 201 | At the end of the module, there is a test section that contains a more |
| 202 | extensive example of usage. |
| 203 | |
| 204 | <P> |
| 205 | <div class="seealso"> |
| 206 | <p class="heading">See Also:</p> |
| 207 | |
| 208 | <div class="seetext"><p>Documents describing the protocol, and sources and binaries |
| 209 | for servers implementing it, can all be found at the |
| 210 | University of Washington's <em>IMAP Information Center</em> |
| 211 | (<a class="url" href="http://www.cac.washington.edu/imap/">http://www.cac.washington.edu/imap/</a>).</p></div> |
| 212 | </div> |
| 213 | |
| 214 | <P> |
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| 218 | <!--Table of Child-Links--> |
| 219 | <A NAME="CHILD_LINKS"><STRONG>Subsections</STRONG></a> |
| 220 | |
| 221 | <UL CLASS="ChildLinks"> |
| 222 | <LI><A href="imap4-objects.html">11.10.1 IMAP4 Objects</a> |
| 223 | <LI><A href="imap4-example.html">11.10.2 IMAP4 Example</a> |
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| 262 | <span class="release-info">Release 2.4.2, documentation updated on 28 September 2005.</span> |
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