Fetch email and extract photos
Programming Snapshot – Go Mail Client
© Lead Image © Tatiana Venkova, 123RF.com
In this month's column, Mike Schilli writes a special mail client in Go and delves into the depths of the IMAP protocol in order to archive photos from incoming emails.
Popular email clients such as Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook make it very easy to automatically filter and forward incoming messages. I recently had the idea of sending freshly taken photos to my account by email, from where my desktop computer would automatically retrieve them at regular intervals, extract the photos from the email body, and proceed to archive them (Figure 1). How difficult would it be to fetch emails from the provider with a DIY Go program and extract the photos embedded in MIME format in order to store them on my hard disk? Luckily, Go libraries make quick work of such problems!
Transport Logistics
In order for turnkey email clients to gain access to your choice of provider's mail server, they require three parameters: the IMAP server including the port, the username, and the password. Besides this, you are always asked for the SMTP server and port, possibly along with any other credentials you might have there. The reason for this is that two completely different technologies are used to collect and send email, and they usually run on different servers.
Protocols such as IMAP (or maybe POP3) check whether a user on the mail server has mail. To do this, the email client contacts the server and asks how many messages there are. The client can then either download the messages individually and store them in folders or even delete them.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.