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How do developers incorporate email functionality?

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    #1

    How do developers incorporate email functionality?

    Good day Alpha community,
    I have two applications that I have been in partnership in development of applications that have email as a mission critical component within the application. The email component is delivery out of the application of data and NOT having a component of receipt of emails into the application. The email data includes orders, order statuses and billing data. The application is intended for small business having a base of associated individual independent contractors and the independent contractors.

    The challenge that I have encountered is in development of the email component. The choices have been to have the user set up the email client within the application through an already enabled client (Outlook), use the Alpha Client, or use straight throughput using email processes of A5 (email_smtp_open()/send()). What I have encountered is that no matter which of these is chosen, that the user has to have some degree of awareness and knowledge, or have already set up email configurations for these to be enacted. But the world has moved to folks not having email clients such as Outlook and others on their machines and using web based clients for email exchanges. To some degree because they don't want to mess with SMTP/POP configurations and such. So how as developers are we to program an application so the end user just installs our application and does not have to proceed through a setup requirements to enable the application to send emails?

    I throw this out for discussion. Again, the challenge is 1) an application that has outbound email capabilities 2) the end user is to have NO email configuration responsibilities, 3) Under the circumstances that the user does not have any desktop email client program and uses web based gmail, yahoo or some unknown ISP as their their ISP. I believe I have a workable solution, but want others to respond as to how they are doing this before I throw out my thoughts. Thank you.
    Last edited by Mike Wilson; 10-18-2012, 04:49 PM.
    Mike W
    __________________________
    "I rebel in at least small things to express to the world that I have not completely surrendered"
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: How do developers incorporate email functionality?

    Boy, I see you got a lot of help on this. I won't be much help either, but for a client a couple of years ago I did something like this both using the the A5 email client and email_smtp_open()/send(). In my case, using the A5 email client was on a Terminal Server, so as I recall either only one profile had to be used or it was imported each time it was needed (sorry, don't remember details). Importing a profile on the fly might work in a non-TS environment--not sure.

    In any case, as I recall using email_smtp_open()/send() can work for any user in a non-TS environment because you can set it all up in your xbasic programming (as long as you have an account and password to supply). Makes no difference whether the mail server is meant to be used by web based email clients or not (the servers are all on the internet!)--you just need any old pop mail server with an account. The account could even be one of your own rather than a clients. Also, you can probably have the account set up so that replies are not possible, or just put a message in saying please do not reply cuz no one will answer.

    Okay, not much help, but gee, better than anything else you got! So now I for one would like to see what you have come up with for this problem.

    Raymond Lyons

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      #3
      Re: How do developers incorporate email functionality?

      Hi Raymond,
      What we are exploring is to have our own server smtp address that all emails from our application can flow through. At this point it seems like it should be feasible, but what we are finding is that folks out there that have internet access have variable capacities based upon what ISP service they are using that have the capabilities of accessing a singular, dedicated smtp server to process undirectional email throughput. We are extensively testing and sorting through the variable connectivities that exist based upon the source ISP. The email capacities are complex and quite variable, and I am not certain there is a true, universal solution. I was hoping others might chime in with their experiences so, as a developer group, we might come to some understandings of a universal strategy to use.
      Last edited by Mike Wilson; 10-23-2012, 12:37 AM.
      Mike W
      __________________________
      "I rebel in at least small things to express to the world that I have not completely surrendered"

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