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Verify email address

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    Verify email address

    This may be a Lenny question...

    And, since it spans desktop and web based apps, I placed my question here in general questions.

    Using telnet or putty, you can in just a few steps, determine if an email address and mailbox actually exists on the email's MX server.

    I am aware of the ability within Alpha to internally determine if an email is a valid format (ie [email protected]).

    What I was wondering is if it is possible to simulate the telnet steps with XBasic, and return a .T. or .F.

    I'm not asking for your code, just wondering if anyone has succeeded in doing so. (I guess I like the challenge of figuring it out myself, but I am drawing a blank as to a starting point.)

    Thanks in advance of your input.

    #2
    Re: Verify email address

    If you are speaking of client activation??
    Methods may vary with some app frameworks. The tools I use simply send and email before activating a client and upon completion of a return causes the client to be active.
    If you are just trying to be sure it is really an email with @ and .com(or similar), There is JS code for that.
    If you are trying to be sure the email exists on a the server designated, I think you will need to send the email. Explain: I may have an email address @aldaweb.com, but you won't be able to verify it due to settings on the server in all cases unless you send a verification email.
    Dave Mason
    [email protected]
    Skype is dave.mason46

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Verify email address

      Thanks for you response and time, Dave.

      I'm looking at the feasibility of having Walmart managers sign for services on a mobile device.

      As Walmart wants a hard copy left with them, the theoretical mobile app can either fax it right back to their fax, or email it.

      Since there are many Walmart managers, on signing the app, they would need to select fax or enter an email address to receive their copy.

      Obviously, I can collect email addresses and simplify the second service visit onward, getting the first email address correctly seems important (to me), since my client wants to get paid.

      So, I can have the manager, who is busy, enter it twice, but nicer still would be to simulate a telnet and verify the address live. A telnet does not, as I am sure you know, actually send an email when you verify an address using it. I am looking to see if that can be captured as data from a JSON callback is captured.

      It would seem a rougher road to have the service provider watch for and react to a 550 No Such Mailbox message...

      I hope that makes my question a little less vaque.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Verify email address

        Your (Dave) Javascript idea may yield results. I'll wait to see if anyone see's a solution in XBasic, then if no solution yields itself, I'll look at JS.

        Thanks.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Verify email address

          Two ideas:

          1) two-phase - make before sending the report, send them a confirmation email with a link. As soon as they click the link, that is your confirmation and you immediately send the report. If they never click the confirmation email in X hours/days, go to plan B and alert their manager, call them, etc. Easy to set this up.

          2) Use a 3rd party SMTP like SparkPost or Mandrill. They have "webhooks" that will instantly POST back to your website if an email bounce AND it will provide the reason it bounced. You can code your application to receive this POST and do whatever you want, like send you an email describing the problem, or just displaying on a dashboard.

          I have both of these set up in different applications.
          Steve Wood
          See my profile on IADN

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Verify email address

            Steve:

            Thank you for the alternative answers.

            on 1), that probably won't work in this case, not because it's not a good alternative, but because the WM managers may not carry phones with their WM email on it.

            That would leave a gap in the flow where the manager never gets the email, since he may not go back to his office for hours, only to have never received the email.

            At that point, the billing would not process, since he never got the paperwork.

            Sparkpost, or Mandrill, sounds like a workable solution.

            Thank you for both suggestions.

            I am still interested in something like HTTP_POST(), but my hopes are fading as the power users are chiming in.

            Thank you, again, guys.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Verify email address

              while i have not tested this site, there seems to be a way to use http to get the verification take a look at this site.
              i don't like signing into all the services if i don't have to so i did not.
              http://verify-email.org/using-api.html
              they have free service for limited use, you may try it and if good sign up i guess. they have examples with php and c# xbasic may not be that difficult.
              the telnet command works well on command prompt i don't know yet how to incorporate with alpha.
              Last edited by GGandhi; 07-17-2016, 07:59 PM.
              thanks for reading

              gandhi

              version 11 3381 - 4096
              mysql backend
              http://www.alphawebprogramming.blogspot.com
              [email protected]
              Skype:[email protected]
              1 914 924 5171

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Verify email address

                Gandhi:

                I'll look at it later tonight, or tomorrow.

                Thank you for looking into this for me.

                I guess I'm trying too hard to push the envelope...



                Thanks again.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Verify email address

                  Gandhi:

                  Hmmmm.... If only we could see how the inner workings of that site work.

                  Obviously, he has either used Telnet, or built his own Telnet-like function.

                  You have all been very supportive. Thank you.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Verify email address

                    Yes, you could write code to do exactly what you want in Xbasic. A telnet session is just a simple socket connection that you interactively write to and read from. To do this programmatically in Xbasic, you would use an INET::Socket (or INET::SSLSocket) to connect to the desired SMTP server. Once connected, you would issue the same commands as you would within a telnet session.

                    Code:
                    telnet smtp.somedomain.com 25
                    becomes

                    Code:
                    dim s as INET::Socket
                    s.connect("smtp.somedomain.com", 25)
                    You can then use the .Read() and .Write() methods on the INET::Socket to interrogate the SMTP server and find out if the account exists. For example

                    Code:
                    EHLO me.mydomain.com
                    becomes

                    Code:
                    s.Write("EHLO me.mydomain.com")

                    Lenny Forziati
                    Vice President, Internet Products and Technical Services
                    Alpha Software Corporation

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Verify email address

                      Lenny:

                      I suspected it might fall into the socket area of your software. I haven't explored that functionality, but have parked my eyes there a few times looking to understand why one might use a 'Socket'.

                      I also suspected you would know!

                      I'll give this a shot in a few minutes.

                      Thank you so much!!!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Verify email address

                        No-one tried ? I just did, works perfectly.

                        EDIT: to qualify that - to test for existence the domain CONNECT works

                        To test the existence of the full address I had to do a READ as well. Otherwise got nothing back.
                        Last edited by Ray in Capetown; 07-20-2016, 05:29 AM.

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