Re: Mulberry gone, now what?

Dave Cridland <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > > Personally I think this is the fundamental flaw in IMAP, it's not
> > > > tightly enough specified so IMAP servers vary quite a lot with the
> > > > result that it's well nigh impossible to write an IMAP client that
> > > > works well with them all.
> > >
> > > Can you point to anything in the IMAP specification that illustrates this
> > > point?
> > >
> > See http://dave.cridland.net/acap/polymer.html for example where it
> > says:-
> >
>
> Cool. Mark, see that? My webpage is a more important reference than the
> specification. ;-)
>
That wasn't *really* what I was suggesting! :-)

However I think you will find quite a few other IMAP clients have a
similar attitude and therein lies much of IMAP's problem.

> > IMAP allows a great deal of latitude in much of the specification. As
> > a result, some behaviour is rare, and relatively untested. As always
> > with IMAP, you should select a server and client which interoperate
> > well, supporting the features you require.
> >
>
> Latitude is definitely not intended to mean the specification is in any
> way problematic. IMAP is very highly specified. It does, however,
> provide various protocol features which allow server to behave
> reasonably differently within some areas, in order to support very
> different server-side mail spools. That's not a fault in the protocol,
> that's a benefit. (One that has, in many respects, outlived itself). In
> addition, there's exciting choices like multiple commands in progress,
> unsolicited reponses at any time, etc.
>
.... but it *is* a fault in the protocol from the user's point of
view. I want my IMAP client to behave the same whatever server I'm
using, that's what makes things easy for the user.

I see you say that you try and make your client seem the same to the
user regardless of the IMAP server. That's an admirable aim but it
feels you are trying to do it in spite of IMAP rather than as a result
of using IMAP.

--
Chris Green

.

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