org.apache.commons.net.smtp

Class SMTPClient

public class SMTPClient extends SMTP

SMTPClient encapsulates all the functionality necessary to send files through an SMTP server. This class takes care of all low level details of interacting with an SMTP server and provides a convenient higher level interface. As with all classes derived from {@link org.apache.commons.net.SocketClient}, you must first connect to the server with {@link org.apache.commons.net.SocketClient#connect connect } before doing anything, and finally {@link org.apache.commons.net.SocketClient#disconnect disconnect } after you're completely finished interacting with the server. Then you need to check the SMTP reply code to see if the connection was successful. For example:
    try {
      int reply;
      client.connect("mail.foobar.com");
      System.out.print(client.getReplyString());

      // After connection attempt, you should check the reply code to verify
      // success.
      reply = client.getReplyCode();

      if(!SMTPReply.isPositiveCompletion(reply)) {
        client.disconnect();
        System.err.println("SMTP server refused connection.");
        System.exit(1);
      }

      // Do useful stuff here.
      ...
    } catch(IOException e) {
      if(client.isConnected()) {
        try {
          client.disconnect();
        } catch(IOException f) {
          // do nothing
        }
      }
      System.err.println("Could not connect to server.");
      e.printStackTrace();
      System.exit(1);
    }
 

Immediately after connecting is the only real time you need to check the reply code (because connect is of type void). The convention for all the SMTP command methods in SMTPClient is such that they either return a boolean value or some other value. The boolean methods return true on a successful completion reply from the SMTP server and false on a reply resulting in an error condition or failure. The methods returning a value other than boolean return a value containing the higher level data produced by the SMTP command, or null if a reply resulted in an error condition or failure. If you want to access the exact SMTP reply code causing a success or failure, you must call {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTP#getReplyCode getReplyCode } after a success or failure.

You should keep in mind that the SMTP server may choose to prematurely close a connection for various reasons. The SMTPClient class will detect a premature SMTP server connection closing when it receives a {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTPReply#SERVICE_NOT_AVAILABLE SMTPReply.SERVICE_NOT_AVAILABLE } response to a command. When that occurs, the method encountering that reply will throw an {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTPConnectionClosedException} . SMTPConectionClosedException is a subclass of IOException and therefore need not be caught separately, but if you are going to catch it separately, its catch block must appear before the more general IOException catch block. When you encounter an {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTPConnectionClosedException} , you must disconnect the connection with {@link #disconnect disconnect() } to properly clean up the system resources used by SMTPClient. Before disconnecting, you may check the last reply code and text with {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTP#getReplyCode getReplyCode }, {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTP#getReplyString getReplyString }, and {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SMTP#getReplyStrings getReplyStrings}.

Rather than list it separately for each method, we mention here that every method communicating with the server and throwing an IOException can also throw a {@link org.apache.commons.net.MalformedServerReplyException} , which is a subclass of IOException. A MalformedServerReplyException will be thrown when the reply received from the server deviates enough from the protocol specification that it cannot be interpreted in a useful manner despite attempts to be as lenient as possible.

Author: Daniel F. Savarese

See Also: SMTP SimpleSMTPHeader RelayPath SMTPConnectionClosedException

Method Summary
booleanaddRecipient(RelayPath path)
Add a recipient for a message using the SMTP RCPT command, specifying a forward relay path.
booleanaddRecipient(String address)
Add a recipient for a message using the SMTP RCPT command, the recipient's email address.
booleancompletePendingCommand()
At least one SMTPClient method ({@link #sendMessageData sendMessageData }) does not complete the entire sequence of SMTP commands to complete a transaction.
StringlistHelp()
Fetches the system help information from the server and returns the full string.
StringlistHelp(String command)
Fetches the help information for a given command from the server and returns the full string.
booleanlogin(String hostname)
Login to the SMTP server by sending the HELO command with the given hostname as an argument.
booleanlogin()
Login to the SMTP server by sending the HELO command with the client hostname as an argument.
booleanlogout()
Logout of the SMTP server by sending the QUIT command.
booleanreset()
Aborts the current mail transaction, resetting all server stored sender, recipient, and mail data, cleaing all buffers and tables.
WritersendMessageData()
Send the SMTP DATA command in preparation to send an email message.
booleansendNoOp()
Sends a NOOP command to the SMTP server.
booleansendShortMessageData(String message)
A convenience method for sending short messages.
booleansendSimpleMessage(String sender, String recipient, String message)
A convenience method for a sending short email without having to explicitly set the sender and recipient(s).
booleansendSimpleMessage(String sender, String[] recipients, String message)
A convenience method for a sending short email without having to explicitly set the sender and recipient(s).
booleansetSender(RelayPath path)
Set the sender of a message using the SMTP MAIL command, specifying a reverse relay path.
booleansetSender(String address)
Set the sender of a message using the SMTP MAIL command, specifying the sender's email address.
booleanverify(String username)
Verify that a username or email address is valid, i.e., that mail can be delivered to that mailbox on the server.

Method Detail

addRecipient

public boolean addRecipient(RelayPath path)
Add a recipient for a message using the SMTP RCPT command, specifying a forward relay path. The sender must be set first before any recipients may be specified, otherwise the mail server will reject your commands.

Parameters: path The forward relay path pointing to the recipient.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

addRecipient

public boolean addRecipient(String address)
Add a recipient for a message using the SMTP RCPT command, the recipient's email address. The sender must be set first before any recipients may be specified, otherwise the mail server will reject your commands.

Parameters: address The recipient's email address.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

completePendingCommand

public boolean completePendingCommand()
At least one SMTPClient method ({@link #sendMessageData sendMessageData }) does not complete the entire sequence of SMTP commands to complete a transaction. These types of commands require some action by the programmer after the reception of a positive intermediate command. After the programmer's code completes its actions, it must call this method to receive the completion reply from the server and verify the success of the entire transaction.

For example,

 writer = client.sendMessage();
 if(writer == null) // failure
   return false;
 header =
  new SimpleSMTPHeader("foobar@foo.com", "foo@foobar.com", "Re: Foo");
 writer.write(header.toString());
 writer.write("This is just a test");
 writer.close();
 if(!client.completePendingCommand()) // failure
   return false;
 

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

listHelp

public String listHelp()
Fetches the system help information from the server and returns the full string.

Returns: The system help string obtained from the server. null if the information could not be obtained.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

listHelp

public String listHelp(String command)
Fetches the help information for a given command from the server and returns the full string.

Parameters: command The command on which to ask for help.

Returns: The command help string obtained from the server. null if the information could not be obtained.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

login

public boolean login(String hostname)
Login to the SMTP server by sending the HELO command with the given hostname as an argument. Before performing any mail commands, you must first login.

Parameters: hostname The hostname with which to greet the SMTP server.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

login

public boolean login()
Login to the SMTP server by sending the HELO command with the client hostname as an argument. Before performing any mail commands, you must first login.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

logout

public boolean logout()
Logout of the SMTP server by sending the QUIT command.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

reset

public boolean reset()
Aborts the current mail transaction, resetting all server stored sender, recipient, and mail data, cleaing all buffers and tables.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

sendMessageData

public Writer sendMessageData()
Send the SMTP DATA command in preparation to send an email message. This method returns a DotTerminatedMessageWriter instance to which the message can be written. Null is returned if the DATA command fails.

You must not issue any commands to the SMTP server (i.e., call any (other methods) until you finish writing to the returned Writer instance and close it. The SMTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Writer actually writes directly to the SMTP connection. After you close the writer, you can execute new commands. If you do not follow these requirements your program will not work properly.

You can use the provided {@link org.apache.commons.net.smtp.SimpleSMTPHeader} class to construct a bare minimum header. To construct more complicated headers you should refer to RFC 822. When the Java Mail API is finalized, you will be able to use it to compose fully compliant Internet text messages. The DotTerminatedMessageWriter takes care of doubling line-leading dots and ending the message with a single dot upon closing, so all you have to worry about is writing the header and the message.

Upon closing the returned Writer, you need to call {@link #completePendingCommand completePendingCommand() } to finalize the transaction and verify its success or failure from the server reply.

Returns: A DotTerminatedMessageWriter to which the message (including header) can be written. Returns null if the command fails.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

sendNoOp

public boolean sendNoOp()
Sends a NOOP command to the SMTP server. This is useful for preventing server timeouts.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

sendShortMessageData

public boolean sendShortMessageData(String message)
A convenience method for sending short messages. This method fetches the Writer returned by {@link #sendMessageData sendMessageData() } and writes the specified String to it. After writing the message, this method calls {@link #completePendingCommand completePendingCommand() } to finalize the transaction and returns its success or failure.

Parameters: message The short email message to send.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

sendSimpleMessage

public boolean sendSimpleMessage(String sender, String recipient, String message)
A convenience method for a sending short email without having to explicitly set the sender and recipient(s). This method sets the sender and recipient using {@link #setSender setSender } and {@link #addRecipient addRecipient }, and then sends the message using {@link #sendShortMessageData sendShortMessageData }.

Parameters: sender The email address of the sender. recipient The email address of the recipient. message The short email message to send.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

sendSimpleMessage

public boolean sendSimpleMessage(String sender, String[] recipients, String message)
A convenience method for a sending short email without having to explicitly set the sender and recipient(s). This method sets the sender and recipients using {@link #setSender setSender } and {@link #addRecipient addRecipient }, and then sends the message using {@link #sendShortMessageData sendShortMessageData }.

Parameters: sender The email address of the sender. recipients An array of recipient email addresses. message The short email message to send.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

setSender

public boolean setSender(RelayPath path)
Set the sender of a message using the SMTP MAIL command, specifying a reverse relay path. The sender must be set first before any recipients may be specified, otherwise the mail server will reject your commands.

Parameters: path The reverse relay path pointing back to the sender.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

setSender

public boolean setSender(String address)
Set the sender of a message using the SMTP MAIL command, specifying the sender's email address. The sender must be set first before any recipients may be specified, otherwise the mail server will reject your commands.

Parameters: address The sender's email address.

Returns: True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

verify

public boolean verify(String username)
Verify that a username or email address is valid, i.e., that mail can be delivered to that mailbox on the server.

Parameters: username The username or email address to validate.

Returns: True if the username is valid, false if not.

Throws: SMTPConnectionClosedException If the SMTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send SMTP reply code 421. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself. IOException If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.