Re: saving emails in an Oracle table

From: Tim X <timx_at_nospam.dev.null>
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:33:24 +1100
Message-ID: <87aavsod3v.fsf_at_lion.rapttech.com.au>

Shakespeare <whatsin_at_xs4all.nl> writes:

> Op 1-2-2010 7:26, Tim X schreef:

>> Shakespeare<whatsin_at_xs4all.nl>  writes:
>>
>>> Op 31-1-2010 11:13, Frank van Bortel schreef:
>>>> Shakespeare wrote:
>>>>> Op 30-1-2010 19:10, Frank van Bortel schreef:
>>>>>> Shakespeare wrote:
>>>>>>> Op 30-1-2010 10:58, Frank van Bortel schreef:
>>>>>>>> Wallyraju wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Oracle 11g R1
>>>>>>>>> RHEL (not sure of version)
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> We are in the process of designing a table(s) in Oracle to store all
>>>>>>>>> the information pertaining to saving everything related to an email
>>>>>>>>> being sent out.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Why don't you take a look at the definition of MIME?
>>>>>>>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIME looks like a valid starting point.
>>>>>>>> Basically, email is text, so a single CLOB should do it (yes; Clob,
>>>>>>>> not
>>>>>>>> Blob - just take a look at a base64 coded email)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Apart from that - how do you get your mail IN the database? I know
>>>>>>>> about emails: how I can SEND FROM, but I sure would like to
>>>>>>>> RECEIVE INTO the database.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ORACLE_MAIL can run as a mail server. Don't know if it is still there
>>>>>>> as a stand alone database feature. That's why your client uses
>>>>>>> Collaboration Suite...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Shakespeare
>>>>>>
>>>>>> That's why I said "database"... Not some overpriced Oracle (or any)
>>>>>> product. Nowadays the database is used for almost anything, so
>>>>>> why not mail receiver? It's a web browser, an email server, an
>>>>>> application server (HTTP as well as java), an eh... what else?
>>>>>> Oh yeah - right. You might store data, too. In XML format...
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> IIRC, oracle mail was just a set of database packages....
>>>>>
>>>>> Shakespeare
>>>> That's right; but only outgoing. Never managed incoming mail.
>>>> And it can only handle outgoing mail when connected to an email
>>>> relay
>>>>
>>> You may be right about that, too long ago...
>>>
>> My recollection was that it was just a MUA (Mail user agent). You told
>> it where the server was and it connected via TCP to (usually) port 25 of
>> that server and used the basic SMTP protocol to pass the message to the
>> server which then sent it to wherever. I don't believe there was any MTA
>> (mail transport agent) in the package.
>>
>> Tim
>>
>

> Since a company I worked for years ago had a complete email system based on
> Oracle (send AND receive), I checked it out a little further.
> Oracle had a product those days which was called Oracle Email (which is NOT
> the Oracle mail database package), which stored the received email IN the
> database. The product then became part of Oracle Interoffice, which is no
> longer there. Nowadays. Oracle has a product called Oracle Collaboration Suite
> 10g Mail. This product is able to send AND receive mail into the database. But
> like Frank said: you'll need an extra product outside the DB to get this to
> work (OCS). This product had to make room for Beehive, so it seems OCS
> suffered the same death as Interoffice did..

>

> I know a site where this product was used for automatically receiving, routing
> and handling emails and their attachments.
> There are still references to the product "Oracle Email Server" on
> oracle.com (see
> http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/emailserver.html )
>

OK, that clarifies things a little. I often find a bit of confusion with Oracle and its tendency to rename and re-package stuff and it seems to be getting worse as companies buy out other companies and try to integrate them etc.

Probably a good thing they don't provide a mail server anymore. Mail servers are one of those things that are very simple to implement, but very difficult to implement correctly and securely. Far better to just have a package that can communicate with a dedicated smtp server and leave all the nitty gritty bits of the server implementation to antoher party that just focuses on getting that part right IMO. Most larger sites are complicated enough without having additional pre product duplication of functionality, such as mail servers, especially when those servers will usually need a public interface, opening up possible attack vectors etc.

Tim

-- 
tcross (at) rapttech dot com dot au

Received on Mon Feb 01 2010 - 15:33:24 CST