Re: Receiving email into pl/sql (follow up)

"shakespeare" <whatsin_at_xs4all.nl> schreef in bericht news:4732d249$0$244$e4fe514c_at_news.xs4all.nl...
>
> "Lee" <Lee_at_JamToday.com> schreef in bericht
> news:fgu3sr$s28$1_at_reader1.panix.com...
>> DA Morgan wrote:
>>> Lee wrote:
>>>
>>>> I've sent email from pl/sql with utl_smtp and with 10g's utl_mail; but
>>>> now I want to do the inverse, i.e. I want to READ email from pl/sql.
>>>>
>>>> The idea is to set up a dedicated email account. Users could send
>>>> stereotyped messages to that account, and the pl/sql routine would read
>>>> the mail, parse the messages and do the needful.
>>>>
>>>> As far as I can tell, utl_mail will send, but not receive email.
>>>>
>>>> I can think of some Rube Golberg workarounds but can anyone point the
>>>> way to a "no fuss" way to read simple text emails?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Thanks in advance
>>>
>>>
>>> If you think it is a good idea to send emails, across the web, from
>>> some Microsoft Outlook client directly into an Oracle database I am sure
>>> we can recommend a good 12 step program for you.
>>>
>> As you yourself point out, the email winds up as data somwhere; so why
>> would it be worse to send email to an automated agent than sending email
>> to a human agent or just reading an input file as data?
>>
>> Why would reading email to drive a script from inside a stored procedure
>> be more dangerous than running a static batch script or a script that
>> takes input from a human or from a data file?
>>
>> I assume you're concerned about sql injection attacks or maybe some sort
>> of spam and/or spoofing, or even an attempt to "flood" the system a la
>> DDOS attacks?
>>
>> Maybe I'm not being sufficiently imaginative or paranoid, but I cant see
>> how the sort of scheme I'm thinking of is more dangerous than crossing
>> the street. Everybody and his uncle has a listserv that runs on commands
>> sent in by email, so why is that setting off alarm bells?
>>
>> I can use an http callout to get data from anywhere on the planet. There
>> are "rest"-full web services, and SOAP interfaces and all sorts of ways
>> to have all kinds of heaven-knows-what get presented as input. A routine
>> that parses stereotyped email messages and deliveres canned reports in
>> response seems pretty benign.
>>
>> Or am I living in a fools paradise?
>>
>>
>>> Incoming emails are stored somewhere. Find the location. Read them using
>>> anything from UTL_FILE to whatever.
>> My Oracle server is running on a different box from my email server, so
>> the trick is to get the data from the mail server to the oracle box.
>>
>> If I dont mind having more moving parts, there are plenty of ways to get
>> from there to here; but I was hoping for something with "no fuss, no muss
>> and no bother". Reading email seemed to fill the bill until
>> I realize that I dont seem to have a slick way to make that happen.
>>
>> Maybe something in Java running in the database?
>>
>> Of course there is that proverb about the relative velocity of fools and
>> fearful angels, so tell me more about why I could be stepping off a cliff
>> here.
>>
>
> Back in the nineties, Oracle used to have a product called Oracle Mail,
> which was able to receive email (and yes: in the database). It became part
> of Oracle Interoffice (which died some years later). Don't know if it's
> still around as a product, but it is stil there as a part of Oracle
> Collaboration Suite (able to receive mail in the database). I had a
> customer who installed Coll. Suite for this purpose solely: they wanted to
> be able to start processes based on email.
> Installing OCS is quite a fuss, keeping it running even more, but it may
> be worth a try. You'll have to pay for it, though.
> Oracle Interconnect had an SMTP adapter (but that was in 2001). We never
> got it working, iirc it could not handle attachments.Could be part of BPEL
> now (does someone know?).
>
> Shakespeare
>

Checked it out: there still an SMTP adapter in Oracle Application Server Integration InterConnect. But it can only handle IMAP4, no POP3. I think that was our problem back then......

Shakespeare Received on Thu Nov 08 2007 - 10:14:57 CET