1704 lines
66 KiB
ReStructuredText
1704 lines
66 KiB
ReStructuredText
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:mod:`mailbox` --- Manipulate mailboxes in various formats
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==========================================================
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.. module:: mailbox
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:synopsis: Manipulate mailboxes in various formats
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.. moduleauthor:: Gregory K. Johnson <gkj@gregorykjohnson.com>
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.. sectionauthor:: Gregory K. Johnson <gkj@gregorykjohnson.com>
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This module defines two classes, :class:`Mailbox` and :class:`Message`, for
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accessing and manipulating on-disk mailboxes and the messages they contain.
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:class:`Mailbox` offers a dictionary-like mapping from keys to messages.
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:class:`Message` extends the :mod:`email.message` module's
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:class:`~email.message.Message` class with format-specific state and behavior.
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Supported mailbox formats are
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Maildir, mbox, MH, Babyl, and MMDF.
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.. seealso::
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Module :mod:`email`
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Represent and manipulate messages.
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.. _mailbox-objects:
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:class:`Mailbox` objects
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------------------------
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.. class:: Mailbox
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A mailbox, which may be inspected and modified.
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The :class:`Mailbox` class defines an interface and is not intended to be
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instantiated. Instead, format-specific subclasses should inherit from
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:class:`Mailbox` and your code should instantiate a particular subclass.
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The :class:`Mailbox` interface is dictionary-like, with small keys
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corresponding to messages. Keys are issued by the :class:`Mailbox` instance
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with which they will be used and are only meaningful to that :class:`Mailbox`
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instance. A key continues to identify a message even if the corresponding
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message is modified, such as by replacing it with another message.
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Messages may be added to a :class:`Mailbox` instance using the set-like
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method :meth:`add` and removed using a ``del`` statement or the set-like
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methods :meth:`remove` and :meth:`discard`.
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:class:`Mailbox` interface semantics differ from dictionary semantics in some
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noteworthy ways. Each time a message is requested, a new representation
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(typically a :class:`Message` instance) is generated based upon the current
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state of the mailbox. Similarly, when a message is added to a
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:class:`Mailbox` instance, the provided message representation's contents are
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copied. In neither case is a reference to the message representation kept by
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the :class:`Mailbox` instance.
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The default :class:`Mailbox` iterator iterates over message representations,
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not keys as the default dictionary iterator does. Moreover, modification of a
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mailbox during iteration is safe and well-defined. Messages added to the
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mailbox after an iterator is created will not be seen by the
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iterator. Messages removed from the mailbox before the iterator yields them
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will be silently skipped, though using a key from an iterator may result in a
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:exc:`KeyError` exception if the corresponding message is subsequently
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removed.
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.. warning::
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Be very cautious when modifying mailboxes that might be simultaneously
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changed by some other process. The safest mailbox format to use for such
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tasks is Maildir; try to avoid using single-file formats such as mbox for
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concurrent writing. If you're modifying a mailbox, you *must* lock it by
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calling the :meth:`lock` and :meth:`unlock` methods *before* reading any
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messages in the file or making any changes by adding or deleting a
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message. Failing to lock the mailbox runs the risk of losing messages or
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corrupting the entire mailbox.
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:class:`Mailbox` instances have the following methods:
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.. method:: add(message)
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Add *message* to the mailbox and return the key that has been assigned to
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it.
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Parameter *message* may be a :class:`Message` instance, an
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:class:`email.message.Message` instance, a string, or a file-like object
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(which should be open in text mode). If *message* is an instance of the
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appropriate format-specific :class:`Message` subclass (e.g., if it's an
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:class:`mboxMessage` instance and this is an :class:`mbox` instance), its
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format-specific information is used. Otherwise, reasonable defaults for
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format-specific information are used.
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.. method:: remove(key)
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__delitem__(key)
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discard(key)
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Delete the message corresponding to *key* from the mailbox.
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If no such message exists, a :exc:`KeyError` exception is raised if the
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method was called as :meth:`remove` or :meth:`__delitem__` but no
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exception is raised if the method was called as :meth:`discard`. The
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behavior of :meth:`discard` may be preferred if the underlying mailbox
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format supports concurrent modification by other processes.
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.. method:: __setitem__(key, message)
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Replace the message corresponding to *key* with *message*. Raise a
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:exc:`KeyError` exception if no message already corresponds to *key*.
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As with :meth:`add`, parameter *message* may be a :class:`Message`
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instance, an :class:`email.message.Message` instance, a string, or a
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file-like object (which should be open in text mode). If *message* is an
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instance of the appropriate format-specific :class:`Message` subclass
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(e.g., if it's an :class:`mboxMessage` instance and this is an
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:class:`mbox` instance), its format-specific information is
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used. Otherwise, the format-specific information of the message that
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currently corresponds to *key* is left unchanged.
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.. method:: iterkeys()
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keys()
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Return an iterator over all keys if called as :meth:`iterkeys` or return a
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list of keys if called as :meth:`keys`.
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.. method:: itervalues()
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__iter__()
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values()
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Return an iterator over representations of all messages if called as
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:meth:`itervalues` or :meth:`__iter__` or return a list of such
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representations if called as :meth:`values`. The messages are represented
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as instances of the appropriate format-specific :class:`Message` subclass
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unless a custom message factory was specified when the :class:`Mailbox`
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instance was initialized.
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.. note::
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The behavior of :meth:`__iter__` is unlike that of dictionaries, which
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iterate over keys.
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.. method:: iteritems()
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items()
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Return an iterator over (*key*, *message*) pairs, where *key* is a key and
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*message* is a message representation, if called as :meth:`iteritems` or
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return a list of such pairs if called as :meth:`items`. The messages are
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represented as instances of the appropriate format-specific
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:class:`Message` subclass unless a custom message factory was specified
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when the :class:`Mailbox` instance was initialized.
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.. method:: get(key, default=None)
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__getitem__(key)
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Return a representation of the message corresponding to *key*. If no such
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message exists, *default* is returned if the method was called as
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:meth:`get` and a :exc:`KeyError` exception is raised if the method was
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called as :meth:`__getitem__`. The message is represented as an instance
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of the appropriate format-specific :class:`Message` subclass unless a
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custom message factory was specified when the :class:`Mailbox` instance
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was initialized.
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.. method:: get_message(key)
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Return a representation of the message corresponding to *key* as an
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instance of the appropriate format-specific :class:`Message` subclass, or
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raise a :exc:`KeyError` exception if no such message exists.
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.. method:: get_string(key)
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Return a string representation of the message corresponding to *key*, or
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raise a :exc:`KeyError` exception if no such message exists.
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.. method:: get_file(key)
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Return a file-like representation of the message corresponding to *key*,
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or raise a :exc:`KeyError` exception if no such message exists. The
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file-like object behaves as if open in binary mode. This file should be
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closed once it is no longer needed.
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.. note::
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Unlike other representations of messages, file-like representations are
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not necessarily independent of the :class:`Mailbox` instance that
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created them or of the underlying mailbox. More specific documentation
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is provided by each subclass.
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.. method:: has_key(key)
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__contains__(key)
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Return ``True`` if *key* corresponds to a message, ``False`` otherwise.
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.. method:: __len__()
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Return a count of messages in the mailbox.
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.. method:: clear()
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Delete all messages from the mailbox.
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.. method:: pop(key[, default])
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Return a representation of the message corresponding to *key* and delete
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the message. If no such message exists, return *default* if it was
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supplied or else raise a :exc:`KeyError` exception. The message is
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represented as an instance of the appropriate format-specific
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:class:`Message` subclass unless a custom message factory was specified
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when the :class:`Mailbox` instance was initialized.
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.. method:: popitem()
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Return an arbitrary (*key*, *message*) pair, where *key* is a key and
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*message* is a message representation, and delete the corresponding
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message. If the mailbox is empty, raise a :exc:`KeyError` exception. The
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message is represented as an instance of the appropriate format-specific
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:class:`Message` subclass unless a custom message factory was specified
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when the :class:`Mailbox` instance was initialized.
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.. method:: update(arg)
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Parameter *arg* should be a *key*-to-*message* mapping or an iterable of
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(*key*, *message*) pairs. Updates the mailbox so that, for each given
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*key* and *message*, the message corresponding to *key* is set to
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*message* as if by using :meth:`__setitem__`. As with :meth:`__setitem__`,
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each *key* must already correspond to a message in the mailbox or else a
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:exc:`KeyError` exception will be raised, so in general it is incorrect
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for *arg* to be a :class:`Mailbox` instance.
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.. note::
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Unlike with dictionaries, keyword arguments are not supported.
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.. method:: flush()
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Write any pending changes to the filesystem. For some :class:`Mailbox`
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subclasses, changes are always written immediately and :meth:`flush` does
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nothing, but you should still make a habit of calling this method.
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.. method:: lock()
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Acquire an exclusive advisory lock on the mailbox so that other processes
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know not to modify it. An :exc:`ExternalClashError` is raised if the lock
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is not available. The particular locking mechanisms used depend upon the
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mailbox format. You should *always* lock the mailbox before making any
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modifications to its contents.
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.. method:: unlock()
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Release the lock on the mailbox, if any.
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.. method:: close()
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Flush the mailbox, unlock it if necessary, and close any open files. For
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some :class:`Mailbox` subclasses, this method does nothing.
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.. _mailbox-maildir:
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:class:`Maildir`
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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.. class:: Maildir(dirname, factory=rfc822.Message, create=True)
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A subclass of :class:`Mailbox` for mailboxes in Maildir format. Parameter
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*factory* is a callable object that accepts a file-like message representation
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(which behaves as if opened in binary mode) and returns a custom representation.
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If *factory* is ``None``, :class:`MaildirMessage` is used as the default message
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representation. If *create* is ``True``, the mailbox is created if it does not
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exist.
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It is for historical reasons that *factory* defaults to :class:`rfc822.Message`
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and that *dirname* is named as such rather than *path*. For a :class:`Maildir`
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instance that behaves like instances of other :class:`Mailbox` subclasses, set
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*factory* to ``None``.
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Maildir is a directory-based mailbox format invented for the qmail mail
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transfer agent and now widely supported by other programs. Messages in a
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Maildir mailbox are stored in separate files within a common directory
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structure. This design allows Maildir mailboxes to be accessed and modified
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by multiple unrelated programs without data corruption, so file locking is
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unnecessary.
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Maildir mailboxes contain three subdirectories, namely: :file:`tmp`,
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:file:`new`, and :file:`cur`. Messages are created momentarily in the
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:file:`tmp` subdirectory and then moved to the :file:`new` subdirectory to
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finalize delivery. A mail user agent may subsequently move the message to the
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:file:`cur` subdirectory and store information about the state of the message
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in a special "info" section appended to its file name.
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Folders of the style introduced by the Courier mail transfer agent are also
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supported. Any subdirectory of the main mailbox is considered a folder if
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``'.'`` is the first character in its name. Folder names are represented by
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:class:`Maildir` without the leading ``'.'``. Each folder is itself a Maildir
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mailbox but should not contain other folders. Instead, a logical nesting is
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indicated using ``'.'`` to delimit levels, e.g., "Archived.2005.07".
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.. note::
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The Maildir specification requires the use of a colon (``':'``) in certain
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message file names. However, some operating systems do not permit this
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character in file names, If you wish to use a Maildir-like format on such
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an operating system, you should specify another character to use
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instead. The exclamation point (``'!'``) is a popular choice. For
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example::
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import mailbox
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mailbox.Maildir.colon = '!'
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The :attr:`colon` attribute may also be set on a per-instance basis.
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:class:`Maildir` instances have all of the methods of :class:`Mailbox` in
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addition to the following:
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.. method:: list_folders()
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Return a list of the names of all folders.
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.. method:: get_folder(folder)
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Return a :class:`Maildir` instance representing the folder whose name is
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*folder*. A :exc:`NoSuchMailboxError` exception is raised if the folder
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does not exist.
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.. method:: add_folder(folder)
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Create a folder whose name is *folder* and return a :class:`Maildir`
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instance representing it.
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.. method:: remove_folder(folder)
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Delete the folder whose name is *folder*. If the folder contains any
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messages, a :exc:`NotEmptyError` exception will be raised and the folder
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will not be deleted.
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.. method:: clean()
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Delete temporary files from the mailbox that have not been accessed in the
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last 36 hours. The Maildir specification says that mail-reading programs
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should do this occasionally.
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Some :class:`Mailbox` methods implemented by :class:`Maildir` deserve special
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remarks:
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.. method:: add(message)
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__setitem__(key, message)
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update(arg)
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.. warning::
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These methods generate unique file names based upon the current process
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ID. When using multiple threads, undetected name clashes may occur and
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cause corruption of the mailbox unless threads are coordinated to avoid
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using these methods to manipulate the same mailbox simultaneously.
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.. method:: flush()
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All changes to Maildir mailboxes are immediately applied, so this method
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does nothing.
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.. method:: lock()
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unlock()
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Maildir mailboxes do not support (or require) locking, so these methods do
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nothing.
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.. method:: close()
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:class:`Maildir` instances do not keep any open files and the underlying
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mailboxes do not support locking, so this method does nothing.
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.. method:: get_file(key)
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Depending upon the host platform, it may not be possible to modify or
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remove the underlying message while the returned file remains open.
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.. seealso::
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`maildir man page from qmail <http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html>`_
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The original specification of the format.
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`Using maildir format <https://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html>`_
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Notes on Maildir by its inventor. Includes an updated name-creation scheme and
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details on "info" semantics.
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`maildir man page from Courier <http://www.courier-mta.org/maildir.html>`_
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Another specification of the format. Describes a common extension for supporting
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folders.
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.. _mailbox-mbox:
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:class:`mbox`
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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.. class:: mbox(path, factory=None, create=True)
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A subclass of :class:`Mailbox` for mailboxes in mbox format. Parameter *factory*
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is a callable object that accepts a file-like message representation (which
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behaves as if opened in binary mode) and returns a custom representation. If
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*factory* is ``None``, :class:`mboxMessage` is used as the default message
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representation. If *create* is ``True``, the mailbox is created if it does not
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exist.
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The mbox format is the classic format for storing mail on Unix systems. All
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messages in an mbox mailbox are stored in a single file with the beginning of
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each message indicated by a line whose first five characters are "From ".
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Several variations of the mbox format exist to address perceived shortcomings in
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the original. In the interest of compatibility, :class:`mbox` implements the
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original format, which is sometimes referred to as :dfn:`mboxo`. This means that
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the :mailheader:`Content-Length` header, if present, is ignored and that any
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occurrences of "From " at the beginning of a line in a message body are
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transformed to ">From " when storing the message, although occurrences of ">From
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" are not transformed to "From " when reading the message.
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Some :class:`Mailbox` methods implemented by :class:`mbox` deserve special
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remarks:
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.. method:: get_file(key)
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Using the file after calling :meth:`flush` or :meth:`close` on the
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:class:`mbox` instance may yield unpredictable results or raise an
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exception.
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.. method:: lock()
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unlock()
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Three locking mechanisms are used---dot locking and, if available, the
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:c:func:`flock` and :c:func:`lockf` system calls.
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.. seealso::
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`mbox man page from qmail <http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/mbox.html>`_
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A specification of the format and its variations.
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`mbox man page from tin <http://www.tin.org/bin/man.cgi?section=5&topic=mbox>`_
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Another specification of the format, with details on locking.
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`Configuring Netscape Mail on Unix: Why The Content-Length Format is Bad <https://www.jwz.org/doc/content-length.html>`_
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An argument for using the original mbox format rather than a variation.
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`"mbox" is a family of several mutually incompatible mailbox formats <https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000383.shtml>`_
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A history of mbox variations.
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.. _mailbox-mh:
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:class:`MH`
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^^^^^^^^^^^
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.. class:: MH(path, factory=None, create=True)
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A subclass of :class:`Mailbox` for mailboxes in MH format. Parameter *factory*
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is a callable object that accepts a file-like message representation (which
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behaves as if opened in binary mode) and returns a custom representation. If
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*factory* is ``None``, :class:`MHMessage` is used as the default message
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representation. If *create* is ``True``, the mailbox is created if it does not
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exist.
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MH is a directory-based mailbox format invented for the MH Message Handling
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System, a mail user agent. Each message in an MH mailbox resides in its own
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file. An MH mailbox may contain other MH mailboxes (called :dfn:`folders`) in
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addition to messages. Folders may be nested indefinitely. MH mailboxes also
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support :dfn:`sequences`, which are named lists used to logically group
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messages without moving them to sub-folders. Sequences are defined in a file
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called :file:`.mh_sequences` in each folder.
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The :class:`MH` class manipulates MH mailboxes, but it does not attempt to
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emulate all of :program:`mh`'s behaviors. In particular, it does not modify
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and is not affected by the :file:`context` or :file:`.mh_profile` files that
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are used by :program:`mh` to store its state and configuration.
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:class:`MH` instances have all of the methods of :class:`Mailbox` in addition
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to the following:
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.. method:: list_folders()
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Return a list of the names of all folders.
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.. method:: get_folder(folder)
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|
|
Return an :class:`MH` instance representing the folder whose name is
|
|
*folder*. A :exc:`NoSuchMailboxError` exception is raised if the folder
|
|
does not exist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: add_folder(folder)
|
|
|
|
Create a folder whose name is *folder* and return an :class:`MH` instance
|
|
representing it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove_folder(folder)
|
|
|
|
Delete the folder whose name is *folder*. If the folder contains any
|
|
messages, a :exc:`NotEmptyError` exception will be raised and the folder
|
|
will not be deleted.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_sequences()
|
|
|
|
Return a dictionary of sequence names mapped to key lists. If there are no
|
|
sequences, the empty dictionary is returned.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_sequences(sequences)
|
|
|
|
Re-define the sequences that exist in the mailbox based upon *sequences*,
|
|
a dictionary of names mapped to key lists, like returned by
|
|
:meth:`get_sequences`.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: pack()
|
|
|
|
Rename messages in the mailbox as necessary to eliminate gaps in
|
|
numbering. Entries in the sequences list are updated correspondingly.
|
|
|
|
.. note::
|
|
|
|
Already-issued keys are invalidated by this operation and should not be
|
|
subsequently used.
|
|
|
|
Some :class:`Mailbox` methods implemented by :class:`MH` deserve special
|
|
remarks:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove(key)
|
|
__delitem__(key)
|
|
discard(key)
|
|
|
|
These methods immediately delete the message. The MH convention of marking
|
|
a message for deletion by prepending a comma to its name is not used.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: lock()
|
|
unlock()
|
|
|
|
Three locking mechanisms are used---dot locking and, if available, the
|
|
:c:func:`flock` and :c:func:`lockf` system calls. For MH mailboxes, locking
|
|
the mailbox means locking the :file:`.mh_sequences` file and, only for the
|
|
duration of any operations that affect them, locking individual message
|
|
files.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_file(key)
|
|
|
|
Depending upon the host platform, it may not be possible to remove the
|
|
underlying message while the returned file remains open.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: flush()
|
|
|
|
All changes to MH mailboxes are immediately applied, so this method does
|
|
nothing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: close()
|
|
|
|
:class:`MH` instances do not keep any open files, so this method is
|
|
equivalent to :meth:`unlock`.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. seealso::
|
|
|
|
`nmh - Message Handling System <http://www.nongnu.org/nmh/>`_
|
|
Home page of :program:`nmh`, an updated version of the original :program:`mh`.
|
|
|
|
`MH & nmh: Email for Users & Programmers <http://rand-mh.sourceforge.net/book/>`_
|
|
A GPL-licensed book on :program:`mh` and :program:`nmh`, with some information
|
|
on the mailbox format.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-babyl:
|
|
|
|
:class:`Babyl`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: Babyl(path, factory=None, create=True)
|
|
|
|
A subclass of :class:`Mailbox` for mailboxes in Babyl format. Parameter
|
|
*factory* is a callable object that accepts a file-like message representation
|
|
(which behaves as if opened in binary mode) and returns a custom representation.
|
|
If *factory* is ``None``, :class:`BabylMessage` is used as the default message
|
|
representation. If *create* is ``True``, the mailbox is created if it does not
|
|
exist.
|
|
|
|
Babyl is a single-file mailbox format used by the Rmail mail user agent
|
|
included with Emacs. The beginning of a message is indicated by a line
|
|
containing the two characters Control-Underscore (``'\037'``) and Control-L
|
|
(``'\014'``). The end of a message is indicated by the start of the next
|
|
message or, in the case of the last message, a line containing a
|
|
Control-Underscore (``'\037'``) character.
|
|
|
|
Messages in a Babyl mailbox have two sets of headers, original headers and
|
|
so-called visible headers. Visible headers are typically a subset of the
|
|
original headers that have been reformatted or abridged to be more
|
|
attractive. Each message in a Babyl mailbox also has an accompanying list of
|
|
:dfn:`labels`, or short strings that record extra information about the
|
|
message, and a list of all user-defined labels found in the mailbox is kept
|
|
in the Babyl options section.
|
|
|
|
:class:`Babyl` instances have all of the methods of :class:`Mailbox` in
|
|
addition to the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_labels()
|
|
|
|
Return a list of the names of all user-defined labels used in the mailbox.
|
|
|
|
.. note::
|
|
|
|
The actual messages are inspected to determine which labels exist in
|
|
the mailbox rather than consulting the list of labels in the Babyl
|
|
options section, but the Babyl section is updated whenever the mailbox
|
|
is modified.
|
|
|
|
Some :class:`Mailbox` methods implemented by :class:`Babyl` deserve special
|
|
remarks:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_file(key)
|
|
|
|
In Babyl mailboxes, the headers of a message are not stored contiguously
|
|
with the body of the message. To generate a file-like representation, the
|
|
headers and body are copied together into a :class:`~StringIO.StringIO` instance
|
|
(from the :mod:`StringIO` module), which has an API identical to that of a
|
|
file. As a result, the file-like object is truly independent of the
|
|
underlying mailbox but does not save memory compared to a string
|
|
representation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: lock()
|
|
unlock()
|
|
|
|
Three locking mechanisms are used---dot locking and, if available, the
|
|
:c:func:`flock` and :c:func:`lockf` system calls.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. seealso::
|
|
|
|
`Format of Version 5 Babyl Files <https://quimby.gnus.org/notes/BABYL>`_
|
|
A specification of the Babyl format.
|
|
|
|
`Reading Mail with Rmail <https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Rmail.html>`_
|
|
The Rmail manual, with some information on Babyl semantics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-mmdf:
|
|
|
|
:class:`MMDF`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: MMDF(path, factory=None, create=True)
|
|
|
|
A subclass of :class:`Mailbox` for mailboxes in MMDF format. Parameter *factory*
|
|
is a callable object that accepts a file-like message representation (which
|
|
behaves as if opened in binary mode) and returns a custom representation. If
|
|
*factory* is ``None``, :class:`MMDFMessage` is used as the default message
|
|
representation. If *create* is ``True``, the mailbox is created if it does not
|
|
exist.
|
|
|
|
MMDF is a single-file mailbox format invented for the Multichannel Memorandum
|
|
Distribution Facility, a mail transfer agent. Each message is in the same
|
|
form as an mbox message but is bracketed before and after by lines containing
|
|
four Control-A (``'\001'``) characters. As with the mbox format, the
|
|
beginning of each message is indicated by a line whose first five characters
|
|
are "From ", but additional occurrences of "From " are not transformed to
|
|
">From " when storing messages because the extra message separator lines
|
|
prevent mistaking such occurrences for the starts of subsequent messages.
|
|
|
|
Some :class:`Mailbox` methods implemented by :class:`MMDF` deserve special
|
|
remarks:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_file(key)
|
|
|
|
Using the file after calling :meth:`flush` or :meth:`close` on the
|
|
:class:`MMDF` instance may yield unpredictable results or raise an
|
|
exception.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: lock()
|
|
unlock()
|
|
|
|
Three locking mechanisms are used---dot locking and, if available, the
|
|
:c:func:`flock` and :c:func:`lockf` system calls.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. seealso::
|
|
|
|
`mmdf man page from tin <http://www.tin.org/bin/man.cgi?section=5&topic=mmdf>`_
|
|
A specification of MMDF format from the documentation of tin, a newsreader.
|
|
|
|
`MMDF <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMDF>`_
|
|
A Wikipedia article describing the Multichannel Memorandum Distribution
|
|
Facility.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-message-objects:
|
|
|
|
:class:`Message` objects
|
|
------------------------
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: Message([message])
|
|
|
|
A subclass of the :mod:`email.message` module's
|
|
:class:`~email.message.Message`. Subclasses of :class:`mailbox.Message` add
|
|
mailbox-format-specific state and behavior.
|
|
|
|
If *message* is omitted, the new instance is created in a default, empty state.
|
|
If *message* is an :class:`email.message.Message` instance, its contents are
|
|
copied; furthermore, any format-specific information is converted insofar as
|
|
possible if *message* is a :class:`Message` instance. If *message* is a string
|
|
or a file, it should contain an :rfc:`2822`\ -compliant message, which is read
|
|
and parsed.
|
|
|
|
The format-specific state and behaviors offered by subclasses vary, but in
|
|
general it is only the properties that are not specific to a particular
|
|
mailbox that are supported (although presumably the properties are specific
|
|
to a particular mailbox format). For example, file offsets for single-file
|
|
mailbox formats and file names for directory-based mailbox formats are not
|
|
retained, because they are only applicable to the original mailbox. But state
|
|
such as whether a message has been read by the user or marked as important is
|
|
retained, because it applies to the message itself.
|
|
|
|
There is no requirement that :class:`Message` instances be used to represent
|
|
messages retrieved using :class:`Mailbox` instances. In some situations, the
|
|
time and memory required to generate :class:`Message` representations might
|
|
not be acceptable. For such situations, :class:`Mailbox` instances also
|
|
offer string and file-like representations, and a custom message factory may
|
|
be specified when a :class:`Mailbox` instance is initialized.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-maildirmessage:
|
|
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: MaildirMessage([message])
|
|
|
|
A message with Maildir-specific behaviors. Parameter *message* has the same
|
|
meaning as with the :class:`Message` constructor.
|
|
|
|
Typically, a mail user agent application moves all of the messages in the
|
|
:file:`new` subdirectory to the :file:`cur` subdirectory after the first time
|
|
the user opens and closes the mailbox, recording that the messages are old
|
|
whether or not they've actually been read. Each message in :file:`cur` has an
|
|
"info" section added to its file name to store information about its state.
|
|
(Some mail readers may also add an "info" section to messages in
|
|
:file:`new`.) The "info" section may take one of two forms: it may contain
|
|
"2," followed by a list of standardized flags (e.g., "2,FR") or it may
|
|
contain "1," followed by so-called experimental information. Standard flags
|
|
for Maildir messages are as follows:
|
|
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| Flag | Meaning | Explanation |
|
|
+======+=========+================================+
|
|
| D | Draft | Under composition |
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| F | Flagged | Marked as important |
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| P | Passed | Forwarded, resent, or bounced |
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| R | Replied | Replied to |
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| S | Seen | Read |
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| T | Trashed | Marked for subsequent deletion |
|
|
+------+---------+--------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instances offer the following methods:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_subdir()
|
|
|
|
Return either "new" (if the message should be stored in the :file:`new`
|
|
subdirectory) or "cur" (if the message should be stored in the :file:`cur`
|
|
subdirectory).
|
|
|
|
.. note::
|
|
|
|
A message is typically moved from :file:`new` to :file:`cur` after its
|
|
mailbox has been accessed, whether or not the message is has been
|
|
read. A message ``msg`` has been read if ``"S" in msg.get_flags()`` is
|
|
``True``.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_subdir(subdir)
|
|
|
|
Set the subdirectory the message should be stored in. Parameter *subdir*
|
|
must be either "new" or "cur".
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_flags()
|
|
|
|
Return a string specifying the flags that are currently set. If the
|
|
message complies with the standard Maildir format, the result is the
|
|
concatenation in alphabetical order of zero or one occurrence of each of
|
|
``'D'``, ``'F'``, ``'P'``, ``'R'``, ``'S'``, and ``'T'``. The empty string
|
|
is returned if no flags are set or if "info" contains experimental
|
|
semantics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_flags(flags)
|
|
|
|
Set the flags specified by *flags* and unset all others.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: add_flag(flag)
|
|
|
|
Set the flag(s) specified by *flag* without changing other flags. To add
|
|
more than one flag at a time, *flag* may be a string of more than one
|
|
character. The current "info" is overwritten whether or not it contains
|
|
experimental information rather than flags.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove_flag(flag)
|
|
|
|
Unset the flag(s) specified by *flag* without changing other flags. To
|
|
remove more than one flag at a time, *flag* maybe a string of more than
|
|
one character. If "info" contains experimental information rather than
|
|
flags, the current "info" is not modified.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_date()
|
|
|
|
Return the delivery date of the message as a floating-point number
|
|
representing seconds since the epoch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_date(date)
|
|
|
|
Set the delivery date of the message to *date*, a floating-point number
|
|
representing seconds since the epoch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_info()
|
|
|
|
Return a string containing the "info" for a message. This is useful for
|
|
accessing and modifying "info" that is experimental (i.e., not a list of
|
|
flags).
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_info(info)
|
|
|
|
Set "info" to *info*, which should be a string.
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`MaildirMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`mboxMessage` or :class:`MMDFMessage` instance, the :mailheader:`Status`
|
|
and :mailheader:`X-Status` headers are omitted and the following conversions
|
|
take place:
|
|
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`mboxMessage` or :class:`MMDFMessage` |
|
|
| | state |
|
|
+====================+==============================================+
|
|
| "cur" subdirectory | O flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | F flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| R flag | A flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| S flag | R flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| T flag | D flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`MaildirMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`MHMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MHMessage` state |
|
|
+===============================+==========================+
|
|
| "cur" subdirectory | "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| "cur" subdirectory and S flag | no "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | "flagged" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| R flag | "replied" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`MaildirMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`BabylMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`BabylMessage` state |
|
|
+===============================+===============================+
|
|
| "cur" subdirectory | "unseen" label |
|
|
+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| "cur" subdirectory and S flag | no "unseen" label |
|
|
+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| P flag | "forwarded" or "resent" label |
|
|
+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| R flag | "answered" label |
|
|
+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| T flag | "deleted" label |
|
|
+-------------------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-mboxmessage:
|
|
|
|
:class:`mboxMessage`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: mboxMessage([message])
|
|
|
|
A message with mbox-specific behaviors. Parameter *message* has the same meaning
|
|
as with the :class:`Message` constructor.
|
|
|
|
Messages in an mbox mailbox are stored together in a single file. The
|
|
sender's envelope address and the time of delivery are typically stored in a
|
|
line beginning with "From " that is used to indicate the start of a message,
|
|
though there is considerable variation in the exact format of this data among
|
|
mbox implementations. Flags that indicate the state of the message, such as
|
|
whether it has been read or marked as important, are typically stored in
|
|
:mailheader:`Status` and :mailheader:`X-Status` headers.
|
|
|
|
Conventional flags for mbox messages are as follows:
|
|
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| Flag | Meaning | Explanation |
|
|
+======+==========+================================+
|
|
| R | Read | Read |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| O | Old | Previously detected by MUA |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| D | Deleted | Marked for subsequent deletion |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| F | Flagged | Marked as important |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| A | Answered | Replied to |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
The "R" and "O" flags are stored in the :mailheader:`Status` header, and the
|
|
"D", "F", and "A" flags are stored in the :mailheader:`X-Status` header. The
|
|
flags and headers typically appear in the order mentioned.
|
|
|
|
:class:`mboxMessage` instances offer the following methods:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_from()
|
|
|
|
Return a string representing the "From " line that marks the start of the
|
|
message in an mbox mailbox. The leading "From " and the trailing newline
|
|
are excluded.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_from(from_, time_=None)
|
|
|
|
Set the "From " line to *from_*, which should be specified without a
|
|
leading "From " or trailing newline. For convenience, *time_* may be
|
|
specified and will be formatted appropriately and appended to *from_*. If
|
|
*time_* is specified, it should be a :class:`time.struct_time` instance, a
|
|
tuple suitable for passing to :meth:`time.strftime`, or ``True`` (to use
|
|
:meth:`time.gmtime`).
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_flags()
|
|
|
|
Return a string specifying the flags that are currently set. If the
|
|
message complies with the conventional format, the result is the
|
|
concatenation in the following order of zero or one occurrence of each of
|
|
``'R'``, ``'O'``, ``'D'``, ``'F'``, and ``'A'``.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_flags(flags)
|
|
|
|
Set the flags specified by *flags* and unset all others. Parameter *flags*
|
|
should be the concatenation in any order of zero or more occurrences of
|
|
each of ``'R'``, ``'O'``, ``'D'``, ``'F'``, and ``'A'``.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: add_flag(flag)
|
|
|
|
Set the flag(s) specified by *flag* without changing other flags. To add
|
|
more than one flag at a time, *flag* may be a string of more than one
|
|
character.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove_flag(flag)
|
|
|
|
Unset the flag(s) specified by *flag* without changing other flags. To
|
|
remove more than one flag at a time, *flag* maybe a string of more than
|
|
one character.
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`mboxMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instance, a "From " line is generated based upon the
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instance's delivery date, and the following conversions
|
|
take place:
|
|
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MaildirMessage` state |
|
|
+=================+===============================+
|
|
| R flag | S flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | "cur" subdirectory |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| D flag | T flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | F flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | R flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`mboxMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`MHMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MHMessage` state |
|
|
+===================+==========================+
|
|
| R flag and O flag | no "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | "flagged" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | "replied" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`mboxMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`BabylMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`BabylMessage` state |
|
|
+===================+=============================+
|
|
| R flag and O flag | no "unseen" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | "unseen" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| D flag | "deleted" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | "answered" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`Message` instance is created based upon an :class:`MMDFMessage`
|
|
instance, the "From " line is copied and all flags directly correspond:
|
|
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MMDFMessage` state |
|
|
+=================+============================+
|
|
| R flag | R flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | O flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| D flag | D flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | F flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | A flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-mhmessage:
|
|
|
|
:class:`MHMessage`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: MHMessage([message])
|
|
|
|
A message with MH-specific behaviors. Parameter *message* has the same meaning
|
|
as with the :class:`Message` constructor.
|
|
|
|
MH messages do not support marks or flags in the traditional sense, but they
|
|
do support sequences, which are logical groupings of arbitrary messages. Some
|
|
mail reading programs (although not the standard :program:`mh` and
|
|
:program:`nmh`) use sequences in much the same way flags are used with other
|
|
formats, as follows:
|
|
|
|
+----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| Sequence | Explanation |
|
|
+==========+==========================================+
|
|
| unseen | Not read, but previously detected by MUA |
|
|
+----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| replied | Replied to |
|
|
+----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| flagged | Marked as important |
|
|
+----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
:class:`MHMessage` instances offer the following methods:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_sequences()
|
|
|
|
Return a list of the names of sequences that include this message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_sequences(sequences)
|
|
|
|
Set the list of sequences that include this message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: add_sequence(sequence)
|
|
|
|
Add *sequence* to the list of sequences that include this message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove_sequence(sequence)
|
|
|
|
Remove *sequence* from the list of sequences that include this message.
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MHMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+--------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MaildirMessage` state |
|
|
+====================+===============================+
|
|
| "unseen" sequence | no S flag |
|
|
+--------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| "replied" sequence | R flag |
|
|
+--------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| "flagged" sequence | F flag |
|
|
+--------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MHMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`mboxMessage` or :class:`MMDFMessage` instance, the :mailheader:`Status`
|
|
and :mailheader:`X-Status` headers are omitted and the following conversions
|
|
take place:
|
|
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`mboxMessage` or :class:`MMDFMessage` |
|
|
| | state |
|
|
+====================+==============================================+
|
|
| "unseen" sequence | no R flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| "replied" sequence | A flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| "flagged" sequence | F flag |
|
|
+--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MHMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`BabylMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+--------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`BabylMessage` state |
|
|
+====================+=============================+
|
|
| "unseen" sequence | "unseen" label |
|
|
+--------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| "replied" sequence | "answered" label |
|
|
+--------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-babylmessage:
|
|
|
|
:class:`BabylMessage`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: BabylMessage([message])
|
|
|
|
A message with Babyl-specific behaviors. Parameter *message* has the same
|
|
meaning as with the :class:`Message` constructor.
|
|
|
|
Certain message labels, called :dfn:`attributes`, are defined by convention
|
|
to have special meanings. The attributes are as follows:
|
|
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| Label | Explanation |
|
|
+===========+==========================================+
|
|
| unseen | Not read, but previously detected by MUA |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| deleted | Marked for subsequent deletion |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| filed | Copied to another file or mailbox |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| answered | Replied to |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| forwarded | Forwarded |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| edited | Modified by the user |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
| resent | Resent |
|
|
+-----------+------------------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
By default, Rmail displays only visible headers. The :class:`BabylMessage`
|
|
class, though, uses the original headers because they are more
|
|
complete. Visible headers may be accessed explicitly if desired.
|
|
|
|
:class:`BabylMessage` instances offer the following methods:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_labels()
|
|
|
|
Return a list of labels on the message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_labels(labels)
|
|
|
|
Set the list of labels on the message to *labels*.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: add_label(label)
|
|
|
|
Add *label* to the list of labels on the message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove_label(label)
|
|
|
|
Remove *label* from the list of labels on the message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_visible()
|
|
|
|
Return an :class:`Message` instance whose headers are the message's
|
|
visible headers and whose body is empty.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_visible(visible)
|
|
|
|
Set the message's visible headers to be the same as the headers in
|
|
*message*. Parameter *visible* should be a :class:`Message` instance, an
|
|
:class:`email.message.Message` instance, a string, or a file-like object
|
|
(which should be open in text mode).
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: update_visible()
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`BabylMessage` instance's original headers are modified, the
|
|
visible headers are not automatically modified to correspond. This method
|
|
updates the visible headers as follows: each visible header with a
|
|
corresponding original header is set to the value of the original header,
|
|
each visible header without a corresponding original header is removed,
|
|
and any of :mailheader:`Date`, :mailheader:`From`, :mailheader:`Reply-To`,
|
|
:mailheader:`To`, :mailheader:`CC`, and :mailheader:`Subject` that are
|
|
present in the original headers but not the visible headers are added to
|
|
the visible headers.
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`BabylMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MaildirMessage` state |
|
|
+===================+===============================+
|
|
| "unseen" label | no S flag |
|
|
+-------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| "deleted" label | T flag |
|
|
+-------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| "answered" label | R flag |
|
|
+-------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| "forwarded" label | P flag |
|
|
+-------------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`BabylMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`mboxMessage` or :class:`MMDFMessage` instance, the :mailheader:`Status`
|
|
and :mailheader:`X-Status` headers are omitted and the following conversions
|
|
take place:
|
|
|
|
+------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`mboxMessage` or :class:`MMDFMessage` |
|
|
| | state |
|
|
+==================+==============================================+
|
|
| "unseen" label | no R flag |
|
|
+------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| "deleted" label | D flag |
|
|
+------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
| "answered" label | A flag |
|
|
+------------------+----------------------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When a :class:`BabylMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`MHMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MHMessage` state |
|
|
+==================+==========================+
|
|
| "unseen" label | "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| "answered" label | "replied" sequence |
|
|
+------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-mmdfmessage:
|
|
|
|
:class:`MMDFMessage`
|
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: MMDFMessage([message])
|
|
|
|
A message with MMDF-specific behaviors. Parameter *message* has the same meaning
|
|
as with the :class:`Message` constructor.
|
|
|
|
As with message in an mbox mailbox, MMDF messages are stored with the
|
|
sender's address and the delivery date in an initial line beginning with
|
|
"From ". Likewise, flags that indicate the state of the message are
|
|
typically stored in :mailheader:`Status` and :mailheader:`X-Status` headers.
|
|
|
|
Conventional flags for MMDF messages are identical to those of mbox message
|
|
and are as follows:
|
|
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| Flag | Meaning | Explanation |
|
|
+======+==========+================================+
|
|
| R | Read | Read |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| O | Old | Previously detected by MUA |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| D | Deleted | Marked for subsequent deletion |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| F | Flagged | Marked as important |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
| A | Answered | Replied to |
|
|
+------+----------+--------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
The "R" and "O" flags are stored in the :mailheader:`Status` header, and the
|
|
"D", "F", and "A" flags are stored in the :mailheader:`X-Status` header. The
|
|
flags and headers typically appear in the order mentioned.
|
|
|
|
:class:`MMDFMessage` instances offer the following methods, which are
|
|
identical to those offered by :class:`mboxMessage`:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_from()
|
|
|
|
Return a string representing the "From " line that marks the start of the
|
|
message in an mbox mailbox. The leading "From " and the trailing newline
|
|
are excluded.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_from(from_, time_=None)
|
|
|
|
Set the "From " line to *from_*, which should be specified without a
|
|
leading "From " or trailing newline. For convenience, *time_* may be
|
|
specified and will be formatted appropriately and appended to *from_*. If
|
|
*time_* is specified, it should be a :class:`time.struct_time` instance, a
|
|
tuple suitable for passing to :meth:`time.strftime`, or ``True`` (to use
|
|
:meth:`time.gmtime`).
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: get_flags()
|
|
|
|
Return a string specifying the flags that are currently set. If the
|
|
message complies with the conventional format, the result is the
|
|
concatenation in the following order of zero or one occurrence of each of
|
|
``'R'``, ``'O'``, ``'D'``, ``'F'``, and ``'A'``.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: set_flags(flags)
|
|
|
|
Set the flags specified by *flags* and unset all others. Parameter *flags*
|
|
should be the concatenation in any order of zero or more occurrences of
|
|
each of ``'R'``, ``'O'``, ``'D'``, ``'F'``, and ``'A'``.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: add_flag(flag)
|
|
|
|
Set the flag(s) specified by *flag* without changing other flags. To add
|
|
more than one flag at a time, *flag* may be a string of more than one
|
|
character.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: remove_flag(flag)
|
|
|
|
Unset the flag(s) specified by *flag* without changing other flags. To
|
|
remove more than one flag at a time, *flag* maybe a string of more than
|
|
one character.
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MMDFMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instance, a "From " line is generated based upon the
|
|
:class:`MaildirMessage` instance's delivery date, and the following conversions
|
|
take place:
|
|
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MaildirMessage` state |
|
|
+=================+===============================+
|
|
| R flag | S flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | "cur" subdirectory |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| D flag | T flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | F flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | R flag |
|
|
+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MMDFMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`MHMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`MHMessage` state |
|
|
+===================+==========================+
|
|
| R flag and O flag | no "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | "unseen" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | "flagged" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | "replied" sequence |
|
|
+-------------------+--------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MMDFMessage` instance is created based upon a
|
|
:class:`BabylMessage` instance, the following conversions take place:
|
|
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`BabylMessage` state |
|
|
+===================+=============================+
|
|
| R flag and O flag | no "unseen" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | "unseen" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| D flag | "deleted" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | "answered" label |
|
|
+-------------------+-----------------------------+
|
|
|
|
When an :class:`MMDFMessage` instance is created based upon an
|
|
:class:`mboxMessage` instance, the "From " line is copied and all flags directly
|
|
correspond:
|
|
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| Resulting state | :class:`mboxMessage` state |
|
|
+=================+============================+
|
|
| R flag | R flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| O flag | O flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| D flag | D flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| F flag | F flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
| A flag | A flag |
|
|
+-----------------+----------------------------+
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exceptions
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
The following exception classes are defined in the :mod:`mailbox` module:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. exception:: Error()
|
|
|
|
The based class for all other module-specific exceptions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. exception:: NoSuchMailboxError()
|
|
|
|
Raised when a mailbox is expected but is not found, such as when instantiating a
|
|
:class:`Mailbox` subclass with a path that does not exist (and with the *create*
|
|
parameter set to ``False``), or when opening a folder that does not exist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. exception:: NotEmptyError()
|
|
|
|
Raised when a mailbox is not empty but is expected to be, such as when deleting
|
|
a folder that contains messages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. exception:: ExternalClashError()
|
|
|
|
Raised when some mailbox-related condition beyond the control of the program
|
|
causes it to be unable to proceed, such as when failing to acquire a lock that
|
|
another program already holds a lock, or when a uniquely-generated file name
|
|
already exists.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. exception:: FormatError()
|
|
|
|
Raised when the data in a file cannot be parsed, such as when an :class:`MH`
|
|
instance attempts to read a corrupted :file:`.mh_sequences` file.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. _mailbox-deprecated:
|
|
|
|
Deprecated classes and methods
|
|
------------------------------
|
|
|
|
.. deprecated:: 2.6
|
|
|
|
Older versions of the :mod:`mailbox` module do not support modification of
|
|
mailboxes, such as adding or removing message, and do not provide classes to
|
|
represent format-specific message properties. For backward compatibility, the
|
|
older mailbox classes are still available, but the newer classes should be used
|
|
in preference to them. The old classes have been removed in Python 3.
|
|
|
|
Older mailbox objects support only iteration and provide a single public method:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. method:: oldmailbox.next()
|
|
|
|
Return the next message in the mailbox, created with the optional *factory*
|
|
argument passed into the mailbox object's constructor. By default this is an
|
|
:class:`rfc822.Message` object (see the :mod:`rfc822` module). Depending on the
|
|
mailbox implementation the *fp* attribute of this object may be a true file
|
|
object or a class instance simulating a file object, taking care of things like
|
|
message boundaries if multiple mail messages are contained in a single file,
|
|
etc. If no more messages are available, this method returns ``None``.
|
|
|
|
Most of the older mailbox classes have names that differ from the current
|
|
mailbox class names, except for :class:`Maildir`. For this reason, the new
|
|
:class:`Maildir` class defines a :meth:`!next` method and its constructor differs
|
|
slightly from those of the other new mailbox classes.
|
|
|
|
The older mailbox classes whose names are not the same as their newer
|
|
counterparts are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: UnixMailbox(fp[, factory])
|
|
|
|
Access to a classic Unix-style mailbox, where all messages are contained in a
|
|
single file and separated by ``From`` (a.k.a. ``From_``) lines. The file object
|
|
*fp* points to the mailbox file. The optional *factory* parameter is a callable
|
|
that should create new message objects. *factory* is called with one argument,
|
|
*fp* by the :meth:`!next` method of the mailbox object. The default is the
|
|
:class:`rfc822.Message` class (see the :mod:`rfc822` module -- and the note
|
|
below).
|
|
|
|
.. note::
|
|
|
|
For reasons of this module's internal implementation, you will probably want to
|
|
open the *fp* object in binary mode. This is especially important on Windows.
|
|
|
|
For maximum portability, messages in a Unix-style mailbox are separated by any
|
|
line that begins exactly with the string ``'From '`` (note the trailing space)
|
|
if preceded by exactly two newlines. Because of the wide-range of variations in
|
|
practice, nothing else on the ``From_`` line should be considered. However, the
|
|
current implementation doesn't check for the leading two newlines. This is
|
|
usually fine for most applications.
|
|
|
|
The :class:`UnixMailbox` class implements a more strict version of ``From_``
|
|
line checking, using a regular expression that usually correctly matched
|
|
``From_`` delimiters. It considers delimiter line to be separated by ``From
|
|
name time`` lines. For maximum portability, use the
|
|
:class:`PortableUnixMailbox` class instead. This class is identical to
|
|
:class:`UnixMailbox` except that individual messages are separated by only
|
|
``From`` lines.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: PortableUnixMailbox(fp[, factory])
|
|
|
|
A less-strict version of :class:`UnixMailbox`, which considers only the ``From``
|
|
at the beginning of the line separating messages. The "*name* *time*" portion
|
|
of the From line is ignored, to protect against some variations that are
|
|
observed in practice. This works since lines in the message which begin with
|
|
``'From '`` are quoted by mail handling software at delivery-time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.. class:: MmdfMailbox(fp[, factory])
|
|
|
|
Access an MMDF-style mailbox, where all messages are contained in a single file
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and separated by lines consisting of 4 control-A characters. The file object
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*fp* points to the mailbox file. Optional *factory* is as with the
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:class:`UnixMailbox` class.
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.. class:: MHMailbox(dirname[, factory])
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Access an MH mailbox, a directory with each message in a separate file with a
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numeric name. The name of the mailbox directory is passed in *dirname*.
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*factory* is as with the :class:`UnixMailbox` class.
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.. class:: BabylMailbox(fp[, factory])
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Access a Babyl mailbox, which is similar to an MMDF mailbox. In Babyl format,
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each message has two sets of headers, the *original* headers and the *visible*
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headers. The original headers appear before a line containing only ``'*** EOOH
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***'`` (End-Of-Original-Headers) and the visible headers appear after the
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``EOOH`` line. Babyl-compliant mail readers will show you only the visible
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headers, and :class:`BabylMailbox` objects will return messages containing only
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the visible headers. You'll have to do your own parsing of the mailbox file to
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get at the original headers. Mail messages start with the EOOH line and end
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with a line containing only ``'\037\014'``. *factory* is as with the
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:class:`UnixMailbox` class.
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If you wish to use the older mailbox classes with the :mod:`email` module rather
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than the deprecated :mod:`rfc822` module, you can do so as follows::
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import email
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import email.Errors
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import mailbox
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def msgfactory(fp):
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try:
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return email.message_from_file(fp)
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except email.Errors.MessageParseError:
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# Don't return None since that will
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# stop the mailbox iterator
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return ''
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mbox = mailbox.UnixMailbox(fp, msgfactory)
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Alternatively, if you know your mailbox contains only well-formed MIME messages,
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you can simplify this to::
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import email
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import mailbox
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mbox = mailbox.UnixMailbox(fp, email.message_from_file)
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.. _mailbox-examples:
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Examples
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--------
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A simple example of printing the subjects of all messages in a mailbox that seem
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interesting::
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import mailbox
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for message in mailbox.mbox('~/mbox'):
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subject = message['subject'] # Could possibly be None.
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if subject and 'python' in subject.lower():
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print subject
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To copy all mail from a Babyl mailbox to an MH mailbox, converting all of the
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format-specific information that can be converted::
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import mailbox
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destination = mailbox.MH('~/Mail')
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destination.lock()
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for message in mailbox.Babyl('~/RMAIL'):
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destination.add(mailbox.MHMessage(message))
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destination.flush()
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destination.unlock()
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This example sorts mail from several mailing lists into different mailboxes,
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being careful to avoid mail corruption due to concurrent modification by other
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programs, mail loss due to interruption of the program, or premature termination
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due to malformed messages in the mailbox::
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import mailbox
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import email.errors
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list_names = ('python-list', 'python-dev', 'python-bugs')
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boxes = dict((name, mailbox.mbox('~/email/%s' % name)) for name in list_names)
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inbox = mailbox.Maildir('~/Maildir', factory=None)
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for key in inbox.iterkeys():
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try:
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message = inbox[key]
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except email.errors.MessageParseError:
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continue # The message is malformed. Just leave it.
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for name in list_names:
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list_id = message['list-id']
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if list_id and name in list_id:
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# Get mailbox to use
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box = boxes[name]
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# Write copy to disk before removing original.
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# If there's a crash, you might duplicate a message, but
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# that's better than losing a message completely.
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box.lock()
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box.add(message)
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box.flush()
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box.unlock()
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# Remove original message
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inbox.lock()
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inbox.discard(key)
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inbox.flush()
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inbox.unlock()
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break # Found destination, so stop looking.
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for box in boxes.itervalues():
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box.close()
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