Object oriented mail server framework mechanism

• US 6,205,471 B1
• Filed: 05/22/1998
• Issued: 03/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Herness, Eric Nels, Romano, George James, Jenney, Eric H., Gilchrist, Frank William, Ripstra, John Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Geckil, Mehmet B.
• Application Number:
  US09/083,514
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207, 709/203, 709/220, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 707/103, 379/93.24
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A framework for use with object-oriented programming systems provides a common message processing system structure that can be placed on any OOP platform and be configured to support any e-mail message protocol standard or specific mail server function. The framework defines an e-mail message as a number of distinct objects, each of which contains information that describes some portion of the message. All messages received by a system in which the framework is implemented are defined on this core object structure. Another set of objects and methods define the processing steps required for a mail server to process a message. A message is received as a class of message objects, which are assigned a message type that determines the subsequent processing steps to which the message object is subjected. As a message is processed, the objects of which it is comprised are changed, so that the message processing can be interrupted and then resumed without loss or duplication of processing steps.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a central processing unit;

a user interface; and

a main memory having an operating system that supports an object-oriented programming environment containing a framework that provides an extensible network mail server processing system that receives an e-mail message from an originating network user and transfers the e-mail message to one or more destination addresses of network users who are intended recipients of the e-mail message, the framework including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user and at least one extensible function defined by a user to customize the framework and thereby define a desired network mail server processing system.

2. A computer system as defined in claim 1, wherein the framework defines a message center object that controls message processing, a message class that contains a set of message objects that comprise originator, recipient, and message content information contained in the e-mail message, and a set of object methods that are used by the message center object to place the information of the e-mail message into the message objects according to a message processing protocol of the e-mail message and process it accordingly.

3. A computer system as defined in claim 2, wherein the object methods include an address resolution method that determines a recipient user network address for each member of the recipient list class.

4. A computer system as defined in claim 2, wherein the object methods include a security authorization method that performs message security checking and authorization of an e-mail message.

5. A computer system as defined in claim 2, wherein the object methods include an attachment reference list method that creates attachment list objects containing information attached to the e-mail message.

6. A computer system as defined in claim 2, wherein the message objects further include objects belonging to classes comprising a message originator list, original recipient list, recipient list, and envelope list.

7. A computer system as defined in claim 6, wherein the class of original recipient list contains one or more entry objects, each of which contains one or more objects that are defined by a recipient user network address and a distribution type.

8. A computer system as defined in claim 7, wherein the class of recipient list comprises objects that are defined by a recipient user network address and a recipient address message protocol type.

9. A computer system as defined in claim 8, wherein each recipient user network address specifies a message protocol type.

10. A computer system as defined in claim 8, wherein the message objects include multiple recipient list objects of different message protocols.

11. A computer system as defined in claim 8, wherein the object methods include recipient list resolve methods that create the recipient list objects from the original recipient list entry objects.

12. A computer system as defined in claim 11, wherein the recipient list resolve methods repeatedly operate on the original recipient list entry objects until no additional destination addresses are specified by a distribution type, whereby the distribution type specifies a set of destination addresses corresponding to a single original recipient list entry.

13. A computer system comprising:

a central processing unit;

a user interface;

a network interface through which e-mail messages are received; and

a main memory having an operating system that supports an object-oriented programming environment containing a framework that defines a message center object that controls message processing, a message class that contains a set of message objects that define originator, recipient, and message content information contained in a received e-mail message, and a set of object methods that are used by the message center object to place the information contained in the received e-mail message into the message objects according to a message processing protocol of the e-mail message and process it accordingly, the framework including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user and at least one extensible function defined by a user to customize the framework and thereby define a desired network mail server processing system.

14. An object oriented framework for use in a computer system connected to a network, the computer system receiving e-mail messages from originating network users and having an operating system that supports an object oriented programming environment that maintains a message center object that controls e-mail message processing, a message class comprising a set of message objects that comprise originator, recipient, and message content information contained in a received e-mail message, and a set of object methods that are used by the message center object to place the information of the received e-mail message into the message objects according to a message processing protocol of the received e-mail message and process it accordingly, the framework including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user and at least one extensible function defined by a user to customize the framework and thereby define a desired network mail server processing system.

15. A program product for use in a computer system having an operating system that supports an object-oriented programming environment, the program product comprising:

a recordable media; and

a framework recorded on the recordable media, the framework providing an extensible network mail server processing system that receives an e-mail message from an originating network user and transfers the e-mail message to one or more destination addresses of network users who are intended recipients of the e-mail message, the framework including at least one core function that cannot be modified by a user and at least one extensible function defined by a user to customize the framework and thereby define a desired network mail server processing system.

16. A program product as defined in claim 15, wherein the framework defines a message center object that controls message processing, a message class that contains a set of message objects that comprise originator, recipient, and message content information contained in the e-mail message, and a set of object methods that are used by the message center object to place the information of the e-mail message into the message objects according to a message processing protocol of the e-mail message and process it accordingly.

17. The program product of claim 15 wherein the recordable media comprises magnetic media.

18. The program product of claim 15 wherein the recordable media comprises transmission media.