In
email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
technology, IDLE is an
IMAP
In computing, the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is an Internet standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email messages from a mail server over a TCP/IP connection. IMAP is defined by .
IMAP was designed with the goal of per ...
feature described i
RFC 2177that allows a
client
Client(s) or The Client may refer to:
* Client (business)
* Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer
* Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...
to indicate to the
server
Server may refer to:
Computing
*Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients
Role
* Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...
that it is ready to accept
real-time
Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
notifications.
Significance
The IDLE feature allows IMAP email users to immediately receive any mailbox changes without having to undertake any action such as clicking on a refresh button, or having the email client automatically and repeatedly ask the server for new messages.
Usage
IMAP4 servers that support IDLE will include the string "IDLE" in the result of their CAPABILITY command. This allows email users to receive near instant notification of a new email.
See also
*
Push-IMAP Push-IMAP, which is otherwise known as P-IMAP or ''Push extensions for Internet Message Access Protocol'', is an email protocol designed as a faster way to synchronise a mobile device like a PDA or smartphone to an email server.
It was developed ...
Notes
External links
RFC 2177: IMAP4 IDLE
Internet mail protocols
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