Push-IMAP, which is otherwise known as P-IMAP or ''Push extensions for
Internet Message Access Protocol
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 ...
'', is an email protocol designed as a faster way to synchronise a mobile device like a PDA or
smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
to an email server.
It was developed by
Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination.
Descript ...
and other partners, and based on
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 ...
with additional enhancements for optimization in a mobile setting. It was submitted as input to the
Lemonade Profile IETF Working Group - but was not included in the resulting RFC 4550.
The protocol
The protocol was designed to provide for a secure way to automatically keep communicating new messages between a server and a mobile device like a
PDA or
Smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
. It should reduce the time and effort needed to synchronize messages between the two by using an open connection that is kept alive by some kind of heartbeat. To reduce necessary
bandwidth
Bandwidth commonly refers to:
* Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range
* Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...
, it uses compression and command
macros.
Additionally, P-IMAP features a mechanism for sending email that is derived from (but not identical to)
SMTP
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. Mail servers and other message transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages. User-level email clients typi ...
, and so a rich email service is provided using a single connection.
P-IMAP should not be viewed as an alternative to the
IMAP IDLE command (RFC 2177). In fact, IDLE is one of the required mechanisms for a P-IMAP server to notify the client (optional notifications are
SMS
Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, t ...
or
WAP Push
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an obsolete technical standard for accessing information over a Cellular network, mobile cellular network. Introduced in 1999, WAP allowed users with compatible mobile devices to browse content such as new ...
).
Other mobile technologies
Although they are both based on IMAP, the
Yahoo! Mail and
iCloud
iCloud is the personal cloud service of Apple Inc. Launched on October 12, 2011, iCloud enables users to store and Data synchronization, sync data across devices, including Apple Mail, Calendar (Apple), Apple Calendar, Photos (Apple), Apple Ph ...
push email services for
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
do not use a standard form of P-IMAP. Yahoo! Mail uses a special
UDP message to trigger an email synchronization, while
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
's iCloud push email uses a variant of
XMPP
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (abbreviation XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an Open standard, open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Ext ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Push email
*
Lemonade Profile
*
SyncML
SyncML, or Synchronization Markup Language, was originally developed as a platform-independent standard for information synchronization. Established by the SyncML Initiative, this project has evolved to become a key component in data synchroniza ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Email clients
Internet mail protocols
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 ...