T101.4b - Email and Cloud Based Email |
Email is digital mail. You type a note or letter and instead of folding a piece of paper and putting a stamp on it, you digitally address it to someone and hit send. The address format is [email protected] (where the only constants are the @ and . (dot) ).
Old School Raw Form Text and POP
In raw form, when an email was created, a text file was created with content and then the text file was passed around. There was a sophisticated system for routing based on the address on the message. That system used the DNS system (Doman Name System) to route in a similar but different manner as routing for website requests. That message would be sent to a server that recieved your mail. Then, you would periodically check for mail, download a copy and delete the copy that had been waiting for you at your mailbox (that delete was based on a custom setting). This process was referred to as POP (Post Office Protocal). This would very much match the process of passing a physical note or letter around an office or the mail.
IMAP
IMAP (Internet message access protocal) was an alternative to POP. With IMAP, y ou never downloaded copies of your mail. When you went to access it, it was as if you used a periscope and read the messages on the server where the had been delivered and you replied from there. There would be no messages or information stored on your device. Almost all mail is handled this way now, but that was not the case in the beginning. This was far more confusing and the software to do this was more challenging to manage/setup.
Yahoo and AOL mail
Yahoo mail and AOL mail were the first two large internet based mail service providers that I can recall.
GMail
Gmail was one of the first mail services to offer a fully web based IMAP interface. This enabled people to get and check their email from any internet connected computer in the world be it theirs or someone elses. Prior to this, most mail services would allow you to check your mail via a web interface, but most were challenged one way or another. Also, managing mail servers and managing viruses was a nightmare prior to Gmail. With the advent of gmail came the broader application of provider based screening and monitoring.
After starting up, Gmail started to offer mail handling services for private domains. This was a massive burden relief for many, as keeping mail servers up and patched and operating was not easy. This was their first major "corporate style offering" from a commercial perspective (that I'm aware of or can recall).
One thing about Gmail that was/is very unique is the search capabilities to search email. This freed users up from complex folder trees. This was achieved by taking the text files coming and and parsing the content into fields in a database for search functionality. Likewise, outbound email content was stored in database d fields and then compiled in a text string format for sending.
This database storage system as compared to a text based storage system is what made and makes Gmail so unique from a technology perspective.
For more information, check out information online to see how DNS routing of messages works, how POP and IMAP work and what makes Gmail so unique from a backend perspective.
- My first email account was issued in grad school (MBA) in 1994. It was of no use given only a handful of other folks in the program had it and logging in required two or three passwords and gateway passes.
- My first job out of grad school was in 1995 and the SQL server 1.0 had just been released and they were trying to integrate that with Lotus Notes (for those who recall that type of thing/mess).
Old School Raw Form Text and POP
In raw form, when an email was created, a text file was created with content and then the text file was passed around. There was a sophisticated system for routing based on the address on the message. That system used the DNS system (Doman Name System) to route in a similar but different manner as routing for website requests. That message would be sent to a server that recieved your mail. Then, you would periodically check for mail, download a copy and delete the copy that had been waiting for you at your mailbox (that delete was based on a custom setting). This process was referred to as POP (Post Office Protocal). This would very much match the process of passing a physical note or letter around an office or the mail.
IMAP
IMAP (Internet message access protocal) was an alternative to POP. With IMAP, y ou never downloaded copies of your mail. When you went to access it, it was as if you used a periscope and read the messages on the server where the had been delivered and you replied from there. There would be no messages or information stored on your device. Almost all mail is handled this way now, but that was not the case in the beginning. This was far more confusing and the software to do this was more challenging to manage/setup.
Yahoo and AOL mail
Yahoo mail and AOL mail were the first two large internet based mail service providers that I can recall.
GMail
Gmail was one of the first mail services to offer a fully web based IMAP interface. This enabled people to get and check their email from any internet connected computer in the world be it theirs or someone elses. Prior to this, most mail services would allow you to check your mail via a web interface, but most were challenged one way or another. Also, managing mail servers and managing viruses was a nightmare prior to Gmail. With the advent of gmail came the broader application of provider based screening and monitoring.
After starting up, Gmail started to offer mail handling services for private domains. This was a massive burden relief for many, as keeping mail servers up and patched and operating was not easy. This was their first major "corporate style offering" from a commercial perspective (that I'm aware of or can recall).
One thing about Gmail that was/is very unique is the search capabilities to search email. This freed users up from complex folder trees. This was achieved by taking the text files coming and and parsing the content into fields in a database for search functionality. Likewise, outbound email content was stored in database d fields and then compiled in a text string format for sending.
This database storage system as compared to a text based storage system is what made and makes Gmail so unique from a technology perspective.
For more information, check out information online to see how DNS routing of messages works, how POP and IMAP work and what makes Gmail so unique from a backend perspective.