POP (Post Office Protocol)

POP provides store- and forward-on-demand services for electronic mail. Many ISPs provide POP mail services where e-mail is delivered to a mail server where it is stored. When a client requests pending mail, it is downloaded from the server to the client and then is usually deleted from the server. It is up to the client to periodically poll the mail server to check for new mail. Mail processing from that point on occurs on the client machine.

URLs:

RFC 1734

Myers, J. POP3 AUTHentication command. 1994 December; 5 p.

RFC 1725

Myers, J.; Rose, M. Post Office Protocol - Version 3. 1994 November; 18 p.

RFC 1082

Rose, M. Post Office Protocol: Version 3: Extended service offerings. 1988 November; 11 p.

Client-server mail protocols FAQ

FAQ information and tons of links on client and server mail protocols and software.

W3E References:

mail server

e-mail