Una proposta per il servizio di Posta Elettronica del CNR

A proposal for the CNR electronic mail serviceUna proposta per la ristrutturazione del servizio di Posta Elettronica del CN

A Practical Study of E-mail Communication through SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an application layer protocol for e-mail communication. It has been adopted as a standard by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). SMTP has set conversational and grammatical rules for exchanging messages between connected computers. It has evolved through several revisions and extensions since its formation by Jon Postel in 1981. In SMTP, the sender establishes a full-duplex transmission channel with a receiver. The receiver may be either the ultimate destination or an intermediate forwarding agent. SMTP commands are issued by the sender and are sent to the receiver, which responds to these commands through codes. Each SMTP session between the sender and the receiver consists of three phases namely: connection establishment, mail transactions and connection termination. This paper describes and illustrates the process of e-mail communication through SMTP by issuing the individual SMTP commands directly to transmit e-mail messages. It also describes individual SMTP commands and extensions with practical implementation using a Telnet client

Free/Open Source Software - Open Standards

Co-published with Elsevier a division of Reed Elsevier India Private LimitedThis primer is part of a series of primers on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) from IOSN serving as introductory documents to FOSS in general, as well as covering particular topic areas that are deemed important to FOSS such as open standards. Open standards are not the same as FOSS. However, like FOSS, they can minimize the possibility of technology and vendor lock-ins and level the playing field. They can also play an important role in promoting the interoperability of FOSS and proprietary software and this is crucial in the current, mixed Information technology (IT) environment. Being a primer in the IOSN FOSS series, the issues concerning open standards are approached from the FOSS and software perspectives and emphasis is given to the relationship that some of these standards have with FOSS. The definition of an open standard has generated much controversy with regard to whether it should contain patents licensed under reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms. The FOSS community, in general, is of the view that such RAND-encumbered standards should not be considered as open standards but most of the standards development organizations and bodies do accept patents available under RAND terms in their standards. The primer has incorporated definitions of open standards from both sides and also put into perspective the minimal characteristics that an open standard should have. It is hoped that this primer will provide the reader with a better understanding as to why open standards are important and how they can complement FOSS in fostering a more open IT environment. As users and consumers, the readers of this primer should demand from their software, conformance to open standards as far as possible. In addition to promoting interoperability and making more choices available, this will make it easier for FOSS to co-exist and take root in environments filled with proprietary software