What is UIDL?
J. Jack Chan
--
J. Jack Chan
Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine
Athens, Ohio
jch...@ohiou.edu
Ken Simler
jch...@ohiou.edu (J. Jack Chan) wrote:
>When I have mail, the retrieve mail widow displays "UIDL". Can
someone tell me what does that stand for?
Some time back in this newsgroup, pp...@adobe.com (Peter Peng) offered
the following explanation. Actually he gave the expansion of NON-UIDL,
but you get the point. A search of the RFCs at InterNIC turned up UIDL
in RFC 1725, but no expansion of the abbreviation is given!
UIDL = UserInterface DownLoading or DiaLog
NON-UIDL = NON-UserInterface DownLoading or DiaLog
Anyway, UIDL is one method that *some* POP3 clients and servers use to
exchange information about mail in the spool, mail that has been
downloaded, mail that should be deleted, etc.
Ken Simler
kr...@mango.human.cornell.edu
Ashok Aiyar
>In article <DpM7I...@boss.cs.ohiou.edu>,
> jch...@ohiou.edu (J. Jack Chan) wrote:
>>When I have mail, the retrieve mail widow displays "UIDL". Can
>someone tell me what does that stand for?
>
>Some time back in this newsgroup, pp...@adobe.com (Peter Peng) offered
>the following explanation. Actually he gave the expansion of NON-UIDL,
>but you get the point. A search of the RFCs at InterNIC turned up UIDL
>in RFC 1725, but no expansion of the abbreviation is given!
>
>UIDL = UserInterface DownLoading or DiaLog
>NON-UIDL = NON-UserInterface DownLoading or DiaLog
UIDL stands for "unique-id-listing", i.e a unique ID has been
assigned to each individual message. The command is explained
in detail in RFC1725.
NON-UIDL would mean that the server does not support the UIDL
command and has not assigned/attached a "unique-id-listing" to any
of the messages in the user's mail spool.
>Anyway, UIDL is one method that *some* POP3 clients and servers use to
>exchange information about mail in the spool, mail that has been
>downloaded, mail that should be deleted, etc.
Yes, this is correct. UIDL allows pop3 clients to keep track
of which messages they have already downloaded in a very efficient
(and foolproof) manner. For this to work, the server must support UIDL.
Ashok
--
Ashok Aiyar
Department of Oncology ai...@ebv.oncology.wisc.edu
Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison tel: (608) 262-6697
Ken Simler
Thanks for the corrections, Ashok. RFC 1725 certainly does cover it in
detail -- in my quick scan of the RFC I was hoping that the letters
would at least be in caps when UIDL was spelled out.
This question has been kicking around this, and other, newsgroups for
some time, and this is the first time I have seen the correct answer for
UIDL.
Looks like I've learned yet another new way to get information on the
Internet: post erroneous information and wait to be corrected.
Sometimes it seems to work better than asking a question.
That reminds me of the "Desert Survival Kit" described by some comedian.
It consists of a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth, a jar of olives,
and a glass. If you ever get stranded in the middle of nowhere, just
start mixing the ingredients in the kit, and someone is bound to appear
out of nowhere proclaiming "THAT'S no way to make a martini!!"
Thanks again.
Ken Simler
Art Reitsma
>In article <slrn4mnr69...@ebv.oncology.wisc.edu>,
> ai...@ebv.oncology.wisc.edu (Ashok Aiyar) wrote:
>>On Wed, 10 Apr 96 15:22:27 GMT, Ken Simler
><kr...@mango.human.cornell.edu> wrote:
>>>In article <DpM7I...@boss.cs.ohiou.edu>,
>>> jch...@ohiou.edu (J. Jack Chan) wrote:
>>>>When I have mail, the retrieve mail widow displays "UIDL". Can
>>>someone tell me what does that stand for?
>That reminds me of the "Desert Survival Kit" described by some comedian.
> It consists of a bottle of gin, a bottle of vermouth, a jar of olives,
>and a glass. If you ever get stranded in the middle of nowhere, just
>start mixing the ingredients in the kit, and someone is bound to appear
>out of nowhere proclaiming "THAT'S no way to make a martini!!"
Or the method to get found when lost in the bush---start playing
Solitaire ( the old way, with paper cards :-)), and someone will
come along to tell you that you made the wrong move.
Later,
Art
Art Reitsma arei...@island.net | Wise, profound saying reflecting my wisdom
MAAC 20688 NoDoD# | to appear here, when I think of one.
Nanaimo, BC Canada |
<http://www.island.net/~areitsma> | Don't hold your breath waiting.
Mark J. Restifo
ai...@ebv.oncology.wisc.edu (Ashok Aiyar) recently put forth:
>| On Wed, 10 Apr 96 15:22:27 GMT, Ken Simler <kr...@mango.human.cornell.edu> wrote:
>| >In article <DpM7I...@boss.cs.ohiou.edu>,
>| > jch...@ohiou.edu (J. Jack Chan) wrote:
>| >>When I have mail, the retrieve mail widow displays "UIDL". Can
>| >someone tell me what does that stand for?
>| >
>| >Some time back in this newsgroup, pp...@adobe.com (Peter Peng) offered
>| >the following explanation. Actually he gave the expansion of NON-UIDL,
>| >but you get the point. A search of the RFCs at InterNIC turned up UIDL
>| >in RFC 1725, but no expansion of the abbreviation is given!
>| >
>| >UIDL = UserInterface DownLoading or DiaLog
>| >NON-UIDL = NON-UserInterface DownLoading or DiaLog
>| UIDL stands for "unique-id-listing", i.e a unique ID has been
>| assigned to each individual message. The command is explained
>| in detail in RFC1725.
>| NON-UIDL would mean that the server does not support the UIDL
>| command and has not assigned/attached a "unique-id-listing" to any
>| of the messages in the user's mail spool.
>| >Anyway, UIDL is one method that *some* POP3 clients and servers use to
>| >exchange information about mail in the spool, mail that has been
>| >downloaded, mail that should be deleted, etc.
>| Yes, this is correct. UIDL allows pop3 clients to keep track
>| of which messages they have already downloaded in a very efficient
>| (and foolproof) manner. For this to work, the server must support UIDL.
>| Ashok
>| --
>| Ashok Aiyar
>| Department of Oncology ai...@ebv.oncology.wisc.edu
>| Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison tel: (608) 262-6697
I have a related question: When I retrieve mail with Eudora I notice a
"UIDL" message in the progress window while it is retrieving. I use Eudora
as my main email app. When I was setting up Netscape, I tried the mail
feature, setting it up to "leave articles on server". When I attempted to
retrieve mail with Netscape, I was informed that it could not leave the
mail articles on the server because my server does not support the UIDL
command, and insisted on deleting them. I have tried other apps which have
no problem retrieving mail as "read-only". This appears to be a
discrepency. If the UIDL command is not supported by the server, why is is
displayed in the Eudora progress window. Any info is appreciated. Thanx!
Regards,
--
Mark R.
===========================
mres...@wizvax.net
10244...@compuserve.com
===========================
Nick Spalding
>I have a related question: When I retrieve mail with Eudora I notice a
>"UIDL" message in the progress window while it is retrieving. I use Eudora
>as my main email app. When I was setting up Netscape, I tried the mail
>feature, setting it up to "leave articles on server". When I attempted to
>retrieve mail with Netscape, I was informed that it could not leave the
>mail articles on the server because my server does not support the UIDL
>command, and insisted on deleting them. I have tried other apps which have
>no problem retrieving mail as "read-only". This appears to be a
>discrepency. If the UIDL command is not supported by the server, why is is
>displayed in the Eudora progress window. Any info is appreciated. Thanx!
I think your problem is with Netscape, not Eudora.
--
Nick
Powwow/Email at spal...@iol.ie
A committee is a group of people who individually can decide nothing
but collectively can decide that nothing should be done.
Mark Plemmons
[snip]
> I have a related question: When I retrieve mail with Eudora I notice a
> "UIDL" message in the progress window while it is retrieving. I use Eudora
> as my main email app. When I was setting up Netscape, I tried the mail
> feature, setting it up to "leave articles on server". When I attempted to
> retrieve mail with Netscape, I was informed that it could not leave the
> mail articles on the server because my server does not support the UIDL
> command, and insisted on deleting them. I have tried other apps which have
> no problem retrieving mail as "read-only". This appears to be a
> discrepency. If the UIDL command is not supported by the server, why is is
> displayed in the Eudora progress window. Any info is appreciated. Thanx!
>
> --
> Mark R.
> ===========================
> mres...@wizvax.net
> 10244...@compuserve.com
> ===========================
There's been a lot of discussion in the Netscape secure newsgroup
(snews:netscape.navigator) about how Netscape insists on requiring UIDL for mail,
even though it seems no one else requires it. Their response to the many complaints
on the subject is basically "install UIDL on your server, dummy", which doesn't help
most of us end-users.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Plemmons m...@ornl.gov
CKY, Inc. "Opinions expressed are my own"
---------------------------------------------------------------