POP3 client for PHP 5

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georgeoc
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POP3 client for PHP 5

Post by georgeoc »

Hi all,

I am developing an Open-Source app which will (I hope) be widely distributed, so needs to work on as many different host configurations as possible. I have decided to go PHP5-only, but apart from that I don't want to impose too many requirements on users.

I have been using the PEAR Net_POP3 class, but I realise it's very old (last release 2005-04-05!). I would also like to offer IMAP access to mail boxes in the future. I'm aware of the PEAR IMAP class (last stable release 2004-09-25, although there was a new(er) beta released on 2007-01-10), and of course the native PHP IMAP extension. However, I have no idea what percentage of hosts have the IMAP extension installed and working?

I'm looking for a reliable solution for providing POP3 and IMAP access from my app, which will work across most host configurations. The PEAR POP3 class is OK, but I have read that one should use the PHP IMAP library where possible as it's much faster.

The ideal solutions would be to use the PHP extension where it exists, but drop-down to the PEAR classes when it is missing. I wonder if there's a library already written which does this, or if it's something I need to write myself?

Thanks for any advice.
georgeoc
Forum Contributor
Posts: 166
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 4:21 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: POP3 client for PHP 5

Post by georgeoc »

I've just discovered the Zend Framework classes Zend_Mail_Storage_Imap and Zend_Mail_Storage_Pop3. They look like they might be the answer, but I can't find out what requirements they have in terms of PHP extensions, etc. Do they require the PHP IMAP extension, or use it only if it exists, or completely replace it?
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Maugrim_The_Reaper
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Re: POP3 client for PHP 5

Post by Maugrim_The_Reaper »

Maybe check out Roundcube? I know Till who's in the PEAR group works on it.
georgeoc
Forum Contributor
Posts: 166
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2006 4:21 pm
Location: London, UK

Re: POP3 client for PHP 5

Post by georgeoc »

I'll have a look - thanks very much for the suggestion. It's new to me, so I'll take a peak at their back-end library and see if I can use it!
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