EmailDLL™ Description

Borland IntraBuilder™ is a highly integrated Intranet programming environment. It enables fast and easy developement of web-based applications, forms and reports. On the server side, Borland has incorporated web server extensions, giving the programmer access to the operating system and databases. All in all, it's a very capable toolset.

Many web applications have need to send email. Sure, the necessary information can be put into a report for "pull" type status checking. But, a truly responsive system must be able to "push" information to the users of the system, alerting them to status changes, potential problems, or simply relaying ongoing system status.

But, how do I send email from IntraBuilder? As many have found, IntraBuilder lacks any built in capability for handing email. A sample DLL is supplied for the "Threaded Message Database" (TMD) sample application. But, it requires direct registry editing to set the SMTP server, and few have achieved success with it.

Some remedies to this gap have been suggested, most common are DOS-based emailer programs. These have worked well for some applications. But, deficiencies arise when they are used in high-volume, multi-user applications. For example, they consume system resources at the rate of one command shell (up to 1MB or more) for each email message being sent. The email messages are at least temporarily stored as text files on the server, making them insecure and vulnerable to interception. And, often the errors returned are difficult to obtain, interpret and act upon.

So, what is this EmailDLL? TLR Software publishing is pleased to have created the best IntraBuilder Email solution. It consists of a dynamically linked library (a DLL), and a Javascript class wrapper. Of course, full documentation in the form of a Microsoft Windows™ Help file is also provided. You get a sample form, and example code for each and every property, method and function call.

To use the EmailDLL, you simply place the DLL files in a place accessible to your server, and reference the class definition in an #INCLUDE statement in your form's code. In your application, simply create an object of the class type, and you're ready to send messages. Need to see an example? Or read the full online manual?

What are the main features of EmailDLL?

• Object-oriented Email-enabling your IntraBuilder application is easy with the Email DLL. A Javascript class definition is provided, so you can use the familiar object- method metaphor. You can even derive new objects from it.
• Designed for IntraBuilder The DLL takes advantage of IntraBuilder's multiple user agents and user sessions. The object-oriented nature prevents collisions between messages sent by multiple user sessions running on the same Agent.
• SMTP server set at run time No more risky registry editing. You can easily change the server, and you can easily spread the email load across multiple servers if necessary.
• DLL-based No additional processes are started on the server. A DOS session started to run a command-line email utility can take several MB of memory, regardless of the size of the actual program. The DLL consumes only 680KB.
• Conserves System Resources Each IntraBuilder agent loads one copy of the DLL, sharing resources among the user sessions without collisions. The number of open email sessions is limited only by available memory and your IntraBuilder configuration.
• Flexible programming interface You can use the included Javascript class, or you can modify the class definition. You can even access the DLL directly if that's how you prefer to work. The email class definition is heavily commented so you won't get lost trying to make direct DLL access work for you.
• Extensible Email header support Built-in methods are provided to set the To:, From:, ReplyTo:, Date:, CC: and BCC: headers. Other, arbitrary headers be easily added to any message with the AddOtherHeader method.
• Send HTML Email from you IntraBuilder application. No more boring text messages. Now you can make your email look like a web page. See the FAQ entry for detailed instructions.
• Fast The time required to start a new DOS process for a command-line executable is not incurred, which improves the response time of your application.
• Error checking and reporting Complete error checking and reporting. Numeric error codes returned by individual methods can be converted to (American) English strings with a single function call.
• Intelligent transmission You can set the number of attempts to make in sending a message before giving up and returning an error status. This improves the success rate when your SMTP server returns errors, or is under heavy load.
• Debugging Support A debugging log window can be displayed for tracking the operations performed in the DLL, and any errors that might occur. Each entry in the log window is accompanied by the handle assigned to that message, allowing debugging while multiple messages are in progress.
• Extensive online help Includes examples for all properties, methods, operators. The online help gives you complete information on not only the recommended solutions, but also examines alternative solutions in use and deployment.
• No message files Email messages are not stored in files on the server, decreasing the chance your confidential systems messages can be intercepted. This also saves disk space, and freeing your application from having to handle disk errors and temporary file cleanup.
• Inexpensive At only US$20 per server computer, this essential system function can be easily and cheaply integrated into your mission-critical IntraBuilder applications. At this price, it's even accessible to education, home and hobby programmers.
• No Risk Try the TLRSWP EmailDLL for thirty days. If you don't need it, don't want it, and don't use it, then I thank you for your time. If you want to use it after the trial period, simply pay the registration fee and it's yours. During the trial period, EmailDLL is not crippled in any way. The reminder screens clear themselves from your server's screen in ten seconds, without requiring any intervention.

How do I get a copy of EmailDLL? First, read the license agreement, and download the current version. Save the downloaded file in a temporary directory. Then, execute the file you downloaded from a DOS command window. Run the setup program, and you're set. Don't worry, these instructions are also displayed on the page you download from.