mbox

Mbox, from English "mailbox" ( "Mailbox " ), is a file format that allows multiple E- mail messages are stored in a single file. The format is mostly known from Unix.

Construction

The e- mails are stored consecutively in the order of their receipt in the file, each e- mail starting with a separator line and typically followed by a blank line. The dividing line usually begins with the symbol sequence "From " followed by a space, an e- mail address, another space, and the timestamp of the input.

By this standard, many implementations differ. Documents are four developed under Unix variants that are not compatible.

The mbox files usually bear no ending, but occasionally is. Mbox or. Mbx used. E- mail clients provide mbox files typically as is, as if they were a directory in a file system.

Benefits

  • A few large files take up less space than many smaller files because less data blocks are incompletely occupied.
  • Programs can be faster than many smaller files read a single larger file because multiple opening and closing is not required.

Disadvantages

  • Programs can track any changes without all the e- mails contained in the mbox file to be read completely.
  • Simultaneous changes, such as deleting an email, while a new received must be prevented by appropriate barriers, so as not to destroy the file.
  • In connection with such backups, the copy is not changed blocks, but traditionally changed files, much space is relatively loaded even if only a few e- mails have been deleted.
  • Detects a virus scanner ( correct or incorrect ) one stored in the mbox file e- mail as a malicious program, this can lead to a ban of the mbox file or worst, according to a study carried out in an inappropriate way, repair the mbox file on the part of the virus scanner to a defective mbox run file so that it can perform a single, virus-infected e- mail to the illegibility of all other stored in the same mbox file emails by involvement of the virus scanner.

The newer concept Maildir avoids these disadvantages by individual stores each email in a separate file.

History

This traditional storage method for e-mail comes from the early 1960s and is widely used. Since 2005 there is an official definition of this format, RFC 4155th

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