developing web browser and email client

[Anupam Jain]

Hi people...

I am planning to develop a webbrowser and e-mail client..but i haven't
done this work before.

Can you please tell me which language is the best to go ahead with it
? And what are the prerequisites that i need to learn ?

I'll be thankful

Regards
Anupam

I am planning to create a s/w package that'll install both of these..

 

[KLinZ]

I am planning to develop a webbrowser and e-mail client..but i haven't
done this work before.

Ok, *what* have you done before? If you tell, it can give us some indication
about your level.

Can you please tell me which language is the best to go ahead with it?

Nobody can tell. There simply is no such thing as 'the best language to
complete this task' in this case. Personally though, I would go with Visual
C++ or Delphi.

And what are the prerequisites that i need to learn ?

Things like, but not limited to:

- Internet protocols like HTTP, POP3, SMTP
- HTML, CSS etc.

I am planning to create a s/w package that'll install both of these..

Nice.

 

[Alex Heney]

Hi people...

I am planning to develop a webbrowser and e-mail client..but i haven't
done this work before.

Can you please tell me which language is the best to go ahead with it
? And what are the prerequisites that i need to learn ?

If you can ask the first of those questions, then you do not yet have
nearly enough programming experience to tackle a project of this size
and complexity.

So to be so blunt, but a decent web browser is quite a large and
complex animal. You effectively need to "reverse engineer" HTML.

Anybody with the sort of experience necessary would know that there is
no such thing as one "best" language to code it in. You haven't even
said what platform you are aiming it at - Windows (what version(s),
Linux, MAC, etc.

 

[Joe]

If you can ask the first of those questions, then you do not yet have
nearly enough programming experience to tackle a project of this size
and complexity.

On the contrary, the learning experience will be invaluable.
As Mark Twain once said, "A man who picks up a cat by the tail learns a
lesson that can't be as clearly taught in any other way".

 

[Anupam Jain]

Hi Klinz...

I have done C,C++,VC++,VB and Java before...

And I have done a lot of application programming work in VB using dbs
from oracle,access,foxpro,excel etc.

But creating a thing like email client is entirely new for me. So
actually I wanted to get a hint about the methodology i need to follow
to start making one.

Regards
Anupam

 

[Richard Heathfield]

[Impossible to guess where to follow-up to - I suggest you are more
discriminating in your newsgroup choice in future]

But creating a thing like email client is entirely new for me. So
actually I wanted to get a hint about the methodology i need to follow
to start making one.

To write an email client, you need four things that you might not already
have:

1) knowledge of a programming language;
2) the right and ability to use an implementation of that language that
supports network programming;
3) knowledge of network programming;
4) understanding of the email protocols, such as SMTP and POP3.

Whether your existing resources in these areas are sufficient is a question
I can't answer.

To receive email: connect to a POP3 server on port 110, wait for a positive
response, tell it your account name, wait for a positive response, tell it
your password, wait for a positive response, and then enter a transaction
cycle - valid requests are STAT, LIST, RSET, QUIT, TOP, RETR, DELE (did I
miss any? Possibly). RETR and DELE both take a message number. TOP takes a
message number and a line count.

To send email: connect to an SMTP server on port 25, wa... well, get the
RFCs; they will tell you all this and more, in far more detail than I can
possibly achieve here.

 

[MTC]

Not too discourage you, but with free ones available, why spend the time to
do it?
I wish you luck if you do go ahead with it! as mentioned in a previous
reply, you would need to take the html code and process that! keep in mind
that the code is expanding so quickly that in order to be successful, you
are going to have to stay on top of what is done by the big boys (Microsoft
and Netscape)

again, are you looking to sell this or just do it to see if you can? I
think you are re-inventing the wheel. it is not a bad idea to re-invent the
wheel, but if the wheel is being given away free, how can you justify your
time and development costs? there is no payback for this product, unless
you are using it to capture users, and promote other stuff!

just my opinion

mike

 

[Anupam Jain]

Hi Mike

Thanks for your opinion...

I have considered it thoughtfully and talked to many people in and
around my college.(I am doing this for my college project). And I have
finally decided NOT to go ahead with the browser and email client now.
Actually I was looking for something challenging to do for my
project...but I think browser and stuff is not where I am going....

Now I am thinking about building a firewall having a GUI interface
using VC++...for a Windows platform...but I am still not sure...

Anybody...with any bright ideas for my coll. project ? Anything other
than networking side? (as all these are more on that side)..

Earlier I have made stuff like Online Shopping Information System for
a 'stand alone', Indent Monitoring and Automization application, A
Game on Cows and Bulls etc, A reminder service etc.......

using languages like C,C++,Java,VB and dbs from
Oracle,Foxpro,Access,Excel.

I'd be really thankful for all the great ideas from everybody...

Regards
Anupam

P.S Am looking for a big project requiring about 7-8 months (like
firewall)..

 

[antroy]

If you program in Java, you can get a simple but effective Browser
running from the standard library using just a couple of buttons (for
back and forward), a text field, a JEditorPane and an ArrayList for the
history.

Not particularly w3c compliant, but better than would be possible
starting from scratch for a college project!

Ant...