Announcing TinyMail - IMAP client in Python + Cocoa

[Alex Morega]

Hi folks,

I've been working on an experiment lately: implementing the email-init / Letters.app ideas using Python and PyObjC. I'm really happy with how it's progressing, and I've gotten to the point where I'd like to share it. The code is on github[1].

So TinyMail uses Python's MIME and IMAP libraries. It connects to an IMAP server, fetches the list of folders, shows messages in the selected folder, and then shows a whole message. All data is loaded on-demand and there's no local caching yet.

Most of the work was finding an elegant way to write threaded IMAP worker code, and I've settled on a simple solution that I'm happy with. By contrast, working with the IMAP library and AppKit UI elements was simple and fun.

My plan is to build a solid base for handling messages, and hopefully let other people worry about user-visible features; after all, the Mac developer community is famous for creatig great user experience, no? :)

[1]: http://github.com/alex-morega/tinymail

Cheers,
-- Alex

[Mandaris Moore]

Hey it's taken me a while to respond, but I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on how to use your application?

Post by Alex Morega
Hi folks,
I've been working on an experiment lately: implementing the email-init / Letters.app ideas using Python and PyObjC. I'm really happy with how it's progressing, and I've gotten to the point where I'd like to share it. The code is on github[1].
So TinyMail uses Python's MIME and IMAP libraries. It connects to an IMAP server, fetches the list of folders, shows messages in the selected folder, and then shows a whole message. All data is loaded on-demand and there's no local caching yet.
Most of the work was finding an elegant way to write threaded IMAP worker code, and I've settled on a simple solution that I'm happy with. By contrast, working with the IMAP library and AppKit UI elements was simple and fun.
My plan is to build a solid base for handling messages, and hopefully let other people worry about user-visible features; after all, the Mac developer community is famous for creatig great user experience, no? :)
[1]: http://github.com/alex-morega/tinymail
Cheers,
-- Alex
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List help: http://lists.ranchero.com/listinfo.cgi/letters-dev-ranchero.com

M. Moore
"There are TWO keys to success: Education, dedication and Communication"

[Alex Morega]

Hi Mandaris,

First clone or download the source code (latest version is always available[1]). Then you need to create a ".tinymail" folder in your home folder, and an "account.json" file inside - see the README[2] for what it should look like. Afterwards, open the project in Xcode, and run it. You should then be able to browse your IMAP account. Let me know if you get stuck.

[1]: http://github.com/alex-morega/tinymail/zipball/master
[2]: http://github.com/alex-morega/tinymail#readme

Cheers,
Alex

Post by Mandaris Moore
Hey it's taken me a while to respond, but I was wondering if you could give me some pointers on how to use your application?

Post by Alex Morega
Hi folks,
I've been working on an experiment lately: implementing the email-init / Letters.app ideas using Python and PyObjC. I'm really happy with how it's progressing, and I've gotten to the point where I'd like to share it. The code is on github[1].
So TinyMail uses Python's MIME and IMAP libraries. It connects to an IMAP server, fetches the list of folders, shows messages in the selected folder, and then shows a whole message. All data is loaded on-demand and there's no local caching yet.
Most of the work was finding an elegant way to write threaded IMAP worker code, and I've settled on a simple solution that I'm happy with. By contrast, working with the IMAP library and AppKit UI elements was simple and fun.
My plan is to build a solid base for handling messages, and hopefully let other people worry about user-visible features; after all, the Mac developer community is famous for creatig great user experience, no? :)
[1]: http://github.com/alex-morega/tinymail
Cheers,
-- Alex
_______________________________________________
List help: http://lists.ranchero.com/listinfo.cgi/letters-dev-ranchero.com

M. Moore
"There are TWO keys to success: Education, dedication and Communication"
_______________________________________________
List help: http://lists.ranchero.com/listinfo.cgi/letters-dev-ranchero.com