Package javax.mail

Interface UIDFolder

  • All Known Implementing Classes:
    DefaultFolder, IMAPFolder
    public interface UIDFolder
    The UIDFolder interface is implemented by Folders that can support the "disconnected" mode of operation, by providing unique-ids for messages in the folder. This interface is based on the IMAP model for supporting disconnected operation.

    A Unique identifier (UID) is a positive long value, assigned to each message in a specific folder. Unique identifiers are assigned in a strictly ascending fashion in the mailbox. That is, as each message is added to the mailbox it is assigned a higher UID than the message(s) which were added previously. Unique identifiers persist across sessions. This permits a client to resynchronize its state from a previous session with the server.

    Associated with every mailbox is a unique identifier validity value. If unique identifiers from an earlier session fail to persist to this session, the unique identifier validity value must be greater than the one used in the earlier session.

    Refer to RFC 2060 for more information. All the Folder objects returned by the default IMAP provider implement the UIDFolder interface. Use it as follows: 

    
        Folder f = store.getFolder("whatever");
        UIDFolder uf = (UIDFolder)f;
        long uid = uf.getUID(msg);

    • Nested Class Summary

      Nested Classes 
      Modifier and Type Interface Description
      static class  UIDFolder.FetchProfileItem
      A fetch profile item for fetching UIDs.

    • Field Summary

      Fields 
      Modifier and Type Field Description
      static long LASTUID
      This is a special value that can be used as the end parameter in getMessagesByUID(start, end), to denote the UID of the last message in the folder.
      static long MAXUID
      The largest value possible for a UID, a 32-bit unsigned integer.

    • Field Detail

      • LASTUID

        static final long LASTUID
        This is a special value that can be used as the end parameter in getMessagesByUID(start, end), to denote the UID of the last message in the folder.
        See Also:
        getMessagesByUID(long, long), Constant Field Values

      • MAXUID

        static final long MAXUID
        The largest value possible for a UID, a 32-bit unsigned integer. This can be used to fetch all new messages by keeping track of the last UID that was seen and using: 
        
        Folder f = store.getFolder("whatever");
        UIDFolder uf = (UIDFolder)f;
        Message[] newMsgs =
                uf.getMessagesByUID(lastSeenUID + 1, UIDFolder.MAXUID);

        Since:
        JavaMail 1.6
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values

    • Method Detail

      • getUIDValidity

        long getUIDValidity()
             throws MessagingException
        Returns the UIDValidity value associated with this folder.

        Clients typically compare this value against a UIDValidity value saved from a previous session to insure that any cached UIDs are not stale.

        Returns:
        UIDValidity
        Throws:
        MessagingException - for failures

      • getMessageByUID

        Message getMessageByUID​(long uid)
                 throws MessagingException
        Get the Message corresponding to the given UID. If no such message exists, null is returned.
        Parameters:
        uid - UID for the desired message
        Returns:
        the Message object. null is returned if no message corresponding to this UID is obtained.
        Throws:
        MessagingException - for failures

      • getMessagesByUID

        Message[] getMessagesByUID​(long start,
                           long end)
                    throws MessagingException
        Get the Messages specified by the given range. The special value LASTUID can be used for the end parameter to indicate the UID of the last message in the folder.

        Note that end need not be greater than start; the order of the range doesn't matter. Note also that, unless the folder is empty, use of LASTUID ensures that at least one message will be returned - the last message in the folder.

        Parameters:
        start - start UID
        end - end UID
        Returns:
        array of Message objects
        Throws:
        MessagingException - for failures
        See Also:
        LASTUID

      • getMessagesByUID

        Message[] getMessagesByUID​(long[] uids)
                    throws MessagingException
        Get the Messages specified by the given array of UIDs. If any UID is invalid, null is returned for that entry.

        Note that the returned array will be of the same size as the specified array of UIDs, and null entries may be present in the array to indicate invalid UIDs.

        Parameters:
        uids - array of UIDs
        Returns:
        array of Message objects
        Throws:
        MessagingException - for failures

      • getUID

        long getUID​(Message message)
     throws MessagingException
        Get the UID for the specified message. Note that the message must belong to this folder. Otherwise java.util.NoSuchElementException is thrown.
        Parameters:
        message - Message from this folder
        Returns:
        UID for this message
        Throws:
        java.util.NoSuchElementException - if the given Message is not in this Folder.
        MessagingException - for other failures

      • getUIDNext

        long getUIDNext()
         throws MessagingException
        Returns the predicted UID that will be assigned to the next message that is appended to this folder. Messages might be appended to the folder after this value is retrieved, causing this value to be out of date. This value might only be updated when a folder is first opened. Note that messages may have been appended to the folder while it was open and thus this value may be out of date.

        If the value is unknown, -1 is returned.

        Returns:
        the UIDNEXT value, or -1 if unknown
        Throws:
        MessagingException - for failures
        Since:
        JavaMail 1.6