Integration Exercise: Mail Servers

written by: Gregory Brown

While most of our attention these days gets directed towards web applications, there is something to be said for the universal medium of email. In this exercise, you'll build a simple mail server that provides an interesting service for its users via email.

Examples

• An archival system for sharing documents. Email an attachment to the service and it will be stored. Other users can query the system by email to see what documents are available, and request files to be sent to them from the archives via email.

• An email based Multi-User Dimension which allows players to navigate various themed rooms. When in a given room, the user will be able to easily email other people who are in that room similar to how a mailing list works.

Exercise Summary

• Propose an interesting mail server idea application to implement
  • No two students should work on the same idea
  • Your idea should incorporate multi-user interactions in some way
  • If you get stuck, don't be afraid to ask for help.
• Implement your idea. You can use any mail software you'd like, but it's recommended to check out the mail gem, as it provides most of the functionality you'll need.

Submission Guidelines

If you plan to work on this exercise, you should fork this repository and push code early and often during the course. The course guidelines PDF explains the submission process in detail, but please contact an instructor if you have any questions.