Titanous

• 2010-07-27

  Mailman Released!

  I just released my Ruby Summer of Code project, Mailman as a gem. You can install it by running gem install mailman.

  What is Mailman?

  Mailman is an incoming email processing microframework. You point it at a source of email, such as a POP3 account or a Maildir, and it will execute routes based on the messages that come in.

  For instance if you had a ticketing system, and wanted to add replies via email to the database, this application would be a good start:

  require 'mailman'
  
  Mailman.config.maildir = '~/Maildir'
  
  Mailman::Application.run do
    to 'ticket-%id%@vipsupport.com' do

      Ticket.find(params[:id]).add_reply(message)
    end
  end
  

  For more information take a look at the User Guide.

  How can I help?

  If you are already processing incoming email for an app using a different system, please give Mailman a try, and let me know where the docs are thin, what features are missing, and any bugs you run into.

  If you are starting a new project with incoming email, please use Mailman for it, and give me feedback.

  The best way to leave feedback is through the GitHub Issue Tracker.

  If you have some spare time and want to write documentation or patches, feel free to write them, and send me a pull request on GitHub.

  Thanks!

  This project is sponsored by the Ruby Summer of Code. My mentor is Steven Soroka. I’ve been working from a desk that Shopify is kindly providing in their office.

• 2010-07-19

  Mailman Midterm Update

  Mailman is my Ruby Summer of Code project. It’s an incoming email processing microframework. The basic functionality is to receive messages, and route them to blocks of code based on conditions.

  Before Mailman, there was no standard way of processing incoming emails in Ruby. Many Rails apps use one-off IMAP or POP3 pollers. Mailman aims to replace them with its Rails integration, and upcoming ActionMailer integration.

  The DSL is inspired by Sinatra. For example, here is a Mailman route that takes a reply via email to a support ticket, and adds it to the database:

  to 'ticket-%id%@vipsupport.com' do

    Ticket.find(params[:id]).add_reply(message)
  end
  

  Conditions (like to) and matchers like the StringMatcher above are all modular, and it is very easy to write more. Currently there are String and Regexp matchers and conditions for most basic email components.

  Features

  Complete

  • Router
  • Basic Conditions
  • Matchers
  • DSL
  • Configuration system
  • POP3 Receiver
  • Standard input receiver
  • Maildir receiver
  • Rails environment loading
  • Basic Documentation
  • Debug logging

  Incomplete

  • ActionMailer integration
  • Bounce Detection

  Thanks

  I’d like to thank these organizations/people:

  Ruby Summer of Code and all their sponsors for the financial support that allows me to put time into the project.

  My mentor Steven Soroka for the motivation and advice that has helped me get this far.

  Shopify for providing a desk to work at and great developers to bounce ideas off of.

  Engine Yard for their donation of RailsConf tickets to RSoC.