offline imap/smtp email client for k3

damaru · 09-23-2012, 01:37 PM

Hi there,

I cannot say I am a full fledged programmer but I took 1 year of java programming and built some games and hack some code here and there. I mostly coded in processing actually.

But I would like to take on creating a simple imap/smtp client for the k3. Something that would copy the email locally so that you can take email offline and reply to them offline to only send when you are connected.

Is there something like that already? There is a Java Mail api that I played with few years ago that seemed to have all the tool to built something like that.

I see there is also 3 api for the kindle :

http://kdk-javadocs.s3.amazonaws.com...w-summary.html

I am not sure where to start with kindle 3 apps.

The thing that I found was quite a drag was the UI development in Java with Swing or Qt. But I would think the kindle api has already a simple UI that could be re-used ?

Anyhow, as you can see I am a bit clueless about where to start - a kick in the right direction would be nice, and if you think a kindle 3 email client is useless I would also be interested to hear your point of view, as I think it would be really great to have such a tool...

qlob · 09-23-2012, 01:42 PM

I think that somewhere buried in this forum someone built mutt (a commandline email client) but a nice Kindlet for email would be nice.
I'm not sure if the Kindlet is allowed to use the internet connection without a chage to the permissions.
There is a How to make a Kindlet guide here somewhere, might require some searching though.

Personally I would love an email client. Go for it!

damaru · 09-23-2012, 01:45 PM

kindlet - heheh that's helps

(I was googling for kindle apps, I kind of forgot about kindlet)

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=102386

Yeah I read the mutt hack too, and was also interested into alpine on the kindle. But a kindlet that would use the kindle UI would be awesome (IMHO)

ixtab · 09-23-2012, 01:57 PM

A Kindlet would indeed be awesome. Still... (and I hate to say this): you're quite probably underestimating the complexity of the task.

First, there is no support for the standard Swing classes (JButton, etc.) on the Kindle 3. Instead, Amazon chose to create their own versions (KButton etc.), but support is far from being complete. So for instance, you even have to reinvent the wheel to simply have a checkbox or radiobox component. Developing a non-trivial UI for the K3 is really a PITA, and it still looks ugly afterwards

This has changed with the Kindle 5, where you can simply use the standard Swing components - that makes developing a Kindle app pretty much the same as developing a normal UI application. (I'm not sure which version the K4 supports, I don't have one). The bottom line is that it seems to be pretty much impossible to code an application which can work on all Kindle models.

Second, you'll need some functionality not normally accessible to Kindlets, like network access, and probably filesystem access. This could be solved by using my Kindlet Jailbreak (yes, it does work on the K3).

And third, of course, a mail client is not a trivial piece of software to code (though as you said, there may be third-party libraries available, which could at least help with all the lowlevel stuff).

Still: good luck!

qlob · 09-23-2012, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damaru

.....But a kindlet that would use the kindle UI would be awesome (IMHO)

I agree. Unfortunately I have no Java experience,so all I can do is beta test.

damaru · 09-23-2012, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ixtab

Second, you'll need some functionality not normally accessible to Kindlets, like network access, and probably filesystem access. This could be solved by using my Kindlet Jailbreak (yes, it does work on the K3).

Yes I am just assessing the idea at this point - I am sure it's not the type of code I am used to but I've been looking for a project that really motivate me for a long time.

I understand it would be quite a task. And indeed I would need network connection and file system to save the emails. Where is that Kindlet Jailbreak of yours ?

ixtab · 09-23-2012, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damaru

Where is that Kindlet Jailbreak of yours ?

Here. Read the entire thread - it's a different topic of course, but it should contain enough info about the jailbreak to get you started.

damaru · 09-23-2012, 02:41 PM

It seems the kindlet may might not be the easiest way to start.

Reflecting on the step to start coding. What about instead of a kindlet create a 'hack' that would be triggered with a shortcut (SHIFT E D) like I use for the FB of TY (reader and terminal... can't remember the name of the launcher at this point... too lazy). That would resolve some of the limitation of the kindlet right?

Also to simplify the first step, I think I will aim to create a java app that will 1) pull the imap new email only, 2) download the email as text 3) save the email as .mobi in the user document folder and (or simply .txt at first) 4) mark these imap email as read (so they don't get re-downloaded each time. The .mobi would be formatted trough java as a simple html book. That would actually be a nice first step for my usage anyhow... and the new email would appear right in your main listing...

Thinking out loud here...

ixtab · 09-23-2012, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damaru

It seems the kindlet may might not be the easiest way to start.

Reflecting on the step to start coding. What about instead of a kindlet create a 'hack' that would be triggered with a shortcut (SHIFT E D) like I use for the FB of TY (reader and terminal... can't remember the name of the launcher at this point... too lazy). That would resolve some of the limitation of the kindlet right?

No, not really. The point is that there isn't really a way to start a new Java "application" - you have to find a way to run the code in the already running VM. And that is easiest to do if you implement it as a Kindlet - though there might be other options. I don't know how the K3 starts kindlets - if you manage to get it to run from the internal partition (/opt/lib), you will at least have unrestricted permissions, but you will still run with the "castrated" class loader.

Trust me, the Kindlet jailbreak is the easiest solution if you want to implement this in Java. And it's not as complicated to use as it initially sounds.

Otherwise, you can of course try to write (or port) a native application. I can't say much about that though, I never put a lot of effort into compiling native stuff (but there are other people around who did).

Quote:

Originally Posted by damaru

Also to simplify the first step, I think I will aim to create a java app that will 1) pull the imap new email only, 2) download the email as text 3) save the email as .mobi in the user document folder and (or simply .txt at first) 4) mark these imap email as read (so they don't get re-downloaded each time. The .mobi would be formatted trough java as a simple html book. That would actually be a nice first step for my usage anyhow... and the new email would appear right in your main listing...

Thinking out loud here...

I don't think that this approach is any easier than displaying it in a Kindlet

- and a lot messier once you reach more than a dozen or so mails.

09-23-2012, 01:37 PM	#1
damaru Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 6672 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: kindle	offline imap/smtp email client for k3 Hi there, I cannot say I am a full fledged programmer but I took 1 year of java programming and built some games and hack some code here and there. I mostly coded in processing actually. But I would like to take on creating a simple imap/smtp client for the k3. Something that would copy the email locally so that you can take email offline and reply to them offline to only send when you are connected. Is there something like that already? There is a Java Mail api that I played with few years ago that seemed to have all the tool to built something like that. I see there is also 3 api for the kindle : http://kdk-javadocs.s3.amazonaws.com...w-summary.html I am not sure where to start with kindle 3 apps. The thing that I found was quite a drag was the UI development in Java with Swing or Qt. But I would think the kindle api has already a simple UI that could be re-used ? Anyhow, as you can see I am a bit clueless about where to start - a kick in the right direction would be nice, and if you think a kindle 3 email client is useless I would also be interested to hear your point of view, as I think it would be really great to have such a tool...

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09-23-2012, 01:42 PM	#2
qlob Official Lurker Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7096675 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kindle 3.4	I think that somewhere buried in this forum someone built mutt (a commandline email client) but a nice Kindlet for email would be nice. I'm not sure if the Kindlet is allowed to use the internet connection without a chage to the permissions. There is a How to make a Kindlet guide here somewhere, might require some searching though. Personally I would love an email client. Go for it!

09-23-2012, 01:45 PM	#3
damaru Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 6672 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: kindle	kindlet - heheh that's helps (I was googling for kindle apps, I kind of forgot about kindlet) https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=102386 Yeah I read the mutt hack too, and was also interested into alpine on the kindle. But a kindlet that would use the kindle UI would be awesome (IMHO)

09-23-2012, 01:57 PM	#4
ixtab (offline) Posts: 2,907 Karma: 6736094 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: K3, K4, K5, KPW, KPW2	A Kindlet would indeed be awesome. Still... (and I hate to say this): you're quite probably underestimating the complexity of the task. First, there is no support for the standard Swing classes (JButton, etc.) on the Kindle 3. Instead, Amazon chose to create their own versions (KButton etc.), but support is far from being complete. So for instance, you even have to reinvent the wheel to simply have a checkbox or radiobox component. Developing a non-trivial UI for the K3 is really a PITA, and it still looks ugly afterwards This has changed with the Kindle 5, where you can simply use the standard Swing components - that makes developing a Kindle app pretty much the same as developing a normal UI application. (I'm not sure which version the K4 supports, I don't have one). The bottom line is that it seems to be pretty much impossible to code an application which can work on all Kindle models. Second, you'll need some functionality not normally accessible to Kindlets, like network access, and probably filesystem access. This could be solved by using my Kindlet Jailbreak (yes, it does work on the K3). And third, of course, a mail client is not a trivial piece of software to code (though as you said, there may be third-party libraries available, which could at least help with all the lowlevel stuff). Still: good luck!

09-23-2012, 02:41 PM	#8
damaru Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 6672 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: kindle	It seems the kindlet may might not be the easiest way to start. Reflecting on the step to start coding. What about instead of a kindlet create a 'hack' that would be triggered with a shortcut (SHIFT E D) like I use for the FB of TY (reader and terminal... can't remember the name of the launcher at this point... too lazy). That would resolve some of the limitation of the kindlet right? Also to simplify the first step, I think I will aim to create a java app that will 1) pull the imap new email only, 2) download the email as text 3) save the email as .mobi in the user document folder and (or simply .txt at first) 4) mark these imap email as read (so they don't get re-downloaded each time. The .mobi would be formatted trough java as a simple html book. That would actually be a nice first step for my usage anyhow... and the new email would appear right in your main listing... Thinking out loud here...

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