Mail Server

Project Overview

This project is a web-based email program that mimics the functionality of a simplified Gmail-like application. It allows users to manage their emails, contacts, and attachments in a streamlined and user-friendly interface. Designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, the system is built using design patterns that ensure maintainability, flexibility, and scalability.

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mail.server.-.mp4

Main Features

1. Mail Management:

• Inbox:
  • Contains two modes: Default and Priority. Default mode sorts emails from newest to oldest by default. In Priority mode, emails are sorted by their priority (supports four priority levels).
• Trash: Automatically deletes emails that are older than 30 days.
• Sent Folder: Shows all sent emails.
• Drafts: Saves emails as drafts before sending.
• User-Defined Folders:
  • Users can add, rename, and delete their own folders.
• Email Filtering:
  • Emails can be filtered by subject or sender and automatically directed to specific folders.
• Email Sorting and Searching:
  • Sort emails based on attributes such as Date, Sender, Receivers, Importance, Subject, Body, Attachments, etc.
  • Search emails based on various criteria.

2. Attachments:

• Add or delete attachments from emails.
• Support for viewing attachments.
• Attachments can be of any file type, and an email can contain multiple attachments.

3. Contact Management:

• Add, edit, and delete contacts.
• Manage contacts with one or more email addresses.
• Search and sort contacts by name or email.

4. Verification System:

To make the experience more realistic and secure, the system has a basic verification process during signup:

• Email Validation: Ensures users cannot sign up with an invalid email (missing '@' or other invalid formats).
• Password Strength Check: A minimum of 6 characters is required to ensure security.
• Existing User Check: If a user tries to sign up with an email that already exists in the system, they will be prompted to sign in instead.

These verification steps are aimed at providing a real-world experience similar to well-known email services.

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Additional Functionalities

• Multiple Receivers:
  • When sending an email to multiple receivers, a queue data structure is used to handle this operation efficiently.
• Pagination:
  • Emails are retrieved and displayed using pagination to handle large numbers of emails.
  • Navigation buttons allow moving forward or backward between pages of emails.
• Bulk Email Operations:
  • Select multiple emails at once for bulk actions like moving or deleting.
• User Interface:
  • The application includes a refresh button that allows users to check for new emails.
  • The UI is designed with simplicity and clarity in mind, providing a clean and intuitive navigation experience between folders and actions like composing, filtering, and searching emails.

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Design Patterns Applied

• Builder Pattern: Simplifies the creation of emails by providing a flexible way to build email objects, particularly useful when dealing with multiple parameters like sender, receiver, and attachments.
• Prototype Pattern: Used for creating copies of an email when sending to multiple recipients.
• Singleton Pattern: Ensures that only one instance of the SystemManager exists throughout the application, ensuring consistency when handling user sessions.
• Filter Pattern: Allows for filtering emails based on criteria such as subject or sender, making it easy to organize large volumes of emails.
• Strategy Pattern: Implemented for sorting emails based on different strategies (e.g., sorting by date, priority, etc.).

JSON Schema and Data Handling

• The project uses JSON to store email metadata, ensuring efficient storage and retrieval.
• CRUD operations are implemented using appropriate HTTP requests (e.g., POST for creating, DELETE for deleting).

How to Use

1. Sign Up/Sign In:
   • Sign Up: Users can register using a valid email and a strong password (at least 6 characters). The system checks for valid email formatting (e.g., must include '@').
   • Sign In: Returning users can log in to access their inbox, drafts, and other folders.
   • Existing User Check: If a user tries to sign up with an email already registered, they will be prompted to log in instead.
2. Compose Email: Use the compose option to write an email, attach files, and send it to one or multiple recipients.
3. Manage Folders: Create custom folders, filter emails, and move emails to different folders.
4. Manage Contacts: Add new contacts, search for existing ones, or edit and delete contact details.

Testing

• Unit testing and mocking are applied to ensure the functionality of the backend services.
• The application is designed to avoid crashes, even when encountering malicious input, ensuring robust error handling.

UML Diagram

Implementation Notes

• Follows a client-server approach with all business logic on the server side and the user interface handled on the client side.
• The application is designed with clean code principles, ensuring that the code is easy to maintain, scalable, and robust against potential issues.

Prerequisites

• Backend: Built with Java Spring Boot, the backend server should be run first and will automatically operate on port 8081.

• Frontend: Developed using Vue.js, the frontend can be started after the backend by using the following command:

  bash
  Copy code
  npm run serve

  This will launch the frontend server on port 8080.

• Access: Open your browser and visit localhost:8080 to use the mail application.

How to Run the Application

1. Run the Backend:
   • Open a terminal and navigate to the backend directory.
   • Use the command to start the backend server (default port 8081).
2. Run the Frontend:
   • Open a new terminal and navigate to the frontend directory.
   • Run npm run serve to start the frontend server (port 8080).
3. Access the Mail Server:
   • Open a web browser and go to localhost:8080.

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