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author | Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> | 2007-08-15 14:28:01 (GMT) |
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committer | Georg Brandl <georg@python.org> | 2007-08-15 14:28:01 (GMT) |
commit | 8ec7f656134b1230ab23003a94ba3266d7064122 (patch) | |
tree | bc730d5fb3302dc375edd26b26f750d609b61d72 /Doc/library/email.message.rst | |
parent | f56181ff53ba00b7bed3997a4dccd9a1b6217b57 (diff) | |
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Move the 2.6 reST doc tree in place.
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diff --git a/Doc/library/email.message.rst b/Doc/library/email.message.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e1fb20e --- /dev/null +++ b/Doc/library/email.message.rst @@ -0,0 +1,548 @@ +:mod:`email`: Representing an email message +------------------------------------------- + +.. module:: email.message + :synopsis: The base class representing email messages. + + +The central class in the :mod:`email` package is the :class:`Message` class, +imported from the :mod:`email.message` module. It is the base class for the +:mod:`email` object model. :class:`Message` provides the core functionality for +setting and querying header fields, and for accessing message bodies. + +Conceptually, a :class:`Message` object consists of *headers* and *payloads*. +Headers are :rfc:`2822` style field names and values where the field name and +value are separated by a colon. The colon is not part of either the field name +or the field value. + +Headers are stored and returned in case-preserving form but are matched +case-insensitively. There may also be a single envelope header, also known as +the *Unix-From* header or the ``From_`` header. The payload is either a string +in the case of simple message objects or a list of :class:`Message` objects for +MIME container documents (e.g. :mimetype:`multipart/\*` and +:mimetype:`message/rfc822`). + +:class:`Message` objects provide a mapping style interface for accessing the +message headers, and an explicit interface for accessing both the headers and +the payload. It provides convenience methods for generating a flat text +representation of the message object tree, for accessing commonly used header +parameters, and for recursively walking over the object tree. + +Here are the methods of the :class:`Message` class: + + +.. class:: Message() + + The constructor takes no arguments. + + +.. method:: Message.as_string([unixfrom]) + + Return the entire message flatten as a string. When optional *unixfrom* is + ``True``, the envelope header is included in the returned string. *unixfrom* + defaults to ``False``. + + Note that this method is provided as a convenience and may not always format the + message the way you want. For example, by default it mangles lines that begin + with ``From``. For more flexibility, instantiate a :class:`Generator` instance + and use its :meth:`flatten` method directly. For example:: + + from cStringIO import StringIO + from email.generator import Generator + fp = StringIO() + g = Generator(fp, mangle_from_=False, maxheaderlen=60) + g.flatten(msg) + text = fp.getvalue() + + +.. method:: Message.__str__() + + Equivalent to ``as_string(unixfrom=True)``. + + +.. method:: Message.is_multipart() + + Return ``True`` if the message's payload is a list of sub-\ :class:`Message` + objects, otherwise return ``False``. When :meth:`is_multipart` returns False, + the payload should be a string object. + + +.. method:: Message.set_unixfrom(unixfrom) + + Set the message's envelope header to *unixfrom*, which should be a string. + + +.. method:: Message.get_unixfrom() + + Return the message's envelope header. Defaults to ``None`` if the envelope + header was never set. + + +.. method:: Message.attach(payload) + + Add the given *payload* to the current payload, which must be ``None`` or a list + of :class:`Message` objects before the call. After the call, the payload will + always be a list of :class:`Message` objects. If you want to set the payload to + a scalar object (e.g. a string), use :meth:`set_payload` instead. + + +.. method:: Message.get_payload([i[, decode]]) + + Return a reference the current payload, which will be a list of :class:`Message` + objects when :meth:`is_multipart` is ``True``, or a string when + :meth:`is_multipart` is ``False``. If the payload is a list and you mutate the + list object, you modify the message's payload in place. + + With optional argument *i*, :meth:`get_payload` will return the *i*-th element + of the payload, counting from zero, if :meth:`is_multipart` is ``True``. An + :exc:`IndexError` will be raised if *i* is less than 0 or greater than or equal + to the number of items in the payload. If the payload is a string (i.e. + :meth:`is_multipart` is ``False``) and *i* is given, a :exc:`TypeError` is + raised. + + Optional *decode* is a flag indicating whether the payload should be decoded or + not, according to the :mailheader:`Content-Transfer-Encoding` header. When + ``True`` and the message is not a multipart, the payload will be decoded if this + header's value is ``quoted-printable`` or ``base64``. If some other encoding is + used, or :mailheader:`Content-Transfer-Encoding` header is missing, or if the + payload has bogus base64 data, the payload is returned as-is (undecoded). If + the message is a multipart and the *decode* flag is ``True``, then ``None`` is + returned. The default for *decode* is ``False``. + + +.. method:: Message.set_payload(payload[, charset]) + + Set the entire message object's payload to *payload*. It is the client's + responsibility to ensure the payload invariants. Optional *charset* sets the + message's default character set; see :meth:`set_charset` for details. + + .. versionchanged:: 2.2.2 + *charset* argument added. + + +.. method:: Message.set_charset(charset) + + Set the character set of the payload to *charset*, which can either be a + :class:`Charset` instance (see :mod:`email.charset`), a string naming a + character set, or ``None``. If it is a string, it will be converted to a + :class:`Charset` instance. If *charset* is ``None``, the ``charset`` parameter + will be removed from the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. Anything else will + generate a :exc:`TypeError`. + + The message will be assumed to be of type :mimetype:`text/\*` encoded with + *charset.input_charset*. It will be converted to *charset.output_charset* and + encoded properly, if needed, when generating the plain text representation of + the message. MIME headers (:mailheader:`MIME-Version`, + :mailheader:`Content-Type`, :mailheader:`Content-Transfer-Encoding`) will be + added as needed. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_charset() + + Return the :class:`Charset` instance associated with the message's payload. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + +The following methods implement a mapping-like interface for accessing the +message's :rfc:`2822` headers. Note that there are some semantic differences +between these methods and a normal mapping (i.e. dictionary) interface. For +example, in a dictionary there are no duplicate keys, but here there may be +duplicate message headers. Also, in dictionaries there is no guaranteed order +to the keys returned by :meth:`keys`, but in a :class:`Message` object, headers +are always returned in the order they appeared in the original message, or were +added to the message later. Any header deleted and then re-added are always +appended to the end of the header list. + +These semantic differences are intentional and are biased toward maximal +convenience. + +Note that in all cases, any envelope header present in the message is not +included in the mapping interface. + + +.. method:: Message.__len__() + + Return the total number of headers, including duplicates. + + +.. method:: Message.__contains__(name) + + Return true if the message object has a field named *name*. Matching is done + case-insensitively and *name* should not include the trailing colon. Used for + the ``in`` operator, e.g.:: + + if 'message-id' in myMessage: + print 'Message-ID:', myMessage['message-id'] + + +.. method:: Message.__getitem__(name) + + Return the value of the named header field. *name* should not include the colon + field separator. If the header is missing, ``None`` is returned; a + :exc:`KeyError` is never raised. + + Note that if the named field appears more than once in the message's headers, + exactly which of those field values will be returned is undefined. Use the + :meth:`get_all` method to get the values of all the extant named headers. + + +.. method:: Message.__setitem__(name, val) + + Add a header to the message with field name *name* and value *val*. The field + is appended to the end of the message's existing fields. + + Note that this does *not* overwrite or delete any existing header with the same + name. If you want to ensure that the new header is the only one present in the + message with field name *name*, delete the field first, e.g.:: + + del msg['subject'] + msg['subject'] = 'Python roolz!' + + +.. method:: Message.__delitem__(name) + + Delete all occurrences of the field with name *name* from the message's headers. + No exception is raised if the named field isn't present in the headers. + + +.. method:: Message.has_key(name) + + Return true if the message contains a header field named *name*, otherwise + return false. + + +.. method:: Message.keys() + + Return a list of all the message's header field names. + + +.. method:: Message.values() + + Return a list of all the message's field values. + + +.. method:: Message.items() + + Return a list of 2-tuples containing all the message's field headers and values. + + +.. method:: Message.get(name[, failobj]) + + Return the value of the named header field. This is identical to + :meth:`__getitem__` except that optional *failobj* is returned if the named + header is missing (defaults to ``None``). + +Here are some additional useful methods: + + +.. method:: Message.get_all(name[, failobj]) + + Return a list of all the values for the field named *name*. If there are no such + named headers in the message, *failobj* is returned (defaults to ``None``). + + +.. method:: Message.add_header(_name, _value, **_params) + + Extended header setting. This method is similar to :meth:`__setitem__` except + that additional header parameters can be provided as keyword arguments. *_name* + is the header field to add and *_value* is the *primary* value for the header. + + For each item in the keyword argument dictionary *_params*, the key is taken as + the parameter name, with underscores converted to dashes (since dashes are + illegal in Python identifiers). Normally, the parameter will be added as + ``key="value"`` unless the value is ``None``, in which case only the key will be + added. + + Here's an example:: + + msg.add_header('Content-Disposition', 'attachment', filename='bud.gif') + + This will add a header that looks like :: + + Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="bud.gif" + + +.. method:: Message.replace_header(_name, _value) + + Replace a header. Replace the first header found in the message that matches + *_name*, retaining header order and field name case. If no matching header was + found, a :exc:`KeyError` is raised. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_content_type() + + Return the message's content type. The returned string is coerced to lower case + of the form :mimetype:`maintype/subtype`. If there was no + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header in the message the default type as given by + :meth:`get_default_type` will be returned. Since according to :rfc:`2045`, + messages always have a default type, :meth:`get_content_type` will always return + a value. + + :rfc:`2045` defines a message's default type to be :mimetype:`text/plain` unless + it appears inside a :mimetype:`multipart/digest` container, in which case it + would be :mimetype:`message/rfc822`. If the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header + has an invalid type specification, :rfc:`2045` mandates that the default type be + :mimetype:`text/plain`. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_content_maintype() + + Return the message's main content type. This is the :mimetype:`maintype` part + of the string returned by :meth:`get_content_type`. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_content_subtype() + + Return the message's sub-content type. This is the :mimetype:`subtype` part of + the string returned by :meth:`get_content_type`. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_default_type() + + Return the default content type. Most messages have a default content type of + :mimetype:`text/plain`, except for messages that are subparts of + :mimetype:`multipart/digest` containers. Such subparts have a default content + type of :mimetype:`message/rfc822`. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.set_default_type(ctype) + + Set the default content type. *ctype* should either be :mimetype:`text/plain` + or :mimetype:`message/rfc822`, although this is not enforced. The default + content type is not stored in the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_params([failobj[, header[, unquote]]]) + + Return the message's :mailheader:`Content-Type` parameters, as a list. The + elements of the returned list are 2-tuples of key/value pairs, as split on the + ``'='`` sign. The left hand side of the ``'='`` is the key, while the right + hand side is the value. If there is no ``'='`` sign in the parameter the value + is the empty string, otherwise the value is as described in :meth:`get_param` + and is unquoted if optional *unquote* is ``True`` (the default). + + Optional *failobj* is the object to return if there is no + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. Optional *header* is the header to search + instead of :mailheader:`Content-Type`. + + .. versionchanged:: 2.2.2 + *unquote* argument added. + + +.. method:: Message.get_param(param[, failobj[, header[, unquote]]]) + + Return the value of the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header's parameter *param* as + a string. If the message has no :mailheader:`Content-Type` header or if there + is no such parameter, then *failobj* is returned (defaults to ``None``). + + Optional *header* if given, specifies the message header to use instead of + :mailheader:`Content-Type`. + + Parameter keys are always compared case insensitively. The return value can + either be a string, or a 3-tuple if the parameter was :rfc:`2231` encoded. When + it's a 3-tuple, the elements of the value are of the form ``(CHARSET, LANGUAGE, + VALUE)``. Note that both ``CHARSET`` and ``LANGUAGE`` can be ``None``, in which + case you should consider ``VALUE`` to be encoded in the ``us-ascii`` charset. + You can usually ignore ``LANGUAGE``. + + If your application doesn't care whether the parameter was encoded as in + :rfc:`2231`, you can collapse the parameter value by calling + :func:`email.Utils.collapse_rfc2231_value`, passing in the return value from + :meth:`get_param`. This will return a suitably decoded Unicode string whn the + value is a tuple, or the original string unquoted if it isn't. For example:: + + rawparam = msg.get_param('foo') + param = email.Utils.collapse_rfc2231_value(rawparam) + + In any case, the parameter value (either the returned string, or the ``VALUE`` + item in the 3-tuple) is always unquoted, unless *unquote* is set to ``False``. + + .. versionchanged:: 2.2.2 + *unquote* argument added, and 3-tuple return value possible. + + +.. method:: Message.set_param(param, value[, header[, requote[, charset[, language]]]]) + + Set a parameter in the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. If the parameter + already exists in the header, its value will be replaced with *value*. If the + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header as not yet been defined for this message, it + will be set to :mimetype:`text/plain` and the new parameter value will be + appended as per :rfc:`2045`. + + Optional *header* specifies an alternative header to :mailheader:`Content-Type`, + and all parameters will be quoted as necessary unless optional *requote* is + ``False`` (the default is ``True``). + + If optional *charset* is specified, the parameter will be encoded according to + :rfc:`2231`. Optional *language* specifies the RFC 2231 language, defaulting to + the empty string. Both *charset* and *language* should be strings. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.del_param(param[, header[, requote]]) + + Remove the given parameter completely from the :mailheader:`Content-Type` + header. The header will be re-written in place without the parameter or its + value. All values will be quoted as necessary unless *requote* is ``False`` + (the default is ``True``). Optional *header* specifies an alternative to + :mailheader:`Content-Type`. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.set_type(type[, header][, requote]) + + Set the main type and subtype for the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. *type* + must be a string in the form :mimetype:`maintype/subtype`, otherwise a + :exc:`ValueError` is raised. + + This method replaces the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header, keeping all the + parameters in place. If *requote* is ``False``, this leaves the existing + header's quoting as is, otherwise the parameters will be quoted (the default). + + An alternative header can be specified in the *header* argument. When the + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header is set a :mailheader:`MIME-Version` header is + also added. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_filename([failobj]) + + Return the value of the ``filename`` parameter of the + :mailheader:`Content-Disposition` header of the message. If the header does not + have a ``filename`` parameter, this method falls back to looking for the + ``name`` parameter. If neither is found, or the header is missing, then + *failobj* is returned. The returned string will always be unquoted as per + :meth:`Utils.unquote`. + + +.. method:: Message.get_boundary([failobj]) + + Return the value of the ``boundary`` parameter of the :mailheader:`Content-Type` + header of the message, or *failobj* if either the header is missing, or has no + ``boundary`` parameter. The returned string will always be unquoted as per + :meth:`Utils.unquote`. + + +.. method:: Message.set_boundary(boundary) + + Set the ``boundary`` parameter of the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header to + *boundary*. :meth:`set_boundary` will always quote *boundary* if necessary. A + :exc:`HeaderParseError` is raised if the message object has no + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. + + Note that using this method is subtly different than deleting the old + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header and adding a new one with the new boundary via + :meth:`add_header`, because :meth:`set_boundary` preserves the order of the + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header in the list of headers. However, it does *not* + preserve any continuation lines which may have been present in the original + :mailheader:`Content-Type` header. + + +.. method:: Message.get_content_charset([failobj]) + + Return the ``charset`` parameter of the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header, + coerced to lower case. If there is no :mailheader:`Content-Type` header, or if + that header has no ``charset`` parameter, *failobj* is returned. + + Note that this method differs from :meth:`get_charset` which returns the + :class:`Charset` instance for the default encoding of the message body. + + .. versionadded:: 2.2.2 + + +.. method:: Message.get_charsets([failobj]) + + Return a list containing the character set names in the message. If the message + is a :mimetype:`multipart`, then the list will contain one element for each + subpart in the payload, otherwise, it will be a list of length 1. + + Each item in the list will be a string which is the value of the ``charset`` + parameter in the :mailheader:`Content-Type` header for the represented subpart. + However, if the subpart has no :mailheader:`Content-Type` header, no ``charset`` + parameter, or is not of the :mimetype:`text` main MIME type, then that item in + the returned list will be *failobj*. + + +.. method:: Message.walk() + + The :meth:`walk` method is an all-purpose generator which can be used to iterate + over all the parts and subparts of a message object tree, in depth-first + traversal order. You will typically use :meth:`walk` as the iterator in a + ``for`` loop; each iteration returns the next subpart. + + Here's an example that prints the MIME type of every part of a multipart message + structure:: + + >>> for part in msg.walk(): + ... print part.get_content_type() + multipart/report + text/plain + message/delivery-status + text/plain + text/plain + message/rfc822 + +.. versionchanged:: 2.5 + The previously deprecated methods :meth:`get_type`, :meth:`get_main_type`, and + :meth:`get_subtype` were removed. + +:class:`Message` objects can also optionally contain two instance attributes, +which can be used when generating the plain text of a MIME message. + + +.. data:: preamble + + The format of a MIME document allows for some text between the blank line + following the headers, and the first multipart boundary string. Normally, this + text is never visible in a MIME-aware mail reader because it falls outside the + standard MIME armor. However, when viewing the raw text of the message, or when + viewing the message in a non-MIME aware reader, this text can become visible. + + The *preamble* attribute contains this leading extra-armor text for MIME + documents. When the :class:`Parser` discovers some text after the headers but + before the first boundary string, it assigns this text to the message's + *preamble* attribute. When the :class:`Generator` is writing out the plain text + representation of a MIME message, and it finds the message has a *preamble* + attribute, it will write this text in the area between the headers and the first + boundary. See :mod:`email.parser` and :mod:`email.generator` for details. + + Note that if the message object has no preamble, the *preamble* attribute will + be ``None``. + + +.. data:: epilogue + + The *epilogue* attribute acts the same way as the *preamble* attribute, except + that it contains text that appears between the last boundary and the end of the + message. + + .. versionchanged:: 2.5 + You do not need to set the epilogue to the empty string in order for the + :class:`Generator` to print a newline at the end of the file. + + +.. data:: defects + + The *defects* attribute contains a list of all the problems found when parsing + this message. See :mod:`email.errors` for a detailed description of the + possible parsing defects. + + .. versionadded:: 2.4 + |