what is Pooka?

Pooka is an email client written in Java, using the Javamail API. It supports email through the IMAP (connected and disconnected) and POP3 protocols. Outgoing mail is sent using SMTP.

An incomplete but extensive feature list is available, as are several screenshots.

Pooka is released under the GNU General Public License.

Information about Pooka development may be found at the Pooka project page at SourceForge.net.

Status

I'm now claiming that Pooka is in beta release, since it's reasonably stable and has an almost full set of features.

There are two different builds of Pooka available: the 1.0 versions which are for JDK 1.2.x and 1.3.x and the 1.1 versions which are for JDK 1.4.x. The 1.0 releases are pretty much only going to get bugfixes from now on; all new features (such as, when I find time for it, PGP support and spam filters) are going to go into the JDK 1.4 version.

Download

New: Pooka now supports Java Web Start. You can go here to see information about running Pooka through Web Start, or, if you already have Web Start installed, click here (jdk 1.2 or 1.3) or here (jdk 1.4) to launch Pooka directly.

For non-Web Start use, Pooka can be downloaded either from SourceForge. Make sure to get the correct version to match the Java version you have (Pooka 1.0 for JDK 1.2 or 1.3, Pooka 1.1 for JDK 1.4 and 1.5).

• download releases from SourceForge Note that the 1.0 builds are available under the heading "Pooka-fullJar"; the 1.1 builds are under "Pooka-1.1 (JDK 1.4)"

Pooka releases invole three files: an executable jar file (pooka_YYMMDD.jar), a source file (pooka_src_YYMMDD.jar ), and a JavaDoc file (pooka_javadoc_YYMMDD.jar). If you just want to run Pooka, then all you need is the executable file. The other two are for developers who want to look at or modify the source code.

I've been using the todo list both as a bug list and an unimplemented features list, so it's probably not a bad thing to look at if you're wondering why something doesn't work. You can also check out the bug list at the Pooka project page at SourceForge.net

Installation/Running

To run pooka 1.0, you must have a JRE (Java Runtime Environment) version 1.2.x or 1.3.x installed and in your PATH (JRE/JDK 1.3.1_03 or higher is recommended, especially for Preview Pane mode). To run the 1.1 versions, you need JDK 1.4 or higher.

To run, just type

java -Xmx64M -jar pooka_<versionnumber>.jar

Or, as an alternative (if you're running Windows or OSX), just double-click on the downloaded jar file.

Pooka will start up and take you through the first steps of configuring a mailbox.

For more complete instructions, including information on downloading a JRE, see the Pooka installation page.

News

I usually put build notes up at the Pooka page on SourceForge. I'll try to copy them here, too.

030325: News: I updated the site, including putting up new build instructions. Yay!

Mailing List

Subscribe to the pooka development list by emailing pooka-request@suberic.net with the word subscribe in the body.

ObSourceForgeLink

ooka Features

Protocols supported

• IMAP (connected and disconnected, including running IMAP over SSL)
• POP3
• SMTP
• mbox (not recommended)

UI Styles

• Desktop (Eudora-like) (image)
• Preview (Outlook-like) (image)

Basic features

• Send mail
• Read mail
• Forward mail (with or without attachments)
• Reply to mail (with or without attachments)
• Delete mail
• Move mail to folder
• Save mail as file
• Save attachment
• Open attachment
• Signatures
• Print mail
• Sent folder (optional)
• Trash folder (optional)

Advanced Features

• Folder search
• Filters
• Display filters
• Context-sensitive color encoding

Multiple accounts

• Support for multiple mail acounts
• Support for multiple outgoing mail addresses

Available, but incomplete

• Address book

Last modified: May 10, 2005.

uilding Pooka from Source

Pooka is an open-source project, released under the GNU General Public License. Its source is freely available. See the license for more information about usage and distribution of the source code.

The first thing that you'll need to do is figure out which version of Pooka you want to build. If you're using a 1.2 or 1.3 JDK, then you will need to build the 1.0 version. If you are using JDK 1.4 or above, then you will want the 1.1 version. If you have a choice, go with the 1.1--it's equally as stable and has a few new features.

Steps for compiling Pooka: Get the source, get the third party libraries, and compile the program.

Getting the source

There are two ways to get the Pooka source code: downloading it from CVS and downloading it as a .jar file. Note that, if you're planning on building using ant, then you really need to get the source using anonymous CVS, since it includes things like the ant build.xml file and all of the third-party libraries in the correct location. Actually, even if you're not building with ant, you're probably better off checking out the code from SourceForge, since it's an easy way to get all of the third-party libraries. The only real drawback is that there's always the chance that I've checked in some changes that aren't yet stable, since the CVS tree is the main development tree, after all.

Checking out snapshots from CVS

The CVS tree for Pooka is now available at SourceForge. You should be able to check out the latest CVS tree from there using the following commands:

login:

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/pooka login

Note: when it asks you for a password, just hit return. Interestingly enough, this seems to be necessary; if you try to enter a password, the login fails.

After anonymously logging in, you can check out the code. If you're checking out the 1.1 version for JDK 1.4, you just get the main branch:

cvs -z8 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/pooka co pooka

If you want the 1.0 version of Pooka (usable with JDK 1.2 and 1.3) then you'll have to specify the pooka_10 tag.

cvs -z8 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/pooka co -rpooka_10 pooka

You can also look at the SourceForge CVS HOWTO for additional information.

Downloading the Pooka source in jar format

Each Pooka release includes three jar files: an executable jar file containing all of the files necessary to run Pooka, a source file containing the Pooka source code, and a file containing the generated JavaDocs for the Pooka application. Not surprisingly, for building Pooka, you need the Pooka source jar file.

These jar files are available from the main Pooka page at SourceForge.net . Note that, for the 1.0 version, you'll want to download from the Pooka-fullJar section, while for the 1.1 version you'll want to get the Pooka-11 (jdk1.4) files.

Getting the third-party libraries

Pooka uses the following third-party libraries (in addition to the standard Java classes, of course):

You should be able to get all of the libraries from the above links.

As an (easier) alternative, all of the third party libraries are included in the CVS tree (under pooka/Imported). So if you get the Pooka source via anonymous CVS, then you shouldn't need to download anything else. (Actually you could also just use the executable Pooka jar file as your source for third party libraries, but I'd only suggest that if you know what you're doing.)

Compiling Pooka

Again, there are two ways to compile Pooka. You can either compile it by hand using a java compiler (such as javac or jikes), or you can use ant, the Java build tool from Apache.

Using ant

Using ant is really easy. Assuming ant is set up properly, you just go to the pooka directory that you've just checked out. There should be a build.xml file there. Just type

ant dist-full

from that directory and the build should proceed. You will end up with an executable jar file in the Dist subdirectory called pooka_YYMMDD.jar (or, for version 1.1, pooka_11_YYMMDD.jar). You should be able to run that file as usual (java -Xmx64M -jar pooka_YYMMDD.jar).

Compiling Pooka by hand

If you're compiling Pooka by hand, then the first thing that you need to do is to set up your CLASSSPATH. Whether you're compiling Pooka 1.0 or 1.1, you will need to add following files to your CLASSPATH:

• mail.jar (from JavaMail)
• activation.jar (JAF)
• mbox.jar (MBOX provider)
• jh.jar (JavaHelp)
• kunststoff.jar (Kunststoff PLAF; optional)

If you are compiling Pooka 1.0, then you will also need the following JSSE libraries in your CLASSPATH:

• jcert.jar
• jnet.jar
• jsse.jar

You should also put the root of your Pooka source tree in the CLASSPATH. Once your CLASSPATH is set up, it should look something like this:

/home/akp/pooka/Imported/mail.jar:/home/akp/pooka/Imported/activation.jar:/home/akp/pooka/Imported/mbox.jar:/home/akp/pooka/Imported/jh.jar:/home/akp/pooka/Imported/kunststoff.jar:/home/akp/pooka

Once you've gotten the source in place and set up your CLASSPATH , you should be just about ready to compile Pooka. Now, on the one hand, compilers such as javac are set up to compile all necessary dependencies. On the other hand, in hopes of giving myself some flexibility in extending parts of Pooka, I've relied on reflection in several cases to load the classes that I need. The net result is that you can't just compile Pooka.java and have the entire application compile correctly. Personally, I just go into all of the following directories:

/net/suberic/pooka/
/net/suberic/pooka/search/
/net/suberic/pooka/ssl/
/net/suberic/pooka/filter/
/net/suberic/pooka/gui/
/net/suberic/pooka/gui/filter/
/net/suberic/pooka/gui/search/
/net/suberic/pooka/gui/propedit/
/net/suberic/util/gui/propedit/

and do a javac *.java in each directory. Yes, it's a bit of a pain the first time that you do it, but once you have a compiled build tree, it's a lot easier to do incremental compiles after that.

Once you've compiled Pooka, you should be able to run it using

java -Xmx64M net.suberic.pooka.Pooka

(If you are using a HotSpot JVM, you may also want to include the -client option.)

At a later date (sometime soon, I hope), I'll post a quick guide to the Pooka class structure.

Last modified: May 10, 2005.

stalling and Running Pooka

Pooka packaging

Pooka is distributed as an 'executable' jar file. This means that all of the Java classes necessary to run Pooka (well, in addition to the classes which are distributed with Java itself, that is) are included in this one file. So if you already have a 1.2 or higher version of the JRE (or JDK, or J2SE, or whatever they want to call it these days), then you should be able to run pooka just by running

java -Xmx64M pooka_<versionnumber>.jar

where pooka_<versionnumber>.jar is the pooka jar file that you have downloaded, such as pooka_020429.jar.

If you're running on Windows, you should also be able to start Pooka just by double-clicking on the jar file (or on a shortcut to the jar file).

Installation of the JDK

If you do not yet have a JRE installed on your system, then you will need to get one in order to run Pooka. Unfortunately, due to bandwidth constraints I can no longer make the JRE's available here. However, you shouldn't have any problems getting a JRE from Sun.

Download the JRE from the Java homepage. They have versions for Solaris, Windows, and Linux there. They also have a handy page for other Java ports, though I think it's a bit out of date.

Note for MacOS users: It looks like Apple will not be making Java 2 available for MacOS classic. However, OS X will be shipping with a version of the Java 2 JDK. So users of OS X should not have to install any new software in order to run Pooka.

At the moment, the best JDK to use is the latest 1.3.1 JDK from Sun for Pooka 1.0, or the latest 1.4.1 JDK for Pooka 1.1. I've also tested with IBM's JDKs for Linux, which, again for the latest 1.3.1 and 1.4.x, seem to work fine.

Last modified: May 10, 2005

Pooka Screenshots

Here are a few screenshots from Pooka.

Pooka in Desktop mode	Pooka in Preview mode
Reading a message attached to the desktop	Removing the message from the desktop
Configuration options

Last modified: May 10, 2005.

what is Pooka?

Pooka is an email client written in Java, using the Javamail API. It supports email through the IMAP (connected and disconnected) and POP3 protocols. Outgoing mail is sent using SMTP.

An incomplete but extensive feature list is available, as are several screenshots.

Pooka is released under the GNU General Public License.

Information about Pooka development may be found at the Pooka project page at SourceForge.net.

Status

I'm now claiming that Pooka is in beta release, since it's reasonably stable and has an almost full set of features.

There are two different builds of Pooka available: the 1.0 versions which are for JDK 1.2.x and 1.3.x and the 1.1 versions which are for JDK 1.4.x. The 1.0 releases are pretty much only going to get bugfixes from now on; all new features (such as, when I find time for it, PGP support and spam filters) are going to go into the JDK 1.4 version.

Download

New: Pooka now supports Java Web Start. You can go here to see information about running Pooka through Web Start, or, if you already have Web Start installed, click here (jdk 1.2 or 1.3) or here (jdk 1.4) to launch Pooka directly.

For non-Web Start use, Pooka can be downloaded either from SourceForge. Make sure to get the correct version to match the Java version you have (Pooka 1.0 for JDK 1.2 or 1.3, Pooka 1.1 for JDK 1.4 and 1.5).

• download releases from SourceForge Note that the 1.0 builds are available under the heading "Pooka-fullJar"; the 1.1 builds are under "Pooka-1.1 (JDK 1.4)"

Pooka releases invole three files: an executable jar file (pooka_YYMMDD.jar), a source file (pooka_src_YYMMDD.jar ), and a JavaDoc file (pooka_javadoc_YYMMDD.jar). If you just want to run Pooka, then all you need is the executable file. The other two are for developers who want to look at or modify the source code.

I've been using the todo list both as a bug list and an unimplemented features list, so it's probably not a bad thing to look at if you're wondering why something doesn't work. You can also check out the bug list at the Pooka project page at SourceForge.net

Installation/Running

To run pooka 1.0, you must have a JRE (Java Runtime Environment) version 1.2.x or 1.3.x installed and in your PATH (JRE/JDK 1.3.1_03 or higher is recommended, especially for Preview Pane mode). To run the 1.1 versions, you need JDK 1.4 or higher.

To run, just type

java -Xmx64M -jar pooka_<versionnumber>.jar

Or, as an alternative (if you're running Windows or OSX), just double-click on the downloaded jar file.

Pooka will start up and take you through the first steps of configuring a mailbox.

For more complete instructions, including information on downloading a JRE, see the Pooka installation page.

News

I usually put build notes up at the Pooka page on SourceForge. I'll try to copy them here, too.

030325: News: I updated the site, including putting up new build instructions. Yay!

Mailing List

Subscribe to the pooka development list by emailing pooka-request@suberic.net with the word subscribe in the body.

ObSourceForgeLink