Emailing from the iSeries is easy, and you don't even need to know Java!
I recently wrote a
comment about JavaMail in the MC Press Online forums. The
next day, I was asked to write a TechTip about it, and that is what you are
about to read.
Let me point out that I didn't write the JavaMail program
suite; James Zhang wrote it back in 2002, and I'm just making you aware of it.
My goal is to explain how to install the JavaMail program on your iSeries box
and how to use it to send email from within your RPG programs. It surpasses
SNDDST in a number of ways:
It is easy to use.
It is easy to install.
It can attach objects from all over the IFS and goes beyond the 8.3 DOS
naming standard.
You do not need to create any system distribution directory entries of any
kind.
You do not need to know anything about Java.
Installing JavaMail on the iSeries IFS
Before we start, you must be able to FTP
progams/files to the iSeries. If you have not tried this before, go to Google
and enter "iseries ftp" and you should be well on your way.
Download and
unzip the JavaUtil.zip
file. (If you use WinZip, right-click and select "Extract to here" and
you'll have it unpacked to /JavaUtil/JavaMail, which is the structure used on
the IFS as well.)
Find the file called JavaMail.properties and open it in a text editor
(Notepad or something like it). In this file, you'll find two
lines:
Leave
the hosttype as it is. But you have to change the hostname to a mail server of
your choice; this can be a mail server name or an IP address. (Note: If you are
behind a firewall, you might have to alert your administrator that you will be
sending email from your iSeries using the mail server.) When you are done, save
the file.
FTP all the files in the /JavaUtil/JavaMail to your iSeries. If you are
using the built-in FTP program in Windows, start by creating the directories on
your iSeries by entering the following on a command
line: md '/JavaUtil' and then md
'/JavaUtil/JavaMail'. (Note: You must create the
directories in mixed case as show. Failure to acknowledge case-sensitivity is
one of the most common Java programming errors.) Then, FTP all the files to
/JavaUtil/JavaMail. When you're done, end the FTP job. If you use a "real"
FTP program, you should be able to FTP the whole lot in one take.
Download the JavaMail.savf
save file. FTP it to your iSeries and restore
it: RSTLIB SAVLIB(JAVAMAIL) DEV(*SAVF)
SAVF(QGPL/JAVAMAIL). We are running V5R3, but I have compiled all
the programs with tgtrls(*PRV) so it will run on V5R2 also.
You
are now ready to start using JavaMail, but first, I would like to draw your
attention to the JAVAMAIL RPG program written by Mr. Zhang (in library JavaMail
in source file QSOURCE). This program does all the hard work. It sets up
everything and calls the Java classes. But because Mr. Zhang added an entry
point, you can just use the JAVAMAIL program as a black box that you can call
with a set of parameters.
Note: Normally, you have to set up some
environment variables, which are like a library list to Java programs. When I
first installed the JavaMail program, these environment variables really gave me
problems, and I cannot say that you won't have to play around with them on your
box. Look in source member JAVAMAIL/QSOURCE/STRMAIL if you encounter any
problems. I modified this version of STRMAIL, so if you download the programs
from somewhere else, this might vary. In the original program, you have to
manually run STRMAIL and CLSMAIL before you can send email. I have added these
calls to the JAVAMAIL program using QCMDEXC.
I have also included a small
program called SENDMAIL that uses the JAVAMAIL program. This program works like
a green-screen mail client (Figure 1).
Figure 1: SENDMAIL works like a green-screen mail client. (Click image to
enlarge.)
Add
the JavaMail library to your library list and enter CALL SENDMAIL from a command
line. The program looks like any other mail client and works just the same.
If you want to make a line break in your text, enter Note:
Every time you press Enter, the To mail field will be cleared. This prevents Mr.
Woodpecker-Finger from holding down Enter and filling up somebody's mailbox
within a few seconds.
I hope that you find this TechTip useful and that
you can make it work. If you want to get a little deeper into it, I recommend
reading Bob
Cancilla's JavaMail article at IGNITe/400.
Hello Kapil, <BR>
How did you resolve the problem of attaching a file using JAVAMAIL? I am getting the same error code 104 and "File not Found!" message. <p>Thanks Koff.
Hello Kapil, <p>Did you find the solution ? I have the same problem. ErrorMessage is: <BR>
call sendmail <BR>
Java exception received when calling Java method. <BR>
Java exception received when calling Java method (C G D F). <BR>
D <BR>
Java exception received when calling Java method (C G D F). <BR>
D <BR>
Application error. RNX0301 unmonitored by JAVAMAIL at statement <BR>
0000000156, instruction X'0000'. <BR>
The call to *LIBL/JAVAMAIL ended in error (C G D F). <BR>
D <BR>
The call to *LIBL/JAVAMAIL ended in error (C G D F). <BR>
D <BR>
Application error. CEE9901 unmonitored by SENDMAIL at statement <BR>
0000015300, instruction X'0000'. <BR>
Application error. CEE9901 unmonitored by SENDMAIL at statement <BR>
0000015300, instruction X'0000'.
Do you know where to put a User ID/Password for the SMTP authentication that may be required by some servers? I am trying the lookup the info with searching for JAVAMAIL info. Thank you. BEDE!)
Hi Jan <p>I am impressby seeing your article well thanks alot for making it so simple. <p>I am facing one problem while i am attaching the file it is giving error Attachment file not found But according to me i am writting the correct path /QDLS/KK/QPSUPRTF.PDF. Can you please guide me on this. <p>I tried to send the messae without the attachment it is going fine. <p>Thanks in advance <BR>
Kapil
Thanks Paul. I created a SystemDefault.properties file in directory QIBMUserDataJava400 to set the JVM version to 1.4 and the program works as intended now. If anyone else is interested in doing this, I created a file named SystemDefault.properties and added the 3 lines shown below. <p><!--mccodelink_begin--> <BR>
<!-- do not remove --> <BR>
<hr width=50 align=left><small><a href='http://www.mcpressonline.com/mc/showcode@@.6b342a48/7' target='_blank'>Code</a></small> <BR>
<!--mccodelink_end-->
Hi Jonathan, <p>If you want I can send you all the source files in text format and then you can FTP and recompile it yourself - but to do that I need an email from you. <p>Kind regards <BR>
- Jan
When you get the NoSuchMethodError, that means your JVM is Java 1.3 (or earlier). When you don't get it, that means your JVM is Java 1.4 (or later). The split() method was added to String in Java 1.4. <p>So that means the RPG version uses Java 1.3 and the QShell version uses Java 1.4.
Update: I can call JavaMailwithAttachment from the QShell command line, like this; <p>java JavaMailwithAttachment jdoe@yahoo.com jdoe@yahoo.com jdoe@yahoo.com subject text /pdf/file1.pdf,/pdf/file2.pdf <p>and the program works fine. I have no problem with the split method. I receive the email, with 2 file attachments.
I tried to change JavaMailwithAttachment.java slightly, to expect a comma delimited list of filenames to come in the filename parm. Then in the sendMail method, I executed the following statement; <p>String[] filenames = filename.split(","); <p>Then I ran your SendMail RPG program, and received the following error; <p>received Java exception "java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: split <p>split is a method of the java.lang.String class, and package java.lang is included by default in each Java program, right? So why doesn't i tried to change JavaMailwithAttachment.java slightly, to expect a comma delimited list of filenames to come in the filename parm. Then in the sendMail method, I executed the following statement; <p>String[] filenames = filename.split(","); <p>Then I ran your SendMail RPG program, and received the following error; <p>received Java exception "java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: split <p>split is a method of the java.lang.String class, and package java.lang is included by default in each Java program, right? So why doesn't it recognize spilt as a valid method? I can run the program on my desktop, and the split function works fine. The version on the iSeries compiled okay, with no complaints about the split method. What gives?
This is a discussion about <B>TechTip: JavaMail Is It!</b>.<p align='center'><a href=http://www.mcpressonline.com/mc?1@232.1KNKfHX1eQT.17@.6b33c711>Click here for the article</a>.</p>