Mail::Box::Identity - represents an unopened folder

Description

       The "Mail::Box::Identity" object contains the description of a single mailbox.  The mailboxes are
       collected by an Mail::Box::Collection object.  This corresponds with IMAP's "\NoSelect", for instance.

       Nearly all methods can return undef.

       Extends "DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Reporter.

       Extends "DESCRIPTION" in User::Identity::Item.

Diagnostics

       Error: $object is not a collection.
           The first argument is an object, but not of a class which extends User::Identity::Collection.

       Error: Cannot load collection module for $type ($class).
           Either  the  specified  $type does not exist, or that module named $class returns compilation errors.
           If the type as specified in the warning is not the name of a package, you specified a nickname  which
           was not defined.  Maybe you forgot the 'require' the package which defines the nickname.

       Error: Creation of a collection via $class failed.
           The  $class  did compile, but it was not possible to create an object of that class using the options
           you specified.

       Error: Don't know what type of collection you want to add.
           If you add a collection, it must either by a collection object or a list of options which can be used
           to create a collection object.  In the latter case, the type of collection must be specified.

       Error: It is not permitted to add subfolders to $name
           The $m<inferiors()> flag prohibits the creation of subfolders to this folder.

       Warning: No collection $name
           The collection with $name does not exist and can not be created.

       Error: Package $package does not implement $method.
           Fatal error: the specific package (or one of its superclasses) does not implement this  method  where
           it  should.  This  message means that some other related classes do implement this method however the
           class at hand does not.  Probably you should investigate this and probably inform the author  of  the
           package.

       Error: The toplevel folder cannot be removed this way
           The  Mail::Box::Identity  folder  administration  structure  requires  a  top directory.  That top is
           registered somewhere (for instance by a Mail::Box::Manage::User).  If you need to remove the top, you
           have to look for a method of that object.

       Error: Toplevel directory requires explicit folder type
       Error: Toplevel directory requires explicit location

Inheritance

        Mail::Box::Identity
          is a User::Identity::Item

        Mail::Box::Identity
          is a Mail::Reporter

License

       Copyrights 2001-2025 by [Mark Overmeer]. For other contributors see ChangeLog.

       This  program  is  free  software;  you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl
       itself.  See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/

perl v5.40.1                                       2025-04-25                           Mail::Box::Identity(3pm)

Methods

       Extends "METHODS" in Mail::Reporter.

       Extends "METHODS" in User::Identity::Item.

   Constructors
       Extends "Constructors" in Mail::Reporter.

       Extends "Constructors" in User::Identity::Item.

       Mail::Box::Identity->new( [$name], %options )
            -Option     --Defined in          --Default
             deleted                            <false>
             description  User::Identity::Item  undef
             folder_type                        from parent
             inferiors                          1
             location                           undef
             log          Mail::Reporter        'WARNINGS'
             manager                            <from parent>
             marked                             undef
             name         User::Identity::Item  <required>
             only_subs                          <foldertype and name dependent>
             parent       User::Identity::Item  undef
             subf_type                          <same as parent>
             trace        Mail::Reporter        'WARNINGS'

           deleted => BOOLEAN
             The  folder  is flagged for deletion.  This not have any implications yet, because it may still get
             undeleted.

           description => STRING
           folder_type => CLASS
           inferiors => BOOLEAN
             Can this folder have children?  If not, this is cleared.

           location => DIRECTORY|FILENAME
             The location of this folder.  Often, only the manager can figure-out where this folder really is.

           log => LEVEL
           manager => OBJECT
             Any Mail::Box::Manager or Mail::Box::Manage::User OBJECT.

           marked => BOOLEAN|"undef"
             Whether the folder is flagged for some reason, for instance because new messages have arrived.

           name => STRING
           only_subs => BOOLEAN
             Some folder types can have messages in their toplevel folder, other  cannot.  That  determines  the
             default.  See Mail::Box::topFolderWithMessages()

           parent => OBJECT
           subf_type => CLASS
             The type for a subfolder collection, must extend CLASS Mail::Box::Collection.

           trace => LEVEL

   Attributes
       Extends "Attributes" in User::Identity::Item.

       $obj->deleted( [BOOLEAN] )
       $obj->description()
           Inherited, see "Attributes" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->folderType()
           Returns the type of this folder.

       $obj->fullname( [$delimeter] )
           Returns  the name of the folder, from the toplevel until this one, with the $delimeter string between
           each level.  $delimeter default to a forward slash (a "/").

       $obj->inferiors( [BOOLEAN] )
           "Inferiors" are "subfolders".  When this flag is set, it is permitted to create subfolders.

       $obj->location( [$filename|$directory|undef] )
           Returns the directory or filename of the folder.  If this is not pre-defined, it is computed based on
           the knowledge about the folder type.  Be sure to set the location  of  the  toplevel  folder  to  the
           folderdir of the user to get this to work.

       $obj->manager()
           Returns  the manager (usually a Mail::Box::Manage::User which owns the folders.  May be undefined, by
           default from parent.

       $obj->marked( [BOOLEAN|undef] )
           When something special has happened with the folder, this flag can be set (or cleared).  The  "undef"
           status  is  an  "unknown".   In  the IMAP4 protocol, 0 will result in a "\Unmarked", a 1 results in a
           "\Marked", and "undef" in nothing.

       $obj->name( [$newname] )
           Inherited, see "Attributes" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->onlySubfolders( [BOOLEAN] )
           Than this folder be opened (without trying) or not?  The default depends  on  the  folder  type,  and
           whether this is the toplevel folder or not.  See Mail::Box::topFolderWithMessages()

       $obj->topfolder()
           Run up the tree to find the highest level folder.

   Collections
       Extends "Collections" in User::Identity::Item.

       $obj->add($collection, $role)
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->addCollection( $object | <[$type], %options> )
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->collection($name)
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->parent( [$parent] )
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->removeCollection($object|$name)
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->type()
       Mail::Box::Identity->type()
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

       $obj->user()
           Inherited, see "Collections" in User::Identity::Item

   Searching
       Extends "Searching" in User::Identity::Item.

       $obj->find($collection, $role)
           Inherited, see "Searching" in User::Identity::Item

   Subfolders
       $obj->addSubfolder($m<Mail::Box::Identity>|$data)
           Add  a new folder into the administration.  With $data, a new object will be instantiated first.  The
           identity is returned on success.

       $obj->folder( [..., $name] )
           Returns the subfolder's object with $name or "undef" if it does not exist.  When multiple  NAMEs  are
           added, those super folders are traverst first.  Without any $name, the current object is returned

           example: get some folder

            my $a = $user->folders->folder('b', 'a');

            my $name  = "a:b:c";
            my $delim = ":";
            my $f = $user->folders->folder(split $delim, $name);

       $obj->foreach(CODE)
           For  each  of  the subfolders found below this point call CODE.  This current folder is called first.
           Be warned that you may find identities with the deleted() flag on.

       $obj->open(%options)
           Open the folder which is described by this identity.  Returned is some Mail::Box.   The  options  are
           passed to Mail::Box::Manager::open().

       $obj->remove( [$name] )
           Remove the folder (plus subfolders) with the $name.  Without $name, this "Mail::Box::Identity" itself
           is removed.

           The  removed  structure  is  returned, which is "undef" if not found.  This is only an administrative
           remove, you still need a Mail::Box::Manager::delete().

       $obj->rename( $folder, [$newsubname] )
           Move the folder to a different super-$folder, under a NEW SUBfolder NAME.

           example: renaming a folder

            my $top = $user->topfolder;
            my $new = $top->folder('xyz') or die;
            my $f   = $top->folder('abc', 'def')->rename($new, '123');

            print $f->name;      # 123
            print $f->fullname;  # =/xyz/123

       $obj->subfolderNames()
           Convenience method: returns the names of the collected subfolders.

       $obj->subfolders()
           Returns the subfolders or "undef" if there are none.  This information is lazy evaluated and  cached.
           In LIST context, the folder objects are returned (Mail::Box::Identity objects), in SCALAR context the
           collection, the Mail::Box::Collection.

   Errorhandling
       Extends "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter.

       $obj->AUTOLOAD()
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->addReport($object)
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->defaultTrace( [$level]|[$loglevel, $tracelevel]|[$level, $callback] )
       Mail::Box::Identity->defaultTrace( [$level]|[$loglevel, $tracelevel]|[$level, $callback] )
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->errors()
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->log( [$level, [$strings]] )
       Mail::Box::Identity->log( [$level, [$strings]] )
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->logPriority($level)
       Mail::Box::Identity->logPriority($level)
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->logSettings()
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->notImplemented()
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->report( [$level] )
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->reportAll( [$level] )
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->trace( [$level] )
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

       $obj->warnings()
           Inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter

   Cleanup
       Extends "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter.

       $obj->DESTROY()
           Inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter

Name

       Mail::Box::Identity - represents an unopened folder

Synopsis

        use User::Identity;
        use Mail::Box::Identity;
        my $me   = User::Identity->new(...);

        my $mailbox = Mail::Box::Identity->new(...);
        $me->add(folders => $mailbox);

        # Simpler

        use User::Identity;
        my $me   = User::Identity->new(...);
        my $addr = $me->add(folders => ...);