Minor documentation changes cross-referencing NullHandler to the documentation on...
[python.git] / Lib / MimeWriter.py
blobe898f9ff231793672ae281c770666be8953be6ec
1 """Generic MIME writer.
3 This module defines the class MimeWriter. The MimeWriter class implements
4 a basic formatter for creating MIME multi-part files. It doesn't seek around
5 the output file nor does it use large amounts of buffer space. You must write
6 the parts out in the order that they should occur in the final file.
7 MimeWriter does buffer the headers you add, allowing you to rearrange their
8 order.
10 """
13 import mimetools
15 __all__ = ["MimeWriter"]
17 import warnings
19 warnings.warn("the MimeWriter module is deprecated; use the email package instead",
20 DeprecationWarning, 2)
22 class MimeWriter:
24 """Generic MIME writer.
26 Methods:
28 __init__()
29 addheader()
30 flushheaders()
31 startbody()
32 startmultipartbody()
33 nextpart()
34 lastpart()
36 A MIME writer is much more primitive than a MIME parser. It
37 doesn't seek around on the output file, and it doesn't use large
38 amounts of buffer space, so you have to write the parts in the
39 order they should occur on the output file. It does buffer the
40 headers you add, allowing you to rearrange their order.
42 General usage is:
44 f = <open the output file>
45 w = MimeWriter(f)
46 ...call w.addheader(key, value) 0 or more times...
48 followed by either:
50 f = w.startbody(content_type)
51 ...call f.write(data) for body data...
53 or:
55 w.startmultipartbody(subtype)
56 for each part:
57 subwriter = w.nextpart()
58 ...use the subwriter's methods to create the subpart...
59 w.lastpart()
61 The subwriter is another MimeWriter instance, and should be
62 treated in the same way as the toplevel MimeWriter. This way,
63 writing recursive body parts is easy.
65 Warning: don't forget to call lastpart()!
67 XXX There should be more state so calls made in the wrong order
68 are detected.
70 Some special cases:
72 - startbody() just returns the file passed to the constructor;
73 but don't use this knowledge, as it may be changed.
75 - startmultipartbody() actually returns a file as well;
76 this can be used to write the initial 'if you can read this your
77 mailer is not MIME-aware' message.
79 - If you call flushheaders(), the headers accumulated so far are
80 written out (and forgotten); this is useful if you don't need a
81 body part at all, e.g. for a subpart of type message/rfc822
82 that's (mis)used to store some header-like information.
84 - Passing a keyword argument 'prefix=<flag>' to addheader(),
85 start*body() affects where the header is inserted; 0 means
86 append at the end, 1 means insert at the start; default is
87 append for addheader(), but insert for start*body(), which use
88 it to determine where the Content-Type header goes.
90 """
92 def __init__(self, fp):
93 self._fp = fp
94 self._headers = []
96 def addheader(self, key, value, prefix=0):
97 """Add a header line to the MIME message.
99 The key is the name of the header, where the value obviously provides
100 the value of the header. The optional argument prefix determines
101 where the header is inserted; 0 means append at the end, 1 means
102 insert at the start. The default is to append.
105 lines = value.split("\n")
106 while lines and not lines[-1]: del lines[-1]
107 while lines and not lines[0]: del lines[0]
108 for i in range(1, len(lines)):
109 lines[i] = " " + lines[i].strip()
110 value = "\n".join(lines) + "\n"
111 line = key + ": " + value
112 if prefix:
113 self._headers.insert(0, line)
114 else:
115 self._headers.append(line)
117 def flushheaders(self):
118 """Writes out and forgets all headers accumulated so far.
120 This is useful if you don't need a body part at all; for example,
121 for a subpart of type message/rfc822 that's (mis)used to store some
122 header-like information.
125 self._fp.writelines(self._headers)
126 self._headers = []
128 def startbody(self, ctype, plist=[], prefix=1):
129 """Returns a file-like object for writing the body of the message.
131 The content-type is set to the provided ctype, and the optional
132 parameter, plist, provides additional parameters for the
133 content-type declaration. The optional argument prefix determines
134 where the header is inserted; 0 means append at the end, 1 means
135 insert at the start. The default is to insert at the start.
138 for name, value in plist:
139 ctype = ctype + ';\n %s=\"%s\"' % (name, value)
140 self.addheader("Content-Type", ctype, prefix=prefix)
141 self.flushheaders()
142 self._fp.write("\n")
143 return self._fp
145 def startmultipartbody(self, subtype, boundary=None, plist=[], prefix=1):
146 """Returns a file-like object for writing the body of the message.
148 Additionally, this method initializes the multi-part code, where the
149 subtype parameter provides the multipart subtype, the boundary
150 parameter may provide a user-defined boundary specification, and the
151 plist parameter provides optional parameters for the subtype. The
152 optional argument, prefix, determines where the header is inserted;
153 0 means append at the end, 1 means insert at the start. The default
154 is to insert at the start. Subparts should be created using the
155 nextpart() method.
158 self._boundary = boundary or mimetools.choose_boundary()
159 return self.startbody("multipart/" + subtype,
160 [("boundary", self._boundary)] + plist,
161 prefix=prefix)
163 def nextpart(self):
164 """Returns a new instance of MimeWriter which represents an
165 individual part in a multipart message.
167 This may be used to write the part as well as used for creating
168 recursively complex multipart messages. The message must first be
169 initialized with the startmultipartbody() method before using the
170 nextpart() method.
173 self._fp.write("\n--" + self._boundary + "\n")
174 return self.__class__(self._fp)
176 def lastpart(self):
177 """This is used to designate the last part of a multipart message.
179 It should always be used when writing multipart messages.
182 self._fp.write("\n--" + self._boundary + "--\n")
185 if __name__ == '__main__':
186 import test.test_MimeWriter