Varied Email protocols for swift communication

Email is a preferred mode of communication as it saves time and money and due to its ease of use. To maintain the working of the email service we have email protocols which govern the interaction between the client and the server. Basically a protocol is a set of instruction or rules for any task. In same way for communication via email, there are some protocols which define the set of rules for interaction. The most common protocols are SMTP, POP3 and IMAP.

Lets us discuss in deep the various protocols of the email:

1. IMAP: IMAP is Internet Message Access Protocol and is best suitable for local server. Outlook And Outlook Express uses this protocol as it synchronizes a copy of mail to the user's computer. All the mails are kept on the server and user's computer as well. It is also possible to create and update folders or mailboxes on the server. It does not keep the copies on the client side. So by using IMAP server we can the store the mail in server and can access from any client using IMAP.
   

2. SMTP: SMTP is Simple Mail transfer Protocol. As the name is suggests, this protocol is used for sending emails in a proper way. It is only used for sending mails not for receiving mails. SMTP is used to send emails over Internet from one server to another. Simply you can say this protocol is very important for email sending and receiving. The functionality of SMTP is like firstly it checks the address of the message where it needs to be send and then contacts the target server directly and then sends the message. Applications like Outlook and Outlook Express use this protocol to send emails.

3. POP3: POP is Post Office Protocol. This protocol of email is an email accessing protocol used to fetch the email from the server. Outlook and Outlook express use this protocol to download the mail from the server and save it to the user’s computer and then deletes it from the server. You can also keep the copy of the mail in the server as the backup but there are also chances that it may delete after a certain period.

Hence, in the end we can say that these email protocols act as the main pillar for sending an email. These protocols make communication via exchange much easier and secure.