Message Actualization
Message actualization is the process of converting a message into components that can be managed by a computer program. If you’re attempting to write software designed to parse an email, you’ll do well to find a way not only to parse it, but also to actualize the message into objects the software can actually work with. DSPAM is one example of a filter that uses this approach to interact with the email while it is being processed by the software. The message is read in, and individual components, such as headers, message parts, and MIME delimiters, are cataloged and organized into a series of objects. Key pieces of information, such as the encoding type and media type, are stored as variables for each message part. This approach works remarkably well and allows the software to access different parts of the message as needed, rather than serially.