org.apache.commons.net.nntp
Class NNTPClient

java.lang.Object
  org.apache.commons.net.SocketClient
      org.apache.commons.net.nntp.NNTP
          org.apache.commons.net.nntp.NNTPClient

public class NNTPClient
extends NNTP

NNTPClient encapsulates all the functionality necessary to post and retrieve articles from an NNTP server. As with all classes derived from SocketClient, you must first connect to the server with connect before doing anything, and finally disconnect() after you're completely finished interacting with the server. Remember that the isAllowedToPost() method is defined in NNTP.

You should keep in mind that the NNTP server may choose to prematurely close a connection if the client has been idle for longer than a given time period or if the server is being shutdown by the operator or some other reason. The NNTP class will detect a premature NNTP server connection closing when it receives a NNTPReply.SERVICE_DISCONTINUED response to a command. When that occurs, the NNTP class method encountering that reply will throw an NNTPConnectionClosedException . NNTPConectionClosedException is a subclass of IOException and therefore need not be caught separately, but if you are going to catch it separately, its catch block must appear before the more general IOException catch block. When you encounter an NNTPConnectionClosedException , you must disconnect the connection with disconnect() to properly clean up the system resources used by NNTP. Before disconnecting, you may check the last reply code and text with getReplyCode and getReplyString .

Rather than list it separately for each method, we mention here that every method communicating with the server and throwing an IOException can also throw a MalformedServerReplyException , which is a subclass of IOException. A MalformedServerReplyException will be thrown when the reply received from the server deviates enough from the protocol specification that it cannot be interpreted in a useful manner despite attempts to be as lenient as possible.

Author:

Daniel F. Savarese, Rory Winston, Ted Wise

See Also:

NNTP, NNTPConnectionClosedException, MalformedServerReplyException

Field Summary

Fields inherited from class org.apache.commons.net.nntp.NNTP

_commandSupport_, _reader_, _writer_, DEFAULT_PORT

Fields inherited from class org.apache.commons.net.SocketClient

_defaultPort_, _input_, _isConnected_, _output_, _socket_, _socketFactory_, _timeout_, NETASCII_EOL

Constructor Summary

NNTPClient()

Method Summary

boolean	authenticate(String username, String password) Log into a news server by sending the AUTHINFO USER/AUTHINFO PASS command sequence.
boolean	completePendingCommand() There are a few NNTPClient methods that do not complete the entire sequence of NNTP commands to complete a transaction.
Writer	forwardArticle(String articleId)
String	listHelp() List the command help from the server.
String[]	listNewNews(NewGroupsOrNewsQuery query) List all new articles added to the NNTP server since a particular date subject to the conditions of the specified query.
NewsgroupInfo[]	listNewNewsgroups(NewGroupsOrNewsQuery query) List all new newsgroups added to the NNTP server since a particular date subject to the conditions of the specified query.
NewsgroupInfo[]	listNewsgroups() List all newsgroups served by the NNTP server.
NewsgroupInfo[]	listNewsgroups(String wildmat) An overloaded listNewsgroups() command that allows us to specify with a pattern what groups we want to list.
boolean	logout() Logs out of the news server gracefully by sending the QUIT command.
Writer	postArticle() Post an article to the NNTP server.
Reader	retrieveArticle() Same as retrieveArticle(null)
Reader	retrieveArticle(int articleNumber) Same as retrieveArticle(articleNumber, null)
Reader	retrieveArticle(int articleNumber, ArticlePointer pointer) Retrieves an article from the currently selected newsgroup.
Reader	retrieveArticle(String articleId) Same as retrieveArticle(articleId, null)
Reader	retrieveArticle(String articleId, ArticlePointer pointer) Retrieves an article from the NNTP server.
Reader	retrieveArticleBody() Same as retrieveArticleBody(null)
Reader	retrieveArticleBody(int articleNumber) Same as retrieveArticleBody(articleNumber, null)
Reader	retrieveArticleBody(int articleNumber, ArticlePointer pointer) Retrieves an article body from the currently selected newsgroup.
Reader	retrieveArticleBody(String articleId) Same as retrieveArticleBody(articleId, null)
Reader	retrieveArticleBody(String articleId, ArticlePointer pointer) Retrieves an article body from the NNTP server.
Reader	retrieveArticleHeader() Same as retrieveArticleHeader(null)
Reader	retrieveArticleHeader(int articleNumber) Same as retrieveArticleHeader(articleNumber, null)
Reader	retrieveArticleHeader(int articleNumber, ArticlePointer pointer) Retrieves an article header from the currently selected newsgroup.
Reader	retrieveArticleHeader(String articleId) Same as retrieveArticleHeader(articleId, null)
Reader	retrieveArticleHeader(String articleId, ArticlePointer pointer) Retrieves an article header from the NNTP server.
Reader	retrieveArticleInfo(int articleNumber) Return article headers for a specified post.
Reader	retrieveArticleInfo(int lowArticleNumber, int highArticleNumber) Return article headers for all articles between lowArticleNumber and highArticleNumber, inclusively.
Reader	retrieveHeader(String header, int articleNumber) Return an article header for a specified post.
Reader	retrieveHeader(String header, int lowArticleNumber, int highArticleNumber) Return an article header for all articles between lowArticleNumber and highArticleNumber, inclusively.
boolean	selectArticle(ArticlePointer pointer) Same as selectArticle(null, articleId) .
boolean	selectArticle(int articleNumber) Same as selectArticle(articleNumber, null)
boolean	selectArticle(int articleNumber, ArticlePointer pointer) Select an article in the currently selected newsgroup by its number.
boolean	selectArticle(String articleId) Same as selectArticle(articleId, null)
boolean	selectArticle(String articleId, ArticlePointer pointer) Select an article by its unique identifier (including enclosing < and >) and return its article number and id through the pointer parameter.
boolean	selectNewsgroup(String newsgroup) Same as selectNewsgroup(newsgroup, null)
boolean	selectNewsgroup(String newsgroup, NewsgroupInfo info) Select the specified newsgroup to be the target of for future article retrieval and posting operations.
boolean	selectNextArticle() Same as selectNextArticle(null)
boolean	selectNextArticle(ArticlePointer pointer) Select the article following the currently selected article in the currently selected newsgroup and return its number and unique id through the pointer parameter.
boolean	selectPreviousArticle() Same as selectPreviousArticle(null)
boolean	selectPreviousArticle(ArticlePointer pointer) Select the article preceeding the currently selected article in the currently selected newsgroup and return its number and unique id through the pointer parameter.

Methods inherited from class org.apache.commons.net.nntp.NNTP

_connectAction_, addProtocolCommandListener, article, article, article, authinfoPass, authinfoUser, body, body, body, disconnect, getReply, getReplyCode, getReplyString, group, head, head, head, help, ihave, isAllowedToPost, last, list, listActive, newgroups, newnews, next, post, quit, removeProtocolCommandListener, sendCommand, sendCommand, sendCommand, sendCommand, stat, stat, stat, xhdr, xover

Methods inherited from class org.apache.commons.net.SocketClient

connect, connect, connect, connect, connect, connect, getDefaultPort, getDefaultTimeout, getLocalAddress, getLocalPort, getRemoteAddress, getRemotePort, getSoLinger, getSoTimeout, getTcpNoDelay, isConnected, setDefaultPort, setDefaultTimeout, setSocketFactory, setSoLinger, setSoTimeout, setTcpNoDelay, verifyRemote

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

NNTPClient

public NNTPClient()

Method Detail

retrieveArticle

public Reader retrieveArticle(String articleId,
                              ArticlePointer pointer)
                       throws IOException

Retrieves an article from the NNTP server. The article is referenced by its unique article identifier (including the enclosing < and >). The article number and identifier contained in the server reply are returned through an ArticlePointer. The articleId field of the ArticlePointer cannot always be trusted because some NNTP servers do not correctly follow the RFC 977 reply format.

A DotTerminatedMessageReader is returned from which the article can be read. If the article does not exist, null is returned.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any other methods) until you finish reading the message from the returned Reader instance. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Reader actually reads directly from the NNTP connection. After the end of message has been reached, new commands can be executed and their replies read. If you do not follow these requirements, your program will not work properly.

Parameters:

articleId - The unique article identifier of the article to retrieve. If this parameter is null, the currently selected article is retrieved.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageReader instance from which the article be read. null if the article does not exist.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

retrieveArticle

public Reader retrieveArticle(String articleId)
                       throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticle(articleId, null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticle

public Reader retrieveArticle()
                       throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticle(null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticle

public Reader retrieveArticle(int articleNumber,
                              ArticlePointer pointer)
                       throws IOException

Retrieves an article from the currently selected newsgroup. The article is referenced by its article number. The article number and identifier contained in the server reply are returned through an ArticlePointer. The articleId field of the ArticlePointer cannot always be trusted because some NNTP servers do not correctly follow the RFC 977 reply format.

A DotTerminatedMessageReader is returned from which the article can be read. If the article does not exist, null is returned.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any other methods) until you finish reading the message from the returned Reader instance. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Reader actually reads directly from the NNTP connection. After the end of message has been reached, new commands can be executed and their replies read. If you do not follow these requirements, your program will not work properly.

Parameters:

articleNumber - The number of the the article to retrieve.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageReader instance from which the article be read. null if the article does not exist.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

retrieveArticle

public Reader retrieveArticle(int articleNumber)
                       throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticle(articleNumber, null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleHeader

public Reader retrieveArticleHeader(String articleId,
                                    ArticlePointer pointer)
                             throws IOException

Retrieves an article header from the NNTP server. The article is referenced by its unique article identifier (including the enclosing < and >). The article number and identifier contained in the server reply are returned through an ArticlePointer. The articleId field of the ArticlePointer cannot always be trusted because some NNTP servers do not correctly follow the RFC 977 reply format.

A DotTerminatedMessageReader is returned from which the article can be read. If the article does not exist, null is returned.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any other methods) until you finish reading the message from the returned Reader instance. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Reader actually reads directly from the NNTP connection. After the end of message has been reached, new commands can be executed and their replies read. If you do not follow these requirements, your program will not work properly.

Parameters:

articleId - The unique article identifier of the article whose header is being retrieved. If this parameter is null, the header of the currently selected article is retrieved.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageReader instance from which the article header can be read. null if the article does not exist.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

retrieveArticleHeader

public Reader retrieveArticleHeader(String articleId)
                             throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticleHeader(articleId, null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleHeader

public Reader retrieveArticleHeader()
                             throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticleHeader(null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleHeader

public Reader retrieveArticleHeader(int articleNumber,
                                    ArticlePointer pointer)
                             throws IOException

Retrieves an article header from the currently selected newsgroup. The article is referenced by its article number. The article number and identifier contained in the server reply are returned through an ArticlePointer. The articleId field of the ArticlePointer cannot always be trusted because some NNTP servers do not correctly follow the RFC 977 reply format.

A DotTerminatedMessageReader is returned from which the article can be read. If the article does not exist, null is returned.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any other methods) until you finish reading the message from the returned Reader instance. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Reader actually reads directly from the NNTP connection. After the end of message has been reached, new commands can be executed and their replies read. If you do not follow these requirements, your program will not work properly.

Parameters:

articleNumber - The number of the the article whose header is being retrieved.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageReader instance from which the article header can be read. null if the article does not exist.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

retrieveArticleHeader

public Reader retrieveArticleHeader(int articleNumber)
                             throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticleHeader(articleNumber, null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleBody

public Reader retrieveArticleBody(String articleId,
                                  ArticlePointer pointer)
                           throws IOException

Retrieves an article body from the NNTP server. The article is referenced by its unique article identifier (including the enclosing < and >). The article number and identifier contained in the server reply are returned through an ArticlePointer. The articleId field of the ArticlePointer cannot always be trusted because some NNTP servers do not correctly follow the RFC 977 reply format.

A DotTerminatedMessageReader is returned from which the article can be read. If the article does not exist, null is returned.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any other methods) until you finish reading the message from the returned Reader instance. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Reader actually reads directly from the NNTP connection. After the end of message has been reached, new commands can be executed and their replies read. If you do not follow these requirements, your program will not work properly.

Parameters:

articleId - The unique article identifier of the article whose body is being retrieved. If this parameter is null, the body of the currently selected article is retrieved.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageReader instance from which the article body can be read. null if the article does not exist.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

retrieveArticleBody

public Reader retrieveArticleBody(String articleId)
                           throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticleBody(articleId, null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleBody

public Reader retrieveArticleBody()
                           throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticleBody(null)

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleBody

public Reader retrieveArticleBody(int articleNumber,
                                  ArticlePointer pointer)
                           throws IOException

Retrieves an article body from the currently selected newsgroup. The article is referenced by its article number. The article number and identifier contained in the server reply are returned through an ArticlePointer. The articleId field of the ArticlePointer cannot always be trusted because some NNTP servers do not correctly follow the RFC 977 reply format.

A DotTerminatedMessageReader is returned from which the article can be read. If the article does not exist, null is returned.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any other methods) until you finish reading the message from the returned Reader instance. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Reader actually reads directly from the NNTP connection. After the end of message has been reached, new commands can be executed and their replies read. If you do not follow these requirements, your program will not work properly.

Parameters:

articleNumber - The number of the the article whose body is being retrieved.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageReader instance from which the article body can be read. null if the article does not exist.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

retrieveArticleBody

public Reader retrieveArticleBody(int articleNumber)
                           throws IOException

Same as retrieveArticleBody(articleNumber, null)

Throws:

IOException

selectNewsgroup

public boolean selectNewsgroup(String newsgroup,
                               NewsgroupInfo info)
                        throws IOException

Select the specified newsgroup to be the target of for future article retrieval and posting operations. Also return the newsgroup information contained in the server reply through the info parameter.

Parameters:

newsgroup - The newsgroup to select.

info - A parameter through which the newsgroup information of the selected newsgroup contained in the server reply is returned. Set this to null if you do not desire this information.

Returns:

True if the newsgroup exists and was selected, false otherwise.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

selectNewsgroup

public boolean selectNewsgroup(String newsgroup)
                        throws IOException

Same as selectNewsgroup(newsgroup, null)

Throws:

IOException

listHelp

public String listHelp()
                throws IOException

List the command help from the server.

Returns:

The sever help information.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

selectArticle

public boolean selectArticle(String articleId,
                             ArticlePointer pointer)
                      throws IOException

Select an article by its unique identifier (including enclosing < and >) and return its article number and id through the pointer parameter. This is achieved through the STAT command. According to RFC 977, this will NOT set the current article pointer on the server. To do that, you must reference the article by its number.

Parameters:

articleId - The unique article identifier of the article that is being selectedd. If this parameter is null, the body of the current article is selected

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

True if successful, false if not.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

selectArticle

public boolean selectArticle(String articleId)
                      throws IOException

Same as selectArticle(articleId, null)

Throws:

IOException

selectArticle

public boolean selectArticle(ArticlePointer pointer)
                      throws IOException

Same as selectArticle(null, articleId) . Useful for retrieving the current article number.

Throws:

IOException

selectArticle

public boolean selectArticle(int articleNumber,
                             ArticlePointer pointer)
                      throws IOException

Select an article in the currently selected newsgroup by its number. and return its article number and id through the pointer parameter. This is achieved through the STAT command. According to RFC 977, this WILL set the current article pointer on the server. Use this command to select an article before retrieving it, or to obtain an article's unique identifier given its number.

Parameters:

articleNumber - The number of the article to select from the currently selected newsgroup.

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. Although the articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats, we haven't found a server that misformats this information in response to this particular command. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

True if successful, false if not.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

selectArticle

public boolean selectArticle(int articleNumber)
                      throws IOException

Same as selectArticle(articleNumber, null)

Throws:

IOException

selectPreviousArticle

public boolean selectPreviousArticle(ArticlePointer pointer)
                              throws IOException

Select the article preceeding the currently selected article in the currently selected newsgroup and return its number and unique id through the pointer parameter. Because of deviating server implementations, the articleId information cannot be trusted. To obtain the article identifier, issue a selectArticle(pointer.articleNumber, pointer) immediately afterward.

Parameters:

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

True if successful, false if not (e.g., there is no previous article).

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

selectPreviousArticle

public boolean selectPreviousArticle()
                              throws IOException

Same as selectPreviousArticle(null)

Throws:

IOException

selectNextArticle

public boolean selectNextArticle(ArticlePointer pointer)
                          throws IOException

Select the article following the currently selected article in the currently selected newsgroup and return its number and unique id through the pointer parameter. Because of deviating server implementations, the articleId information cannot be trusted. To obtain the article identifier, issue a selectArticle(pointer.articleNumber, pointer) immediately afterward.

Parameters:

pointer - A parameter through which to return the article's number and unique id. The articleId field cannot always be trusted because of server deviations from RFC 977 reply formats. You may set this parameter to null if you do not desire to retrieve the returned article information.

Returns:

True if successful, false if not (e.g., there is no following article).

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

selectNextArticle

public boolean selectNextArticle()
                          throws IOException

Same as selectNextArticle(null)

Throws:

IOException

listNewsgroups

public NewsgroupInfo[] listNewsgroups()
                               throws IOException

List all newsgroups served by the NNTP server. If no newsgroups are served, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned.

Returns:

An array of NewsgroupInfo instances containing the information for each newsgroup served by the NNTP server. If no newsgroups are served, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

listNewsgroups

public NewsgroupInfo[] listNewsgroups(String wildmat)
                               throws IOException

An overloaded listNewsgroups() command that allows us to specify with a pattern what groups we want to list. Wraps the LIST ACTIVE command.

Parameters:

wildmat - a pseudo-regex pattern (cf. RFC 2980)

Returns:

An array of NewsgroupInfo instances containing the information for each newsgroup served by the NNTP server corresponding to the supplied pattern. If no such newsgroups are served, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned.

Throws:

IOException

listNewNewsgroups

public NewsgroupInfo[] listNewNewsgroups(NewGroupsOrNewsQuery query)
                                  throws IOException

List all new newsgroups added to the NNTP server since a particular date subject to the conditions of the specified query. If no new newsgroups were added, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned.

Parameters:

query - The query restricting how to search for new newsgroups.

Returns:

An array of NewsgroupInfo instances containing the information for each new newsgroup added to the NNTP server. If no newsgroups were added, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

listNewNews

public String[] listNewNews(NewGroupsOrNewsQuery query)
                     throws IOException

List all new articles added to the NNTP server since a particular date subject to the conditions of the specified query. If no new new news is found, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned. You must add at least one newsgroup to the query, else the command will fail. Each String in the returned array is a unique message identifier including the enclosing < and >.

Parameters:

query - The query restricting how to search for new news. You must add at least one newsgroup to the query.

Returns:

An array of String instances containing the unique message identifiers for each new article added to the NNTP server. If no new news is found, a zero length array will be returned. If the command fails, null will be returned.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

completePendingCommand

public boolean completePendingCommand()
                               throws IOException

There are a few NNTPClient methods that do not complete the entire sequence of NNTP commands to complete a transaction. These commands require some action by the programmer after the reception of a positive preliminary command. After the programmer's code completes its actions, it must call this method to receive the completion reply from the server and verify the success of the entire transaction.

For example

 writer = client.postArticle();
 if(writer == null) // failure
   return false;
 header = new SimpleNNTPHeader("foobar@foo.com", "Just testing");
 header.addNewsgroup("alt.test");
 writer.write(header.toString());
 writer.write("This is just a test");
 writer.close();
 if(!client.completePendingCommand()) // failure
   return false;
 

Returns:

True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws:

NNTPConnectionClosedException - If the NNTP server prematurely closes the connection as a result of the client being idle or some other reason causing the server to send NNTP reply code 400. This exception may be caught either as an IOException or independently as itself.

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

postArticle

public Writer postArticle()
                   throws IOException

Post an article to the NNTP server. This method returns a DotTerminatedMessageWriter instance to which the article can be written. Null is returned if the posting attempt fails. You should check isAllowedToPost() before trying to post. However, a posting attempt can fail due to malformed headers.

You must not issue any commands to the NNTP server (i.e., call any (other methods) until you finish writing to the returned Writer instance and close it. The NNTP protocol uses the same stream for issuing commands as it does for returning results. Therefore the returned Writer actually writes directly to the NNTP connection. After you close the writer, you can execute new commands. If you do not follow these requirements your program will not work properly.

Different NNTP servers will require different header formats, but you can use the provided SimpleNNTPHeader class to construct the bare minimum acceptable header for most news readers. To construct more complicated headers you should refer to RFC 822. When the Java Mail API is finalized, you will be able to use it to compose fully compliant Internet text messages. The DotTerminatedMessageWriter takes care of doubling line-leading dots and ending the message with a single dot upon closing, so all you have to worry about is writing the header and the message.

Upon closing the returned Writer, you need to call completePendingCommand() to finalize the posting and verify its success or failure from the server reply.

Returns:

A DotTerminatedMessageWriter to which the article (including header) can be written. Returns null if the command fails.

Throws:

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

forwardArticle

public Writer forwardArticle(String articleId)
                      throws IOException

Throws:

IOException

logout

public boolean logout()
               throws IOException

Logs out of the news server gracefully by sending the QUIT command. However, you must still disconnect from the server before you can open a new connection.

Returns:

True if successfully completed, false if not.

Throws:

IOException - If an I/O error occurs while either sending a command to the server or receiving a reply from the server.

authenticate

public boolean authenticate(String username,
                            String password)
                     throws IOException

Log into a news server by sending the AUTHINFO USER/AUTHINFO PASS command sequence. This is usually sent in response to a 480 reply code from the NNTP server.

Parameters:

username - a valid username

password - the corresponding password

Returns:

True for successful login, false for a failure

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleInfo

public Reader retrieveArticleInfo(int articleNumber)
                           throws IOException

Return article headers for a specified post.

Parameters:

articleNumber - the article to retrieve headers for

Returns:

a DotTerminatedReader if successful, null otherwise

Throws:

IOException

retrieveArticleInfo

public Reader retrieveArticleInfo(int lowArticleNumber,
                                  int highArticleNumber)
                           throws IOException

Return article headers for all articles between lowArticleNumber and highArticleNumber, inclusively.

Parameters:

lowArticleNumber -

highArticleNumber -

Returns:

a DotTerminatedReader if successful, null otherwise

Throws:

IOException

retrieveHeader

public Reader retrieveHeader(String header,
                             int articleNumber)
                      throws IOException

Return an article header for a specified post.

Parameters:

header - the header to retrieve

articleNumber - the article to retrieve the header for

Returns:

a DotTerminatedReader if successful, null otherwise

Throws:

IOException

retrieveHeader

public Reader retrieveHeader(String header,
                             int lowArticleNumber,
                             int highArticleNumber)
                      throws IOException

Return an article header for all articles between lowArticleNumber and highArticleNumber, inclusively.

Parameters:

header -

lowArticleNumber -

highArticleNumber -

Returns:

a DotTerminatedReader if successful, null otherwise

Throws:

IOException