How do I connect to an SMTP server?

neutron has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to create a cgi that takes information from a user input form and sends the information to an email account. There are apparently quite a few different modules out there to do this but I've opted for Mail::Sender. This module requires an SMTP server address and I'm not entirely sure what to use. Is this something I can set-up on my computer??

Here's the sample code:

#!/perl/bin/perl -wT

use CGI qw(:standard);
use CGI::Carp qw(warningsToBrowser fatalsToBrowser);
use Mail::Sender;

#use strict;

print header;
print start_html( "Results" );
     
$sender = new Mail::Sender {
    smtp => 'www.2wire.com',
    from => 'heygohey@hotmail.com',
    on_errors => undef,
}
or die "Can't create the Mail::Sender object: $Mail::Sender::Error\n";

$sender->Open({
    to => 'heygohey@hotmail.com',
    subject => 'Sorry, I\'ll come later.'
})
or die "Can't open the message: $sender->{'error_msg'}\n";

$sender->SendLineEnc("I'm sorry, but thanks to the lusers, I'll come a
+t 10pm at best.");
$sender->SendLineEnc("\nHi, Jenda");
$sender->Close()
or die "Failed to send the message: $sender->{'error_msg'}\n";

print end_html;
[download]

Other notes that might be helpful:
- I'm running an Apache server.
- I do not have a domain name.
- Windows.

Comment on How do I connect to an SMTP server? Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: How do I connect to an SMTP server? by oko1 (Deacon) on Mar 22, 2009 at 15:26 UTC
I note that you've commented out your "use strict" statement; that's a bad idea. Ditto for setting 'on_errors => undef' while you're still troubleshooting. Yes, you could set up your own mailserver - but the very fact that you're asking whether you can or not says that you shouldn't. Setting one up correctly ranges from somewhat complicated to "requires a full-time sysadmin". Somewhat problematically, the Mail::Server docs specify using a 'LOCAL mail server' (emphasis from the docs); I didn't go into exploring how accurate that is, but if that is really the case, then I suggest that you use a different module - say, Mail::Mailer which tries different methods of getting your mail off the local system and has no problem with using remote mail hosts. -- "Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about." -- B. L. Whorf	[reply]
Re^2: How do I connect to an SMTP server? by neutron (Sexton) on Mar 22, 2009 at 16:29 UTC
Thanks for the pointers. About Mail::Mailer using different methods, can you elaborate on these or point where I can find more info on this? Who hosts the other remote servers? I'm very interested. The same goes for running my own mailserver, I'd like to learn more. Any resources would be great! I'm the first to admit I'm a newb but everyone has a start.	[reply]
Re^3: How do I connect to an SMTP server? by drench (Beadle) on Mar 22, 2009 at 23:46 UTC
Your ISP or hosting provider probably provides (and may even require you to use) their own SMTP servers for you to relay your outgoing mail. You'll have to ask them.	[reply]
Re^3: How do I connect to an SMTP server? by oko1 (Deacon) on Mar 23, 2009 at 03:58 UTC
Please see the link for Mail::Mailer that I provided above. Oh, wait - it's here, too! :) The remote server would be the one made available by your ISP; you get that information when you sign up with them, and can look it up on their website. As to running your own, there's tons of information on the Web, but be warned - you usually will not be allowed to do so (most ISPs these days block SMTP/port 25 unless you have a business account or something similar with them.) -- "Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about." -- B. L. Whorf	[reply]