jim.shamlin.com

Simple Mailer

Here's a function that can be used for a quick-and-dirty e-mail. It doesn't do anything particularly amazing, just sends a text message.

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Configuration

Place the following configuration variables at the top of the script and change them as desired.

# location of mail program 
  $mailer = "/bin/sendmail";
  
# mail recipient
  $mailto = 'recipient@email.com';

# code passed on subject line for e-mail filtering
  $fcode = "4229";
  

The third is optional, but I find it useful in filtering and sorting inbound mail to make sure messages from the Web don't get lost in the spam.

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QuickMail Function

Here's the utility function for sending the mail. It can be included anywhere in the context of the script.

sub quickMail{
  open(MAIL,"|$mailer -t") || &scriptError(999);
  print MAIL "To: $mailto \n"; 
  print MAIL "From: $qm{'sender'} \n";
  print MAIL "Subject: $fcode - $qm{'subject'}\n\n";
  print MAIL "$qm{'content'}\n\n";
  print MAIL "$qm{'footer'}\n\n";
  close (MAIL);
  }

If you opt not to use a subject line code, strip that out. And change the error code to something more useful (see my "script template" if you don't know what that refers to).

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Preparation

To run the function, populate the following variables:

• $qm{'sender'} - The sender's e-mail address (if you ask for it. You can use a standard or fake sender (email@mywebsite.com) but then you won't be able to tap the "reply" button.
• $qm{'subject'} - A subject line for the message
• $qm{'content'} - The content of the message (plain ASCII, but remember to use newline characters to format
• "$qm{'footer'} - A footer for the message. I usually include the location of the script, a time stamp, and the sender's IP address.

Then call the function - &quickMail - and the deed is done.

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Variations

It should be fairly simple to hack it up to a variety of uses, including HTML formatting the message (if you're into that) or sending a message with an attachment, but that's beyond the scope of a "simple" mail function. This is just the basics, quick and dirty.

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And finally

This is online for my own use and reference, but feel to snag it if you think it would be useful. It's a trifle and I don't expect to be credited or compensated in any way ... but nor does it come with any sort of guarantee.