[MacPerl] Net::SMTP and Mail::Internet->smtpsend in MacPerl

[Christian Schaller <schaller@spuds.lpl.arizona.edu>]

Hi, folks. I'm relatively new to MacPerl, though not to perl itself.

Anyway, I'm writing a simple cgi (and who isn't?) to process forms. I want
the results delivered via e-mail to whomever is appropriate. Seems like
the Net::SMTP package or the Mail::Internet package would be useful, and
they are. However, there's some strange behavior whose source I don't
quite understand, and maybe it's a MacPerl thing. The problem is this:

If I use Net::SMTP and turn debugging on (in the construction of the
object), then when I send the mail, BAM! Out it goes as fast as my server
can take it.

If I use Net::SMTP and leave debugging off (again, in the construction
of the object), then when I send the mail, there's a longish delay on
the order of maybe thirty seconds.

If I use Mail::Internet->smtpsend, the same longish delay appears.

Naturally, I don't want the delay. I also don't want the Net::SMTP
debugging turned on, since this thing's going to be a cgi program. I
prefer to use the MailTools package, since it seems to be able to
handle nicely-formatted e-mail addresses. (I can't get Net::SMTP to
preserve an e-mail address' phrase; for instance, if I construct an
address as "BiteMe <biteme@biteme.org>," the message gets delivered
with only the biteme@biteme.org part of the address. It's admittedly
an embellishment that isn't strictly necessary...)

I'm running MacPerl on a G3 that sits beside an older PPC on which
my SMTP server (EIMS) lives. They're connected via an ethernet pipe
that can deliver up to 500kbps between the two machines.

Any thoughts on this matter? Why the delay? How can I minimize it without
using Net::SMTP's debugging? (And can I get Net::SMTP to take embellished
e-mail addresses?)

Thanks,

Christian Schaller
Applications Systems Analyst
Lunar and Planetary Lab
The University of Arizona

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christian J. Schaller                            Applications Systems Analyst
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory                 schaller@spuds.lpl.arizona.edu
The University of Arizona               http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~schaller/
Tucson, AZ 85721-0077                                            520/621-7200



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