The most obvious use of messaging services is electronic mail, exchanging
letters and documents between two end users. However, electronic mail is
just one example of the possible messaging services offered by AOCE
technology.
* IPM
AOCE software supports InterProgram Messaging (IPM) a way of sending
messages between applications as well as between electronic mail users.
IPM is different from InterProgram Communication (IPC) in that IPM
messages are delivered in a store and forward manner and that they can be
addressed to a group of addresses. IPC messages must be delivered in
real time and can have only one destination per message.
* Mail vs. messaging
The AOCE toolbox distinguishes between electronic mail and other AOCE
messages through the use of message families. Any message of family
'file' or 'mail' will be treated as an electronic mail message and
delivered to the System Mailbox. Messages of the 'file' family are
direct display files, meaning that the file can be displayed as an image
without any application software required.
The AOCE toolbox does no special handling for messages of different
families. All messages, whether destined for the system mailbox or
another application, are delivered in the same manner.
* Store and forward messaging
All AOCE messages are delivered in a store and forward manner. When a
message is created on an AOCE system, the message is placed in an
outgoing queue and delivered when the destination is available. Once the
message has been placed in the outgoing message queue, the message
originator need not worry about checking to see when the destination is
available. The AOCE Toolbox will attempt to contact the destination and
deliver the message.
In a server-based environment, messages are delivered to the server and
then to their eventual destination. In a server-less environment,
messages remain in the local outgoing message queue until they are
delivered.
There is a timeout period associated with message delivery. If an AOCE
system is unable to deliver a message for 5 days, a problem report will
be sent to the message originator informing them that the message could
not be delivered. The 5 day period was chosen to take into account
situations where a message could not be delivered because the destination
was unavailable over a 3 day weekend.
The 5 day timeout period is not user modifiable in the initial release of
PowerTalk and PowerShare.
All AOCE users gain the benefit of store and forward messaging, whether
they are in a server-based or server-less environment.