Yes, good point about email being complex to implement - both the server and the clients that use it. Example: Some years back, I remember reading a book (I think from O'Reilly) about using programming email, by an author called David Wood [1].
Update: I just did this google search:
java and email book david wood
and looked at the results.
The first hit is that book - it's name was actually Programming Internet Email - and it was by O'Reilly Media:
It has info on both the fundamental concepts and protocols of email, as well as examples in both Perl and Java.
Other results of that search show that there are multiple books about programming email (as can be expected), including a list of books about Internet email on an Oracle site:
Not all of those are exclusively about email, and some probably have overlapping content, but still, it shows (as Wood's book did too) that it is a big topic:
JavaMail API, by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Internet Email, by David Wood.
Programmer's Guide to Internet Mail, by John Rhoton.
Internet Email Protocols: A Developer's Guide, by Kevin Johnson.
Java Network Programming, 2nd Edition, by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Essential Email Standards: RFCs and Protocols Made Practical, by Pete Loshin.
Internet Messaging: From the Desktop to the Enterprise, by Marshall T. Rose and David Strom.
Internet E-Mail: Protocols, Standards, & Implementation, by Lawrence Hughes.
Managing IMAP, by Dianna Mullet and Kevin Mullet.
Professional Java Server Programming J2EE Edition.
Java Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for Java Developers, by Ian F. Darwin.
JavaServer Pages (JSP) Fast & Easy Web Development, by Aneesha Bakharia.
[1] From what I read about David Wood, he seemed to have a lot of experience with email (and other stuff) and had for some time, a company providing products and/or services in that area.
Update: I just did this google search:
java and email book david wood
and looked at the results.
The first hit is that book - it's name was actually Programming Internet Email - and it was by O'Reilly Media:
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9781565924796.do
It has info on both the fundamental concepts and protocols of email, as well as examples in both Perl and Java.
Other results of that search show that there are multiple books about programming email (as can be expected), including a list of books about Internet email on an Oracle site:
Books on the JavaMail API and Internet Mail:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javamail/index-139773...
Not all of those are exclusively about email, and some probably have overlapping content, but still, it shows (as Wood's book did too) that it is a big topic:
JavaMail API, by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Internet Email, by David Wood.
Programmer's Guide to Internet Mail, by John Rhoton.
Internet Email Protocols: A Developer's Guide, by Kevin Johnson.
Java Network Programming, 2nd Edition, by Elliotte Rusty Harold.
Essential Email Standards: RFCs and Protocols Made Practical, by Pete Loshin.
Internet Messaging: From the Desktop to the Enterprise, by Marshall T. Rose and David Strom.
Internet E-Mail: Protocols, Standards, & Implementation, by Lawrence Hughes.
Managing IMAP, by Dianna Mullet and Kevin Mullet.
Professional Java Server Programming J2EE Edition.
Java Cookbook: Solutions and Examples for Java Developers, by Ian F. Darwin.
JavaServer Pages (JSP) Fast & Easy Web Development, by Aneesha Bakharia.
[1] From what I read about David Wood, he seemed to have a lot of experience with email (and other stuff) and had for some time, a company providing products and/or services in that area.
http://www.oreilly.com/pub/au/565
And that Java Cookbook by Ian Darwin is pretty good too - I have it.