Verify email address using AS/400
We store customer email addresses in our AS400. We send out order confirmations to those addresses. We get emails bouncing back because email address is no longer valid. We use cobol and CL 100%. Is there a way I can check if this email address is still valid before sending out the email? My email address is LLYNN@GIWINDUSTRIES.COM... Thanks
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ASKED:
September 7, 2012 9:20 PM
UPDATED:
September 10, 2012 12:49 PM
Answer Wiki:
No.
You can only find out whether a mail to an address arrives somewhere by sending a mail there.
Not even not receiving a non-delivery message proves that the mail arrived. It can be dropped without message to you.
Without sending a mail, you validate the address format. Like exactly 1 @ in it. At least one dot right of the @, but not at the end. No forbidden characters, and so on.
Also you can check if the part right of @ is an existing mail domain. But I think this is useless work, because you will have mostly addresses like hotmail.com.
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Is there a way I can check if this email address is still valid before sending out the email?
Sure, send a different e-mail and see if it bounces. That’s really the only way to verify if an e-mail address is live. The best you can do other then actually sending is (1) verify that the address has a valid format, and (2) verify that the address domain resolves to an actual e-mail server.
My email address is LLYNN@GIWINDUSTRIES.COM…
Spammers the world over are happy to know that, but we have no use for it. Broadcasting your address in a public forum (mostly read by tech-savvy people) is generally a bad idea.
Tom
It can be dropped without message to you.
That’s possible. But if someone supplies an address intended for business communication and their server does not provide confirmation, the problem can reasonably be seen as belonging to the customer.
Some of the problem can be handled by initiating an address confirmation dialog at the time of order entry. That can be seen as a service to the customer. Send a ‘Confirmation’ e-mail immediately and hold the order until a reply is received.
Tom