what is email ?

Definition - E-mail (electronic mail) is the exchange of computer-stored messages by telecommunication.

Electronic mail, commonly called email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages across the Internet or other computer networks. In many cases, email has become the preferred method of communication. Originally, email was transmitted directly from one user to another computer. This required both computers to be online at the same time. The Email is the main method of business communication worldwide due to its flexibility and reliability. One of its best features is that a message can be sent to several users simultaneously.

Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver and store messages. Users no longer need be online simultaneously and need only connect briefly, typically to an email server, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages. In addition to accessing electronic mail through email client software, Webmail has also become very popular. Most email service providers offer this as an additional benefit, where the user can access their mailbox over the Internet.

An email message consists of two components, the message header, and the message body, which is the email's content. The message header contains control information, including, minimally, an originator's email address and one or more recipient addresses. Usually additional information is added, such as a subject header field.

The header of an email includes the From:, To:, Cc: and Subject: fields. So you enter the name and address of the recipient in the Fom: field, the name and address of anyone who is being copied to in the Cc: field, and the subject of the message obviously in the Subject: field.

E-mail is one of the protocols included with the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols. A popular protocol for sending e-mail is Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and a popular protocol for receiving it is POP3. Both Netscape and Microsoft include an e-mail utility with their Web browsers.