MAPIStore 1.0 backend.folder structure¶

folder.open_folder¶

This function opens a folder in the backend. It should only perform an action when the folder is not a root/mapistore folder (referenced in openchange.ldb), since these specific root folders are opened during context creation and morphed/returned as a folder object when context.get_root_folder returns.

For any folders within a backend and different from the root folder, the folder should be opened. The function takes in parameter:

• void *parent_folder: the parent folder object of the folder to open
• TALLOC_CTX *: the memory context to allocate folder_object with
• uint64_t fid: the folder identifier of the folder to open
• void **folder_object: the opened folder object to return

Folders are opened within a given context, which folder object is retrieved through context.get_root_folder call. While this specifically apply to folder underneath the root folder, the same logic apply to sub folders which parent is not the root folder object within the context. It requires either to keep a reference to the root folder along newly created folder objects or be able to walk through the associated MAPIStore URI and figure out what the root folder URI is.

folder.create_folder¶

This function only creates a folder within a existing context. The resulting created folder will have a URI using the same backend that the context it is using. Upon success, the folder is opened and returned within the void ** parameter. The function takes in parameter:

• void *parent_folder: the parent folder object of the folder to be created
• TALLOC_CTX *: the memory context to use to allocate the new folder upon success
• uint64_t fid: the folder identifier for this folder
• struct SRow *aRow: an Exchange data structures which must store PR_DISPLAY_NAME or PR_DISPLAY_NAME_UNICODE (the folder name to be created)
• _void **childfolder: the folder object for the newly created folder

The SRow structure may also supply the following Exchange properties:

• PR_COMMENT or PR_COMMENT_UNICODE: the folder description
• PR_PARENT_FID: the folder identifier of the parent folder object
• PR_CHANGE_NUM: the new change number

folder.create_message¶

This function creates a temporary message object. Messages are a bit particular in Exchange, because they are not created through a single transaction. Creating message is the first operation of the process, but message doesn't get available/saved or sent until you respectively call save or submit backend methods. Between create and save/submit, MAPI clients can perform several operations such as:

• set or delete properties
• add or delete attachments
• add or delete recipients

Until save/submit is called, this message object remains virtual. However MAPI clients need a way to reference this object within current context until it's saved. This is why OpenChange generates a MID (message identifier) and requests the backend to temporarily create an associated MAPIStore URI. But this MID/MAPIStore URI couple is not stored within the user idexing.tdb database.

Remember that mapistore calls backend with MID/FID and expect the backend to lookup associated mapistore URI.

It is the backend's responsibility to virtual store this message until save/submit is called. If no such mechanism/API exist in your backend or if you want to speed up the process, you can use the ocpf (http://apidocs.openchange.org/libocpf/index.html) library which will store everything for you properly.

The function takes in parameter:

• void *parent_folder: the parent folder object in which the message has to be created
• TALLOC_CTX *: the memory context to use to create the message object
• uint64_t mid: the message identifier for this new message
• uint8_t associated: whether this message is already associated to a file or not (see below)
• void **message_object: the message object to return

Regarding the associated parameter, it is a flag that tells the backend if it already has an associated file for this message or not. Some background is required to understand this concept:

When you create a message, you will set properties for the message and finally save it. However, you may not have a 1 to 1 mapping between MAPI properties and what the remote system supports. Many properties are Exchange specific and your remote system may not have associated parameters for them.

Here is the crucial part: there is a small amount of information that a remote system is unlikely to map/support but which ARE REQUIRED for the message or folder to be valid/fetched properly by MAPI clients.

While you can skip/drop many Exchange properties, you CAN'T skip/drop the required ones.

The associated parameter lets your backend know if it already has a file or structure associated to this message in which it stores exchange properties it can't map.