Mail::...:Dummy(3pm)

📦

version 4.02 · 9 versions

🎀 Mail::Message::Dummy(3pm) 🎀

okay bestie, this is a User Contributed Perl Documentation page for Mail::Message::Dummy — a whole module whose entire personality is "placeholder." Iconic behaviour honestly, we love a supporting character with main character energy ✨

✨ NAME ✨

Mail::Message::Dummy — a placeholder for a missing messages

not me writing "a placeholder for a missing messages" — that's literally the original's grammar and I am NOT touching it, it's part of the lore 💅

🌸 INHERITANCE 🌸

Mail::Message::Dummy
  is a Mail::Message
  is a Mail::Reporter

it's giving ✨nested realness✨ — your dummy inherits from Mail::Message, which inherits from Mail::Reporter. three layers deep and thriving fr fr

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

this section is empty. no synopsis. no notes. just vibes. 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so. Dummy messages are used by modules which maintain ordered lists of messages, usually based on message-id. a good example is Mail::Box::Thread::Manager — that one detects related messages by scanning the known message headers for references to other messages. and as long as the referenced messages are not found inside the mailbox, their place is occupied by a dummy. so it's literally a seat-filler at the award show, keeping the chair warm for the message that hasn't shown up yet 😭✨

be careful when using modules which may create dummies. before trying to access the header or body, use isDummy() to check if the message is a dummy message. like, vibe check first bestie, always.

Extends "DESCRIPTION" in Mail::Message.

👑 METHODS 👑

Extends "METHODS" in Mail::Message.

🎀 Constructors 🎀

Extends "Constructors" in Mail::Message.

$obj->clone(%options) — inherited, see "Constructors" in Mail::Message
$class->new($message_id, %options) — create a new dummy message to occupy the space for a real message with the specified $message_id. Improves base, see "Constructors" in Mail::Reporter

so new takes the message id and options, and here's the whole options tea 🍓:

body — from Mail::Message, default: <not used>
body_type — from Mail::Message, default: Mail::Message::Body::Lines
deleted — from Mail::Message, default: false
field_type — from Mail::Message, default: <not used>
head — from Mail::Message, default: <not used>
head_type — from Mail::Message, default: <not used>
labels — from Mail::Message, default: +{}
messageId — from Mail::Message, default: <required>
message_id — from Mail::Message, default: undef
modified — from Mail::Message, default: <always false>
trusted — from Mail::Message, default: <always true>

and the per-option one-liners, same order, no skips:

body => $object
body_type => $class
deleted => BOOLEAN
field_type => $class
head => $object
head_type => $class
labels => \@pairs|\%settings
messageId => $id
message_id => $id
modified => BOOLEAN
trusted => BOOLEAN

» example:

my $message = Mail::Message::Dummy->new($msgid);
if($message->isDummy) {...}

look at her go. constructing a dummy and immediately checking if it's a dummy. self-aware queen 💅

🌈 Attributes 🌈

Extends "Attributes" in Mail::Message.

$obj->bodyType() — inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Message
$obj->fieldType() — inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Message
$obj->headType() — inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Message
$obj->messageId() — inherited, see "Attributes" in Mail::Message

🧚 Constructing a message 🧚

Extends "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message.

$obj->bounce( [<$rg_object|%options>] ) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Bounce
$class->build( [$message|$part|$body], @fields, %options ) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Build
$class->buildFromBody($body, [$head], $headers) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Build
$obj->forward(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardAttach(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardEncapsulate(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardInline(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardNo(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardPostlude() — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardPrelude() — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$obj->forwardSubject(STRING) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Forward
$class->read($fh|$text|\$text|\@lines, %options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Read
$obj->rebuild(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Rebuild
$obj->reply(%options) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Reply
$obj->replyPrelude( [STRING|$field|$address|\@addrs|\@fields] ) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Reply
$any->replySubject(STRING) — inherited, see "Constructing a message" in Mail::Message::Construct::Reply

that's a LOT of forwarding options and honestly? slay. every single one of them, accounted for 🔥

💜 The message 💜

Extends "The message" in Mail::Message.

$obj->container() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->endsOnNewline() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->isDummy() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->isPart() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->partNumber() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->print( [$fh] ) — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->send( [$mailer], %options ) — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->size() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->toplevel() — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message
$obj->write( [$fh] ) — inherited, see "The message" in Mail::Message

🍓 The header 🍓

Extends "The header" in Mail::Message.

$obj->bcc() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->cc() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->date() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->destinations() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->from() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->get($fieldname) — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->guessTimestamp() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->head( [$head] ) — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->nrLines() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->sender() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->study($fieldname) — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->subject() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->timestamp() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message
$obj->to() — inherited, see "The header" in Mail::Message

💀 The body 💀

Extends "The body" in Mail::Message.

$obj->body( [$body] ) — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->contentType() — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->decoded(%options) — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->encode(%options) — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->isMultipart() — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->isNested() — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message
$obj->parts( [<'ALL'|'ACTIVE'|'DELETED'|'RECURSE'|$filter>] ) — inherited, see "The body" in Mail::Message

🫶 Flags 🫶

Extends "Flags" in Mail::Message.

$obj->delete() — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->deleted( [BOOLEAN] ) — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->isDeleted() — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->isModified() — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->label($label|PAIRS) — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->labels() — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->labelsToStatus() — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->modified( [BOOLEAN] ) — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message
$obj->statusToLabels() — inherited, see "Flags" in Mail::Message

⭐ The whole message as text ⭐

Extends "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message.

$obj->file() — inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text
$obj->lines() — inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text
$obj->printStructure( [$fh|undef],[$indent] ) — inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text
$obj->string() — inherited, see "The whole message as text" in Mail::Message::Construct::Text

🙈 Internals 🙈

Extends "Internals" in Mail::Message.

$obj->clonedFrom() — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$class->coerce($message, %options) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->isDelayed() — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->isTrusted() — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->readBody( $parser, $head, [$bodytype] ) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->readFromParser( $parser, [$bodytype] ) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->readHead( $parser, [$class] ) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->recursiveRebuildPart($part, %options) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message::Construct::Rebuild
$obj->storeBody($body) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message
$obj->takeMessageId( [STRING] ) — inherited, see "Internals" in Mail::Message

🌸 Error handling 🌸

Extends "Error handling" in Mail::Message.

$obj->AUTOLOAD() — inherited, see "METHODS" in Mail::Message::Construct
$obj->notImplemented() — inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Reporter
$any->shortSize( [$value] ) — inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Message
$obj->shortString() — inherited, see "Error handling" in Mail::Message

✨ Cleanup ✨

Extends "Cleanup" in Mail::Message.

$obj->DESTROY() — inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Reporter
$obj->destruct() — inherited, see "Cleanup" in Mail::Message

🦋 DETAILS 🦋

Extends "DETAILS" in Mail::Message.

and that's part 1 bestie… there's MORE 💖 don't go anywhere 💅

💀 DIAGNOSTICS 💀

okay bestie, this is the receipts section 💅 every single thing this module can yell at you, in alphabetical-ish order, with the exact error text so you can grep it and know you're not alone. not me listing twenty-two of them 😭 but here we go, icons only:

Error: Cannot include forward source as $kind. — you handed forward(include) an alternative it does not know. the valid choices are "NO", "INLINE", "ATTACH", and "ENCAPSULATE". Cast by forward()
Error: No default mailer found to send message. — the send() mechanism literally did not have enough info to automatically find a mail transfer agent to sent this message. so specify a mailer explicitly using the "via" options. Cast by send()
Error: cannot coerce a $type object into a $me object. — Cast by coerce()
Error: cannot include reply source as $kind. — unknown alternative for the "include" option of reply(). the valid choices are "NO", "INLINE", and "ATTACH". Cast by reply()
Error: cannot read message from a $source. — Cast by read()
Error: class $package does not implement method $method. — okay this one is fatal, so sit up. the specific $package (or one of its superclasses) does not implement this method where it should. this message means that some other related classes do implement this method, however the class at hand does not 🙈 probably you should investigate this and probably inform the author of the package. Cast by notImplemented()
Error: coercion starts with some object, not '$type'. — Cast by coerce()
Error: method bounce requires To, Cc, or Bcc. — the message bounce() method forwards a received message off to someone else without modification, so you must specified it's new destination. if you have the urge not to specify any destination, you probably are looking for reply(). when you wish to modify the content, use forward(). Cast by bounce()
Error: method forwardAttach requires a preamble. — Cast by forwardAttach()
Error: method forwardEncapsulate requires a preamble. — Cast by forwardEncapsulate()
Error: method forwardNo requires a To. — Cast by forwardNo()
Error: method forwardNo requires a body. — Cast by forwardNo()
Error: no rebuild rule $name defined. — Cast by rebuild()
Error: only build() Mail::Message's; they are not in a folder yet. — you may wish to construct a message to be stored in a some kind of folder, but you need to do that in two steps, fr fr. first, create a normal Mail::Message, and then add it to the folder. during this Mail::Box::addMessage() process, the message will get coerce()-d into the right message type, adding storage information and the like ✨ Cast by build()
Error: please install Email::Simple. — Cast by coerce()
Error: please install MIME::Entity. — Cast by coerce()
Error: please install Mail::Internet. — Cast by coerce()
Error: select parts via '$what'? — Cast by parts()
Warning: skipped unknown key '$key' in build. — Cast by build()
Error: the messageId is required for a dummy. — a dummy message occupies the place for a real message. when a dummy is created, the id of the message which place it is holding must be known, periodt. Cast by new()
Error: you cannot take the body of a dummy message. — Cast by body()
Error: you cannot take the head/body of a dummy message. — dummy messages are place-holders in message threads: the thread detected the existence of the message, because it found the message-id in a Reply-To or References field, however it did not find the header and body of the message yet. use isDummy() to check whether the thread node returned a dummy or not 👑 Cast by head()

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

this module is part of Mail-Box version 4.02, built on April 10, 2026 🦋

website: http://perl.overmeer.net/CPAN/

📜 LICENSE 📜

for contributors see file ChangeLog.

this is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself 💖

and that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 source is the User Contributed Perl Documentation for Mail::...:Dummy(3pm), generated by perl v5.40.1 and dated 2026-05-09. now go read a real message instead of a dummy one, i believe in you 🌸

📦 where this page comes from

ubuntu stonking: libmail-box-perl 4.02-1 · Artistic-1.0-Perl OR GPL-1.0-or-later
💖 girlified by deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash on 2026-11-03: a language model's rewrite of the original, under its terms