What kind of programming is used to make a brower-based e-mail provider? (e.g. Hotmail) CGI? Java? I have no idea. Approximately, how much work does it take to make such a thing? (not the webdesign, sever fees, storage space, bandwith, etc.) Just the programming part to develop such a system. About how long would a full-time programmer (whatever language is used for such a thing) take to finish it? Does anyone know? Thanks in advance

So umm, is it a weak of solid full-time coding? Or quite a long time with teams of seasoned vets?

I got mixed replies so which one would it be?

Thanks alot

Ive never developed an app like this. However, i have a very hard time seeing why this should be such a monumental task.

As far as i can see most of the functionality already exist in form of Exchange/SQL server. What would be needed from you is some code in ASP/HTML to provide a web-interface.
I know at least Exchange server provides an API for things exactly like this.

Making the whole thing secure however, seems quite difficult
Also, Hotmail serves millions of users which oc demands much more from the server side.

All in all, i think i would be able to write a simple web-based interface to exchange-server in a few days.

You know, I think it would depend on the experience level of the programmer, and specifically whether or not they had experience in that area. Different programmers will program at a different pace, so I''m not sure how it''s possible to answer a "How long" question unless I knew the detailed specs of what you wanted, and if I knew the programmer. I know this post seems somewhat counter-productive (I mean why should I post that "I don''t know"), but I would think it would be difficult for anybody here to accurately predict. I would think it would also depend on the environment that your programmer is working on. For example, I am a fulltime programmer right now assigned to a single project, but at the same time I am constantly bombarded with requests to help out other people with their miscellaneous problems (and am expected as part of my job to be helpful), so obviously I don''t get as much done as I would if I were ''truly'' working on a single project. This is just a single example of something that can affect a programmer''s productivity, and a reason why us giving you a time estimate would likely be innaccurate.

So, I guess what I''m saying is that if you''ve worked with somebody before, and you know what you''re asking of them, then you should be in a better position to judge how much time it will take. Depending on the sophistication of the project, though, I''m sure it could take anywhere from a week to infinity.

quote:Original post by Someone1
What kind of programming is used to make a brower-based e-mail provider? (e.g. Hotmail) CGI? Java? I have no idea.

There are lots of options open to you. I''ve seen them done in PHP (''Imp''), as well as in Perl, and, well... you name it, likely it could be used to create a web-based email solution.

Just a short question, but is it really necessary to create one from scratch? It seems like this sort of application has been done and redone many many times. For the price that you could license one that somebody else has already done (and that is maintained), you''re probably saving money from what you would have to pay your programmer to do. At least for some reason I was translating your post into a question of how much time you should allocate somebody else (but I suppose your question could be about anything)...

Anyway, I''m too long-winded. Cheers!

-pirate_dau