mail client

Definition of mail client in The Network Encyclopedia.

What is Mail Client (in computer networking)?

Any client software that provides users with an interface for creating, sending, receiving, viewing, and storing e-mail messages. Examples of Microsoft mail clients include Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Outlook Express. To function in a client/server mail system, mail clients require a mail server such as Microsoft Exchange Server that acts as a message-routing facility to forward outgoing messages to their destination and as a postoffice where incoming messages can be stored and retrieved by clients.

Other popular mail clients include the following:

  • Eudora, developed by QUALCOMM, which is available in a full professional version and a shareware version
  • Netscape Messenger, which is part of the Netscape Communicator suite of Internet tools
  • Pine and Elm, which are command-line mail clients used in UNIX environments