Email address validation component
This is a PHP class that attempts to validate a given e-mail address at three levels: matching the address against a RFC compliant regular expression, verifing the existence of the destination SMTP server by verifying the respective DNS MX record, and connecting to that server to see if the given address is accepted as a valid recipient. The class also features a debugging output option that lets you see the remote SMTP server connection and data exchange dialog to see the real cause why an apparently valid address may not be accepting messages.
| Tags | Internet Communications Email Email Clients (MUA) Software Development Libraries php classes |
|---|---|
| Licenses | BSD Original |
| Operating Systems | OS Independent |
| Implementation | PHP |
Recent releases
- 05 Jan 2009 07:57
Changes: This version suppresses warnings that could arise from broken SMTP server connections.
- 26 Sep 2005 06:35
No changes have been submitted for this release.
- 07 Sep 2005 00:32
Changes: The class now returns undetermined email address validity if the SMTP server returns 4XX error codes for the RCPT command, as that may mean the server is using a grey list and so the tested address may not be really invalid as the class was stating previously.
- 12 Oct 2004 20:53
Changes: The class now uses the Perl-compatible regular expression functions to accelerate the validation of many email addresses in the same script execution.
- 16 Jun 2004 04:03
Changes: A bug that caused debug output when an SMTP connection failed even when debug mode was disabled was fixed.
- All comments
Recent commentsRe: still active?
> i noticed this project did not get
> updated since 2005. is it still being
> developed? abandoned? are there up to
> date alternatives available?
No, it is just there have not been any more features to add or bugs to fix because the class does practically all it is needed.
still active?
i noticed this project did not get updated since 2005. is it still being developed? abandoned? are there up to date alternatives available?
Re: False negatives with this tool
> Not sure why, but I'm getting false
> negatives for all emails at a particular
> domain. Does the mail server at a given
> location have to be running sendmail for
> this class to work? Maybe Windows
> mailservers dont work? I dont know what
> platform is running the mailserver
> giving the false negatives. Can a
> sysadmin do something to hide an email
> server from the communication that this
> class utilizes?
The class just emulates the operation of a normal mail server.
Many mail servers are using grey listing now. The class was updated some time ago to consider of unknown validity the addresses served by servers that employ grey listing. I wonder if you are using an updated version of the class. If you are, can you tell me what e-mail addresses you are getting false positives?
False negatives with this tool
Not sure why, but I'm getting false negatives for all emails at a particular domain. Does the mail server at a given location have to be running sendmail for this class to work? Maybe Windows mailservers dont work? I dont know what platform is running the mailserver giving the false negatives. Can a sysadmin do something to hide an email server from the communication that this class utilizes?