Senddata: an agent for data processing systems using email

Abstract

People communicate with each other using email with great convenience, but there has been no research effort for utilizing email systems for Data Processing Systems (DPS). A certain class of DPS applications, such as order processing or sales reporting, do not require real-time response, so they may utilize email or protocols that allow delaying or relaying of messages. Lit this paper, we propose two models of DPS that utilize a MTA (Mail Transport Agent) to transport data and data processing commands. We introduce the concept of a DUA (Data User Agent), which we call Senddata, that interacts with a MTA, users, and applications. Our approach helps to reduce certain problems that can occur in DPS, such as overloaded server, heavy traffic on the Internet, and querying a database. We also discuss how these protocols can enhance security by utilizing a three-tier model.