|  | 15.3 | Network Applications
| 15.3.2 | E-mail message

Electronic mail (e-mail) enables you to send messages between connected computers. The procedure for sending an e-mail document involves two separate processes. The first is to send the e-mail to the user’s post office, and the second is to deliver the e-mail from that post office to the user’s e-mail client (i.e. the recipient).

The following steps will help you understand the process of sending an e-mail:

1. Start your e-mail program.
2. Type in a recipient's e-mail address.
3. Type in a subject.
4. Type a letter.

Now, examine the e-mail address. This is an example of what it may look like: JJones@bigsky.com. It consists of two parts: the recipient’s name (located before the @ sign); and the recipient’s post office address (after the @ sign). The recipient’s name is only important after the message arrives at the post office address, which is a DNS entry that represents the IP address of the post office server.

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What is Email?
| Email Basics and Asynchronous Communication