RFC 2822
RFC 2822 is an Internet standard that defines the format for email messages, specifying the syntax and semantics of email headers and body text. It builds upon earlier standards like RFC 822 to standardize how email is structured for transmission across networks, ensuring interoperability between different email systems. This standard covers aspects such as date formats, sender/recipient addresses, subject lines, and MIME extensions for attachments.
Developers should learn RFC 2822 when working on email-related applications, such as email clients, servers, or parsing libraries, to ensure compliance with widely accepted email formats. It is essential for implementing features like email validation, sending/receiving emails programmatically, or debugging email delivery issues in systems like SMTP or IMAP. Understanding this standard helps avoid common pitfalls in email handling, such as malformed headers or encoding problems.