Python Standard Library

The mailcap Module

The mailcap module in Example 6-7 contains code that deals with mailcap files, which contain information on how to handle different document formats (on Unix platforms).

Example 6-7. Using the mailcap Module to Get a Capability Dictionary

File: mailcap-example-1.py

import mailcap

caps = mailcap.getcaps()

for k, v in caps.items():
    print k, "=", v

image/* = [{'view': 'pilview'}]
application/postscript = [{'view': 'ghostview'}]

In Example 6-7, the system uses pilview for all kinds of images, and ghostscript viewer for PostScript documents. Example 6-8 shows how to find a viewer using mailcap.

Example 6-8. Using the mailcap Module to Find a Viewer

File: mailcap-example-2.py

import mailcap

caps = mailcap.getcaps()

command, info = mailcap.findmatch(
    caps, "image/jpeg", "view", "samples/sample.jpg"
    )

print command

pilview samples/sample.jpg