When a SMTP server receives a message it needs to add a Received: header at the top of the headers. But InternetHeaders does not seem to offer any way to add a header specifically at the top of the list. This class seems to offer no way for its users to learn or set the order of the headers. (I am referencing the JavaDocs for JavaMail 1.3).
As a consequence the code in James* goes through an awkward workaround: constructing a new InternetHeaders object, adding the new Received: header, and then adding the remaining header lines by looping through an Enumeration of header lines retrieved from the original incoming InternetHeaders object. This workaround relies upon behavior which I have not seen documented, namely that the addHeaderLine() method always adds to the bottom of the list of headers.
So, I would suggest that InternetHeaders could be improved, for the use of server developers, by addition of a method addHeaderLineAtTop(), and by promising and documenting the present behavior of addHeaderLine(), that it adds to the bottom.
Rich Hammer Hillsborough, N.C.
*The code in James to which I refer is in: org.apache.james.smtpserver.SMTPHandler.processMailHeaders(InternetHeaders)
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