| Elm | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original author | Dave Taylor |
| Developer | Bill Pemberton |
| Initial release | 1986; 39 years ago (1986) |
| Stable release | 2.5.8 (August 18, 2005; 20 years ago (2005-08-18)) [±] |
| Repository | |
| Operating system | AnyUnix-like |
| Type | Email client |
| License | BSD-like |
| Website | www |
Elm is a text-basedemail client commonly found onUnix systems. First released in 1986, it became popular as one of the first email clients to use atext user interface, and as a utility with freely availablesource code. The nameelm originated from the phraseELectronicMail.[1]
Dave Taylor (currently with Intuitive Systems) developed elm while working forHewlett-Packard.[2] Development later passed to a team of volunteers. The latest (as of 21 May 2014[update]) public release was version 2.5.8 in August 2005.
Other popular text-based email readers which followed elm and took it as an inspiration includePine (1989) andMutt (1995). From about 1995 elm slipped in popularity and functionality, and it now sees relatively little use.
Bill Pemberton of theUniversity of Virginia currently maintains elm. A former Elm Coordinator was Sydney Weinstein from the Myxa Corporation.
To get an idea of the period when elm was used and developed, this is a list of major.minor releases, included the last patch level.
Volunteer developers have forked the Elm code several times, producing modern versions of Elm with fixes and enhancements not in the official development branch. Among the more popular of these distributions are Kari Hurtta's "Millennium Edition" Elm 2.4 ME+ and Elm ME+ 2.5, both of which build upon Michael Elkins' extensions of Elm 2.4.24.
