Gmail Notifier is using IMAP to communicate with Gmail, but I obviously didn’t write an implementation of the IMAP protocol but rather used for something that is ready to work with.
So like about any subject that I wish to dig into, I went to Google to search for an IMAP library. Since the software is written in C++ \ MFC, I had to find a lib that will fit.
So eventually I selected to work with Chilkat software. Although it isn’t an open source project and is a commercial package, it was good because it gave me all I needed and not just the IMAP, but also a solution for encryption and decryption of the user name and password. It also has tons of sample code which was almost good for copy paste. A great over all library but it lacks one important thing, the ability to fetch email body, leaving the attachment (if any) on the server. But it does have the option to send raw IMAP commands so it leaves an open door for that.