ietf-smtp
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Re: rfc2821bis-01 Issue 17: all contination lines must use same code

2007-04-11 05:36:44

Tony Finch wrote:
On Tue, 10 Apr 2007, Hector Santos wrote:
   Only the final or last reply-code is important in a multiline
   response. The client MUST|SHOULD use the final line as the ultimate
   server response.

Absolutely not. You CANNOT break running code like this.

That should not break running code, but merely highlight that SENDMAIL and EXIM didn't follow a 25 year old RFC 821 specification to begin with:

     In many cases the sender-SMTP then simply needs to search for
     the reply code followed by <SP> at the beginning of a line, and
     ignore all preceding lines.  In a few cases, there is important
     data for the sender in the reply "text".  The sender will know
     these cases from the current context.

It makes them non-compliant. I think the NEW sentence for the NEW SPEC should include a clarification such as:

  The client SHOULD use the final line as the ultimate
  server response.

and it would be still be inline with a 25 year old SPEC.

The next question is whether SENDMAIL/EXIM is going to fix their code. :-) Which BTW, are you referring to current versions or old versions? and you referring to just "150-" or "150 " when you say it breaks them?

--
HLS


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