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gh-137339: Clarify host and port parameter behavior in smtplib.SMTP_SSL initialization #137340

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gh-137339: Clarify host and port parameter behavior in smtplib.SMTP_SSL initialization #137340

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65451a6
Clarify host and port parameter behavior in smtplib.SMTP_SSL initiali…
Aniketsy Aug 3, 2025
7337b6d
Clarify host and port parameter behavior in smtplib.SMTP_SSL initiali…
Aniketsy Aug 3, 2025
54907a0
Clarify smtplib docs: host/port explanation
Aniketsy Aug 19, 2025
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10 changes: 8 additions & 2 deletions Doc/library/smtplib.rst
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -26,7 +26,10 @@
An :class:`SMTP` instance encapsulates an SMTP connection. It has methods
that support a full repertoire of SMTP and ESMTP operations. If the optional
*host* and *port* parameters are given, the SMTP :meth:`connect` method is
called with those parameters during initialization. If specified,
called with those parameters during initialization.If *host* is omitted or
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@picnixz picnixz Aug 3, 2025 •
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This is already hinted in the previous sentence and this would somehow conflict with the last sentence IMO.

If the optional host and port parameters are given, the SMTP :meth:connect method is called with those parameters during initialization

an empty string, no connection is made during initialization; you must
call :meth:`connect` manually before using the instance.
If *port* is zero, the default SMTP port (25) is used. If specified,
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This is not always the case that the default SMTP port is 25. It depends on the default_port attribute. Also, this now contradicts the last sentence:

If omitted (or if host or port are '' and/or 0
respectively) the OS default behavior will be used.

We should also make more paragraphs. This description is too compact for the reader.

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If port is zero, the value of the instance's default_port attribute will be used.

I'd appreciate any insights or suggestions to expand our descriptions so that its not too compact for reader

*local_hostname* is used as the FQDN of the local host in the HELO/EHLO
command. Otherwise, the local hostname is found using
:func:`socket.getfqdn`. If the :meth:`connect` call returns anything other
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -78,10 +81,13 @@
.. class:: SMTP_SSL(host='', port=0, local_hostname=None, * [, timeout], \
context=None, source_address=None)

An :class:`SMTP_SSL` instance behaves exactly the same as instances of

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py:meth reference target not found: connect [ref.meth]

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py:meth reference target not found: connect [ref.meth]

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py:meth reference target not found: starttls [ref.meth]
:class:`SMTP`. :class:`SMTP_SSL` should be used for situations where SSL is
required from the beginning of the connection and using :meth:`starttls` is
not appropriate. If *host* is not specified, the local host is used. If
not appropriate. If the optional *host* and *port* parameters are given, the
SMTP_SSL :meth:`connect` method is called with those parameters during initialization.
If *host* is omitted or an empty string, no connection is made during initialization;
you must call :meth:`connect` manually before using the instance. If
*port* is zero, the standard SMTP-over-SSL port (465) is used. The optional
arguments *local_hostname*, *timeout* and *source_address* have the same
meaning as they do in the :class:`SMTP` class. *context*, also optional,
Expand Down
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