[Tutor] sending email via SMTP: code review requested

[Alan Gauld]

On 05/05/14 18:53, Steven D'Aprano wrote:

>> And, as I side note, could anyone explain why changing a first world
>> of a body line 'From' to '>From' is the preferred standard?
>
> Because it's a dirty, nasty hack invented by somebody who wasn't
> thinking very carefully at the time, and now everybody does it. Bleh.

Just to add to that.

You need to remember with email (and a few other old
favourites like ftp) that these things were invented at the
very dawn of networking. They predate TCP/IP and what we know
as the internet by quite a long ways. So when they came to "standardize" 
things, it was a case of trying to make the
crud that already existed look as if it was a "modern"
standard. Also when there were multiple, slightly incompatible,
mail tools/formats out there they tended to take a vote
by committee - so everybody's favourite hack got thrown
into the pot.

The older the technology the more likely it is to have
horrible hacks embedded in it from the dawn of
(computing) time.

Its one reason that new email/messaging standards keep coming
out. Somebody decides they need to get rid of the crud and
do it right. But trying to get a zillion email users
to adopt a new standard is not an easy task.

hth
-- 
Alan G
Author of the Learn to Program web site
http://www.alan-g.me.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alangauldphotos