On Aug 4, 2005, at 05:24, Wilfried Mestdagh wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Busy with TSmtpCli will used on a local network only. I'm looking at 
> the
> reply codes the SMTP server can give.
>
> Im I right that:
>    the 400 range can be interpreted as 'try again later'
>    the 500 range as 'this is no good, dont do this again'

Yes.

300+ - Warnings: The sender should decide if it wants to continue. 
("Should I continue?")
400+ - Transient error: The error condition is temporary. ("Try again 
later.")
500+ - Terminal error: The error condition is permanent. ("Go away!!")

Here's the explanation of the first digit of the codes from the RFC-821 
(APPENDIX E):

There are five values for the first digit of the reply code:

             1yz   Positive Preliminary reply

                The command has been accepted, but the requested action
                is being held in abeyance, pending confirmation of the
                information in this reply.  The sender-SMTP should send
                another command specifying whether to continue or abort
                the action.

             2yz   Positive Completion reply

                The requested action has been successfully completed.  A
                new request may be initiated.

             3yz   Positive Intermediate reply

                The command has been accepted, but the requested action
                is being held in abeyance, pending receipt of further
                information.  The sender-SMTP should send another command
                specifying this information.  This reply is used in
                command sequence groups.

             4yz   Transient Negative Completion reply

                The command was not accepted and the requested action did
                not occur.  However, the error condition is temporary and
                the action may be requested again.  The sender should
                return to the beginning of the command sequence (if any).
                It is difficult to assign a meaning to "transient" when
                two different sites (receiver- and sender- SMTPs) must
                agree on the interpretation.  Each reply in this category
                might have a different time value, but the sender-SMTP is
                encouraged to try again.  A rule of thumb to determine if
                a reply fits into the 4yz or the 5yz category (see below)
                is that replies are 4yz if they can be repeated without
                any change in command form or in properties of the sender
                or receiver.  (E.g., the command is repeated identically
                and the receiver does not put up a new implementation.)

             5yz   Permanent Negative Completion reply

                The command was not accepted and the requested action did
                not occur.  The sender-SMTP is discouraged from repeating
                the exact request (in the same sequence).  Even some
                "permanent" error conditions can be corrected, so the
                human user may want to direct the sender-SMTP to
                reinitiate the command sequence by direct action at some
                point in the future (e.g., after the spelling has been
                changed, or the user has altered the account status).



>
> --
> Rgds, Wilfried
> http://www.mestdagh.biz
>
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