Doc: Clarify smtplib server reply bytes

[savagemechanic]

Docs-only change.

Clarifies that SMTP server reply messages returned by smtplib APIs are bytes, including SMTP.verify() responses and refused-recipient entries from SMTP.sendmail().

Local check:

make -C Doc check SPHINXOPTS='-W --keep-going'

[read-the-docs-community]

Documentation build overview

📚 cpython-previews | 🛠️ Build #34879362 | 📁 Comparing 8e57968 against main (acefff9)

  🔍 Preview build  

437 files changed · + 15 added · ± 421 modified · - 1 deleted

+ Added

• builtins/constants.html
• builtins/exceptions.html
• builtins/functions.html
• builtins/index.html
• builtins/stdtypes.html
• builtins/threadsafety.html
• builtins/time-complexity.html
• deprecations/pending-removal-in-3.21.html
• howto/abi3t-migration.html
• library/asyncio-threading.html
• and 5 more...

± Modified

• bugs.html
• glossary.html
• index.html
• license.html
• py-modindex.html
• c-api/arg.html
• c-api/bool.html
• c-api/buffer.html
• c-api/bytearray.html
• c-api/bytes.html
• and 411 more...

- Deleted

• library/asyncio-policy.html

[github-actions]

This PR is stale because it has been open for 90 days with no activity.

[bitdancer]

Thanks for suggesting this.

What about docmd, connect, and sendmail?

[bitdancer]

This is a good rewrite, but I think it would read better if we said "code is the response code from the server as an integer and message is..."

[bitdancer]

similarly here, "as an integer".

[bedevere-app]

A Python core developer has requested some changes be made to your pull request before we can consider merging it. If you could please address their requests along with any other requests in other reviews from core developers that would be appreciated.

Once you have made the requested changes, please leave a comment on this pull request containing the phrase I have made the requested changes; please review again. I will then notify any core developers who have left a review that you're ready for them to take another look at this pull request.

And if you don't make the requested changes, you will be put in the comfy chair!

[savagemechanic]

Thanks for the review. I rebased the change onto current main and addressed the requested areas.

docmd() and connect() now document the returned (code, message) tuple explicitly: the response code is an integer and the server response is bytes. I also made the code type explicit in verify() and sendmail(), aligned the corresponding source docstrings, and corrected the stale sendmail() bytes example.

While checking the same response contract, I found two directly related stale docstrings and corrected them as well: getreply() described the response message as a string, and data() described an integer-only return even though it returns (code, message). I also aligned the SMTPResponseException code/error attribute wording.

I inspected the other reply-returning paths but left them unchanged where they do not make a conflicting type or return-shape claim; expanding those would be a broader consistency rewrite rather than part of this focused correction.

I have made the requested changes; please review again.

[bedevere-app]

Thanks for making the requested changes!

@bitdancer: please review the changes made to this pull request.