Is System.Net.Mail.SmtpClient obsolete in 4.7.2 and 4.8 ?

[MatthieuHernandez]

I can't see any trace of System.Obsolete inside the code of SmtpClient.cs. Does this mean that this class is not obsolete?

Because in docs.microsoft.com it states clearly, This API is now obsolete.

[MSDN-WhiteKnight]

See #2986 for prior discussion. SmtpClient is marked with ObsoleteAttribute in Xamarin/Mono, and due to docs site engine bug it causes the obsolete notice to be displayed for all frameworks. In .NET Framework/Core, it is not marked obsolete, but it's still considered legacy API (not updated to new protocol features).

[mdell-seradex]

It has been a year already and the docs still say this is obsolete in Framework 4. Can't this be manually corrected?
Specifically, this is at the top of the page where it says The SmtpClient type is now obsolete.
This is not true in all cases.

[eerhardt]

@dotnet/ncl - thoughts?

[karelz]

There is no mention of obsoletion in the docs beside Xamarin when I open them: SmtpClient docs

The Remarks section explicitly calls it out:

The SmtpClient class is obsolete in Xamarin. However:

• It is included in the .NET Standard 2.0 and later versions and therefore must be part of any .NET implementation that supports those versions.
• It is present and can be used in .NET Framework 4 through .NET Framework 4.8.
• It is usable in .NET Core, but its use isn't recommended.

[karelz]

The original question has been answered in the docs, closing.

[mdell-seradex]

@karelz, the mention of obsolete in the docs is in the first paragraph (under Definition):
Allows applications to send email by using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). The SmtpClient type is now obsolete.
The remarks section does not contradict this statement, or explicitly say "only in Xamarin".
It is confusing for the first paragraph to say this as most people won't ever reach the Remarks section to see it try and fail to explain further.

[karelz]

OK, that was missing in the original report - the link wasn't there and the text quoted was slightly different. Reopening.

I think we can change the text to "The SmtpClient type is now obsolete on some platforms and not recommended on others - see Remarks for details."
Would that satisfy your concerns?

[mdell-seradex]

@karelz, that sounds much better. I believe that should clarify things sufficiently. Hopefully, the original poster agrees with me.

Thank you for your quick response.
It is most appreciated.