Refactor configuration handling and improve error management across services; normalize placeholder values for SMTP and Stripe configurations; enhance local storage fallback logic in StorageService; add tests for new behaviors and edge cases.

backend/tests/test_email_service.py

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+"""Tests for SMTP configuration normalization."""
+from app.services.email_service import send_email
+
+
+def test_placeholder_smtp_host_is_treated_as_unconfigured(app, monkeypatch):
+    """A copied sample SMTP host should not trigger a network call."""
+    with app.app_context():
+        app.config.update({
+            "SMTP_HOST": "smtp.your-provider.com",
+            "SMTP_PORT": 587,
+            "SMTP_USER": "noreply@dociva.io",
+            "SMTP_PASSWORD": "replace-with-smtp-password",
+        })
+
+        def fail_if_called(*args, **kwargs):
+            raise AssertionError("SMTP should not be contacted for placeholder config")
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr("smtplib.SMTP", fail_if_called)
+        assert send_email("user@example.com", "Subject", "<p>Body</p>") is False