[python-win32] Apache & mod_python & win32com

[Dominique.Holzwarth at ch.delarue.com]

Hello everyone

I'm developing a web application using mod_python and the apache web server. That application has to handle xml files and for that I'm using win32com with with MSXML.

My problem is, that apache spawns a new process / thread (not sure wether ist a process or thread. I think it's a thread) per http request. So when multiple users generated requests "at the same time" (new request before the first one is returned) I have multiple threads running. And that's where my win32com code is crashing...

Currently, for every request my code does the following (as an example):

return win32com.client.Dispatch("Msxml2.DOMDocument.6.0")

To get an empty MSXSML DOM object.

For multiple requests at the same time I get the following error:

 File "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\TCRExceptionManagerData\database_library\database.py", line 24, in __init__
    self.__configFileSchema = self.__XSDSchemaCache()

  File "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\TCRExceptionManagerData\database_library\database.py", line 1774, in __XSDSchemaCache
    return win32com.client.Dispatch("MSXML2.XMLSchemaCache.6.0")

  File "C:\Program Files\Python25\lib\site-packages\win32com\client\__init__.py", line 95, in Dispatch
    dispatch, userName = dynamic._GetGoodDispatchAndUserName(dispatch,userName,clsctx)

  File "C:\Program Files\Python25\lib\site-packages\win32com\client\dynamic.py", line 98, in _GetGoodDispatchAndUserName
    return (_GetGoodDispatch(IDispatch, clsctx), userName)

  File "C:\Program Files\Python25\lib\site-packages\win32com\client\dynamic.py", line 78, in _GetGoodDispatch
    IDispatch = pythoncom.CoCreateInstance(IDispatch, None, clsctx, pythoncom.IID_IDispatch)

com_error: (-2147221008, 'CoInitialize has not been called.', None, None)

I've read already a bit in this mailing list and someone mentioned that one need to call pythoncom.CoInitialize() and pythoncom.CoUninitialize(). But I don't know where exactly i should call those functions and wether that'll solve my problem... Also, when I do a 'import win32com.pythoncom' I get an error that the module 'pythoncom' does not exist!

I would be really happy if someone could help me and tell me how to make my win32com work for multiple threads!

Greetings
Dominique