[Python-Dev] IPv6

[Martin v. Loewis]

> What's out IPv6 story?  I recall that someone once sent me patches,
> but they didn't work for me.  Is it time to try again?  In certain
> circles IPv6 support in Python would be enough to switch programming
> languages... :-)

It's still on SF,

http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=401196&group_id=5470&atid=305470

There are two problems with that patch, AFAICT:

1. It is too large for any individual to review in one chunk.
2. It gets quickly outdated.
3. It touches core aspects of the socket handling that are IMO better
   untouched. I don't know whether the generalization proposed there
   is necessary to support IPv6 reasonably - the author certainly feels
   it is.

To integrate the patch, I would propose to split it into smaller
parts, and submit and review them one-by-one. The first patch should
deal only with autoconf stuff, so that the proper #defines are in
config.h (although they would not be used right away). The second
patch should be a tar file of all new files (the patch on SF actually
misses some files). The third patch should include changes to the C
modules, and the last one changes to the standard library modules.

For that procedure to work, we need cooperation from the
submitter. For that, we probably need to indicate that we are really
interested in his work, and will work with him to integrate it into
Python. So far, his impression must be that nobody is interested - the
patch is sitting there since 2000-08-16, making it the oldes open
patch.

Undoubtedly, integrating this piece of work will result in various
problems with Python CVS: it won't build anymore on "funny machines"
(like Windows), and it might even crash on code that used to work just
fine. This prediction is not based on the actual content of the patch,
merely on its size, and the fact that IPv6 support is experimental on
many systems. So we'ld also need a BDFL pronouncement that we really
really want this, and that anybody running into problems should either
help fixing them, or stay away from CVS while it is being integrated.

Regards,
Martin