[Python-Dev] BDFL ruling request: should we block forever waiting for high-quality random bits?

[Larry Hastings]

On 06/09/2016 03:44 PM, Ethan Furman wrote:
> On 06/09/2016 03:22 PM, Larry Hastings wrote:
>> Okay, it's decided: os.urandom() must be changed for 3.5.2 to never
>> block on a getrandom() call.
>
> One way to not block is to raise an exception.  Since this is such a 
> rare occurrence anyway I don't see this being a problem, plus it keeps 
> everybody mostly happy:  normal users won't see it hang, crypto-folk 
> won't see vulnerable-from-this-cause-by-default machines, and those 
> running Python early in the boot sequence will have something they can 
> figure out, plus an existing knob to work around it [hashseed, I think?].


Nope, I want the old behavior back.  os.urandom() should read 
/dev/random if getrandom() would block.  As the British say, "it should 
do what it says on the tin".


//arry/
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