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

[Random832]

On Thu, Jun 16, 2016, at 10:04, Barry Warsaw wrote:
> On Jun 16, 2016, at 09:51 AM, Random832 wrote:
> 
> >On Thu, Jun 16, 2016, at 04:03, Barry Warsaw wrote:
> >> *If* we can guarantee that os.urandom() will never block or raise an
> >> exception when only poor entropy is available, then it may be indeed
> >> indistinguishably backward compatible for most if not all cases.  
> >
> >Why can't we exclude cases when only poor entropy is available from
> >"most if not all cases"?
>
> Because if it blocks or raises a new exception on poor entropy it's an
> API break.

Yes, but in only very rare cases. Which as I *just said* makes it
backwards compatible for "most" cases.