Can Python work for me?

[Cameron Laird]

In article <b2vga602dl1 at enews1.newsguy.com>,
Alex Martelli  <aleaxit at yahoo.com> wrote:
>Adam Rumpke wrote:
>
>> I had a question asked to me that I cannot answer. I am curious if
>> Python could be used to act as a CGI for a printer web browser
>> interface. This job requires the web/file server to send the users a
>> message telling them the status.
>> 
>> FOR EXAMPLE: If I want to print and the printer is jammed a user at
>> home will need to know the printer is not working. I would like the
>> system to send a message via
>> the browser with out the browser constantly reloading. Could Python do
>> this?
>
>It doesn't matter much what language you use on the server-side
>for this: you want to do something outside the parameters of the
>HTTP protocol, which is based on request/response, i.e. have the
>server "initiate" something -- any architecture allowing that is
>either outside HTTP (thus needs a special browser supporting it)
>or a kludge (e.g, the server might induce the client to refresh
>periodically -- but that would basically boil down to "browser
>constantly reloading", at least, say, in a single frame).
>
>
>> Although, I am computer literate I wont be writing the scripts myself.
>> I would like to use Python as an option now, since I see it a
>> promising option for other projects. Having my existing programmers
>> use the Python option should reduce the costs as well.
>> 
>> How could this job be done in Python?
>
>Exactly in the same ways as with any other server-side programming,
>i.e., not well.  It's not a problem of what language you use for
>the server-side task, but of stretching a protocol (HTTP) to use
>well outside of all of its design parameters.
>
>
>Alex
>

Alex's right.  As always.

However, there are possibilities that just barely can
be interpreted as meeting your expressed requirements.
I'll focus on the "without the browser constantly re-
loading" phrase.  If that visual appearance is key to
you, then, yes, there are several (I once catalogued
seven, though only two or three are strictly available
through CGI) ways to implement what I call a "Web moni-
tor".  They're all rather abuses of HTTP, as Alex says,
but some are legitimately useful in production applica-
tions.  <URL: http://wiki.tcl.tk/3281 > and its references,
especially <URL:
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-sc4/ >.
-- 

Cameron Laird <Cameron at Lairds.com>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net
Personal:  http://phaseit.net/claird/home.html