xmlrpc, httplib and SSL

[Roger Binns]

Skip Montanaro wrote:
>        [snip summary of changes]
>
>     Roger> I now have code that works for me and my project.  However it
>     Roger> wouldn't really be appropriate for going back into the standard
>     Roger> library because it spends most of its time having to subvert the
>     Roger> design and implementation of the existing classes.
>
>     Roger> However I was wondering if anyone was working on fixing the (IMHO
>     Roger> horrible) mess and wants any moral support?
>
> Sounds like you've done most of the work already.  Why not post a few
> patches to SF for the various affected modules?

The standard modules need to be redesigned!  And M2Crypto would have
to be the standard SSL.  And as I state in the first paragraph you quote,
it has to subvert the existing classes.  Think of my code as the
result of using chainsaws and band-aids all over the existing code.
The end result works fine for me and my project.  But I wouldn't
remotely want to change the existing library to anything like it.

Here were the goals I was trying to meet.  The current Python library
does not remotely meet them.

XML-RPC client:

   - Connections are made over SSL
   - A callback to verify the certificate if there is no
     CA or other defined mechanism
   - HTTP/1.1 is used, and the connection is reused if
     still open
   - HTTP authentication is used
   - Automatic reopen of connection if above one doesn't
     work (eg remote end closed it after timeout)
   - Be thread safe (eg one connection per thread - don't
     reuse across threads)

XML-RPC server:

   - Connections are accepted over SSL
   - Callbacks to verify incoming connections, certificates and
     credentials of the connections
   - Verification of HTTP authentication information
   - Connections are kept open/keep-alive (HTTP/1.1)
   - Use of a bounded thread pool that handles the connections

Roger