Persistent HTTP Connections with Python?

[Rob Kapteyn]

On Jan 10, 12:46 pm, Scott Sharkey <sshar... at linuxunlimited.com>
wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I am trying to write a python script to talk to an xml-based stock feed
> service.  They are telling me that I must connect and login, and then
> "issue refresh requests" to fetch the data.  This sounds a lot (to me)
> like HTTP 1.1persistentconnections.  Can I do that with the urllib
> functions, or do I need to use the httplib functions for this kind of
> work.  Pointers and/or sample code would be much appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>
> -scott

I used to work in the financial industry and I have seen this.
It is sort of like the XML RSS feed that web sites provide -- but like
many financial protocols they created their own standard.
Python httplib can be used to create a SERVER for persistent HTTP
connections -- but want you want is a client.
I think this is actually very simple.
What happens when you open the data URL with a web browser ?
Does the connection stay open and automatically update each time there
is new data ?
If so, just use urllib, leave the connection open and do a read()
every so often to see if there is new data.
Good luck!
-Rob