I've just started working with the basics of python socket networking. As an exercise in understanding, I've been trying to hash out a basic server that will ask it's client for a file type, and upon receiving a string of the extension, ask for the actual file. I've found numerous tutorials online that use the asyncore library, specifically asynchat to setup this kind of call and response functionality.
The most basic one I've been following can be found here (I've copied it)
http://effbot.org/librarybook/asynchat.htm
import asyncore, asynchat
import os, socket, string
PORT = 8000
class HTTPChannel(asynchat.async_chat):
def __init__(self, server, sock, addr):
asynchat.async_chat.__init__(self, sock)
self.set_terminator("\r\n")
self.request = None
self.data = ""
self.shutdown = 0
def collect_incoming_data(self, data):
self.data = self.data + data
def found_terminator(self):
if not self.request:
# got the request line
self.request = string.split(self.data, None, 2)
if len(self.request) != 3:
self.shutdown = 1
else:
self.push("HTTP/1.0 200 OK\r\n")
self.push("Content-type: text/html\r\n")
self.push("\r\n")
self.data = self.data + "\r\n"
self.set_terminator("\r\n\r\n") # look for end of headers
else:
# return payload.
self.push("<html><body><pre>\r\n")
self.push(self.data)
self.push("</pre></body></html>\r\n")
self.close_when_done()
class HTTPServer(asyncore.dispatcher):
def __init__(self, port):
asyncore.dispatcher.__init__(self)
self.create_socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
self.bind(("", port))
self.listen(5)
def handle_accept(self):
conn, addr = self.accept()
HTTPChannel(self, conn, addr)
#
# try it out
s = HTTPServer(PORT)
print "serving at port", PORT, "..."
My question has to do with the handle_accept method of the HTTPServer class. If every time a request comes in, the HTTPChannel object is initialized, wouldn't it be impossible in this kind of setup to create a call and response? I was thinking one could set flags for _hastype and _hasfile in the channel object, but since the accept inits it for each individual connection, the object's state is forgotten with every inidividual request. I realize this setup is supposed to be a basic HTTPServer, but my question is, how could I edit it to setup something like what I've described? Would the server object need to inherit asynchat itself and forego dispatcher completely? The channel object would have to have some state to know that the filetype has already been sent, and then ask for the binary of the file instead. I'm very curious to know what the cleanest possible implementation of this might look like.
Thanks a ton - I'm very new to sockets. Please let me know if I haven't been clear.
Normally the connection would be kept open after it's initially created, so all the parts of the communication from the same client go to the same HTTPChannel object - accept is only called when a new connection is created.