[Python-Dev] Re: sf.net/708007: expectlib.py telnetlib.py split (original) (raw)

Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton lkcl@samba-tng.org
Thu, 15 May 2003 08:59:27 +0000

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raymond, regarding expect.py which you give a link to:

• expect.py is extremely basic, offering pretty much only read and write.

  what it actually offers is an advantage over the python distribution's popen2/3 because it catches ptys (stdin) even on ssh and passwd.

• expectlib.py [new] is telnetlib.py [old] - with over-rideable read, write, open and close methods.

• pexpect is like... an independently developed version of the above, with all of the above functionality And Then Some - including an ANSI screen emulator should an application developer choose to use it.

what i figure is a sensible roadmap to suggest / propose to people:

• telnetlib.py [old] gets split into telnetlib.py [patched] plus expectlib.py [patched].

• noah investigates expectlib.py and a) works some magic on it b) uses it in pexpect.

• someone independently investigates expect.py's popen2 c-code capability to see if it can be merged into the python distribution.

i do not know if it is a "bug" that python's popen functions cannot capture ssh / passwd but it would certainly appear to be sensible to have an option to allow ALL user input to be captured.

certainly i found it a total pain two years ago to have to patch ssh to allow a user password to be accepted on the command-line!

[i didn't know about expect.py then]

last time i spoke to guido about the telnetlib.py/expectlib.py patch, he a) wasn't so madly busy as he is now, b) rejected the then-patch because it wasn't clean c) acknowledged that telnetlib.py is a mess and needed a complete rewrite.

since that time, i notice that telnetlib.py has had a control-char handling function, which alleviates some of the need for a complete rewrite.

l.

On Tue, May 13, 2003 at 10:57:40PM +0000, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton wrote:

[i am not on the python-dev list but i check the archives, please cc me]

approximately two years ago i needed the functionality outlined in the present telnetlib.py for several other remote protocols, most notably commands (including ssh and bash) and also HTTP. i figure that this functionality should be more than invaluable to other python developers.

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