[Python-Dev] Adding timeout option to httplib...connect() (original) (raw)

skip at pobox.com skip at pobox.com
Fri Feb 9 14:52:16 CET 2007 

Guido> I recently needed to access an HTTP URL with a timeout. I ended
Guido> up monkey-patching httplib.HTTPConnection so that the connect()
Guido> method has an optional second paramer, timeout, defaulting to
Guido> None; if not None, a call to settimeout() is added right after
Guido> successful creation of the socket.

Guido> Does anybody else think this is a good idea?

In principle it's probably a fine idea. We should consider if it's possible to develop a uniform approach to timeouts for all the libraries that use sockets though. Otherwise you run the risk of doing it in different ways for different libraries and having to make a (small, but annoying) semantic leap when going from, say, httplib to smtpllib or ftplib.

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