Improve readability of the socket docs

This commit is contained in:
Antoine Pitrou 2010-12-12 20:57:12 +00:00
parent 64a467d790
commit 7bdfe7755b
1 changed files with 82 additions and 57 deletions

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@ -14,16 +14,6 @@ platforms.
Some behavior may be platform dependent, since calls are made to the operating
system socket APIs.
For an introduction to socket programming (in C), see the following papers: An
Introductory 4.3BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial, by Stuart Sechrest and
An Advanced 4.3BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial, by Samuel J. Leffler et
al, both in the UNIX Programmer's Manual, Supplementary Documents 1 (sections
PS1:7 and PS1:8). The platform-specific reference material for the various
socket-related system calls are also a valuable source of information on the
details of socket semantics. For Unix, refer to the manual pages; for Windows,
see the WinSock (or Winsock 2) specification. For IPv6-ready APIs, readers may
want to refer to :rfc:`3493` titled Basic Socket Interface Extensions for IPv6.
.. index:: object: socket
The Python interface is a straightforward transliteration of the Unix system
@ -34,48 +24,42 @@ in the C interface: as with :meth:`read` and :meth:`write` operations on Python
files, buffer allocation on receive operations is automatic, and buffer length
is implicit on send operations.
Socket addresses are represented as follows: A single string is used for the
:const:`AF_UNIX` address family. A pair ``(host, port)`` is used for the
:const:`AF_INET` address family, where *host* is a string representing either a
hostname in Internet domain notation like ``'daring.cwi.nl'`` or an IPv4 address
like ``'100.50.200.5'``, and *port* is an integral port number. For
:const:`AF_INET6` address family, a four-tuple ``(host, port, flowinfo,
scopeid)`` is used, where *flowinfo* and *scopeid* represents ``sin6_flowinfo``
and ``sin6_scope_id`` member in :const:`struct sockaddr_in6` in C. For
:mod:`socket` module methods, *flowinfo* and *scopeid* can be omitted just for
backward compatibility. Note, however, omission of *scopeid* can cause problems
in manipulating scoped IPv6 addresses. Other address families are currently not
supported. The address format required by a particular socket object is
automatically selected based on the address family specified when the socket
object was created.
For IPv4 addresses, two special forms are accepted instead of a host address:
the empty string represents :const:`INADDR_ANY`, and the string
``'<broadcast>'`` represents :const:`INADDR_BROADCAST`. The behavior is not
available for IPv6 for backward compatibility, therefore, you may want to avoid
these if you intend to support IPv6 with your Python programs.
Socket families
---------------
If you use a hostname in the *host* portion of IPv4/v6 socket address, the
program may show a nondeterministic behavior, as Python uses the first address
returned from the DNS resolution. The socket address will be resolved
differently into an actual IPv4/v6 address, depending on the results from DNS
resolution and/or the host configuration. For deterministic behavior use a
numeric address in *host* portion.
Depending on the system and the build options, various socket families
are supported by this module.
AF_NETLINK sockets are represented as pairs ``pid, groups``.
Socket addresses are represented as follows:
- A single string is used for the :const:`AF_UNIX` address family.
Linux-only support for TIPC is also available using the :const:`AF_TIPC`
address family. TIPC is an open, non-IP based networked protocol designed
for use in clustered computer environments. Addresses are represented by a
tuple, and the fields depend on the address type. The general tuple form is
``(addr_type, v1, v2, v3 [, scope])``, where:
- A pair ``(host, port)`` is used for the :const:`AF_INET` address family,
where *host* is a string representing either a hostname in Internet domain
notation like ``'daring.cwi.nl'`` or an IPv4 address like ``'100.50.200.5'``,
and *port* is an integral port number.
- *addr_type* is one of TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ, TIPC_ADDR_NAME, or
- For :const:`AF_INET6` address family, a four-tuple ``(host, port, flowinfo,
scopeid)`` is used, where *flowinfo* and *scopeid* represent the ``sin6_flowinfo``
and ``sin6_scope_id`` members in :const:`struct sockaddr_in6` in C. For
:mod:`socket` module methods, *flowinfo* and *scopeid* can be omitted just for
backward compatibility. Note, however, omission of *scopeid* can cause problems
in manipulating scoped IPv6 addresses.
- :const:`AF_NETLINK` sockets are represented as pairs ``(pid, groups)``.
- Linux-only support for TIPC is available using the :const:`AF_TIPC`
address family. TIPC is an open, non-IP based networked protocol designed
for use in clustered computer environments. Addresses are represented by a
tuple, and the fields depend on the address type. The general tuple form is
``(addr_type, v1, v2, v3 [, scope])``, where:
- *addr_type* is one of TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ, TIPC_ADDR_NAME, or
TIPC_ADDR_ID.
- *scope* is one of TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE, TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE, and
- *scope* is one of TIPC_ZONE_SCOPE, TIPC_CLUSTER_SCOPE, and
TIPC_NODE_SCOPE.
- If *addr_type* is TIPC_ADDR_NAME, then *v1* is the server type, *v2* is
- If *addr_type* is TIPC_ADDR_NAME, then *v1* is the server type, *v2* is
the port identifier, and *v3* should be 0.
If *addr_type* is TIPC_ADDR_NAMESEQ, then *v1* is the server type, *v2*
@ -87,15 +71,36 @@ tuple, and the fields depend on the address type. The general tuple form is
If *addr_type* is TIPC_ADDR_ID, then *v1* is the node, *v2* is the
reference, and *v3* should be set to 0.
- Certain other address families (:const:`AF_BLUETOOTH`, :const:`AF_PACKET`)
support specific representations.
.. XXX document them!
For IPv4 addresses, two special forms are accepted instead of a host address:
the empty string represents :const:`INADDR_ANY`, and the string
``'<broadcast>'`` represents :const:`INADDR_BROADCAST`. This behavior is not
compatible with IPv6, therefore, you may want to avoid these if you intend
to support IPv6 with your Python programs.
If you use a hostname in the *host* portion of IPv4/v6 socket address, the
program may show a nondeterministic behavior, as Python uses the first address
returned from the DNS resolution. The socket address will be resolved
differently into an actual IPv4/v6 address, depending on the results from DNS
resolution and/or the host configuration. For deterministic behavior use a
numeric address in *host* portion.
All errors raise exceptions. The normal exceptions for invalid argument types
and out-of-memory conditions can be raised; errors related to socket or address
semantics raise the error :exc:`socket.error`.
semantics raise :exc:`socket.error` or one of its subclasses.
Non-blocking mode is supported through :meth:`~socket.setblocking`. A
generalization of this based on timeouts is supported through
:meth:`~socket.settimeout`.
Module contents
---------------
The module :mod:`socket` exports the following constants and functions:
@ -144,7 +149,8 @@ The module :mod:`socket` exports the following constants and functions:
These constants represent the address (and protocol) families, used for the
first argument to :func:`socket`. If the :const:`AF_UNIX` constant is not
defined then this protocol is unsupported.
defined then this protocol is unsupported. More constants may be available
depending on the system.
.. data:: SOCK_STREAM
@ -154,8 +160,9 @@ The module :mod:`socket` exports the following constants and functions:
SOCK_SEQPACKET
These constants represent the socket types, used for the second argument to
:func:`socket`. (Only :const:`SOCK_STREAM` and :const:`SOCK_DGRAM` appear to be
generally useful.)
:func:`socket`. More constants may be available depending on the system.
(Only :const:`SOCK_STREAM` and :const:`SOCK_DGRAM` appear to be generally
useful.)
.. data:: SOCK_CLOEXEC
SOCK_NONBLOCK
@ -950,3 +957,21 @@ the interface::
# disabled promiscuous mode
s.ioctl(socket.SIO_RCVALL, socket.RCVALL_OFF)
.. seealso::
For an introduction to socket programming (in C), see the following papers:
- *An Introductory 4.3BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial*, by Stuart Sechrest
- *An Advanced 4.3BSD Interprocess Communication Tutorial*, by Samuel J. Leffler et
al,
both in the UNIX Programmer's Manual, Supplementary Documents 1 (sections
PS1:7 and PS1:8). The platform-specific reference material for the various
socket-related system calls are also a valuable source of information on the
details of socket semantics. For Unix, refer to the manual pages; for Windows,
see the WinSock (or Winsock 2) specification. For IPv6-ready APIs, readers may
want to refer to :rfc:`3493` titled Basic Socket Interface Extensions for IPv6.