| |
| :mod:`nntplib` --- NNTP protocol client |
| ======================================= |
| |
| .. module:: nntplib |
| :synopsis: NNTP protocol client (requires sockets). |
| |
| |
| .. index:: |
| pair: NNTP; protocol |
| single: Network News Transfer Protocol |
| |
| This module defines the class :class:`NNTP` which implements the client side of |
| the NNTP protocol. It can be used to implement a news reader or poster, or |
| automated news processors. For more information on NNTP (Network News Transfer |
| Protocol), see Internet :rfc:`977`. |
| |
| Here are two small examples of how it can be used. To list some statistics |
| about a newsgroup and print the subjects of the last 10 articles:: |
| |
| >>> s = NNTP('news.cwi.nl') |
| >>> resp, count, first, last, name = s.group('comp.lang.python') |
| >>> print 'Group', name, 'has', count, 'articles, range', first, 'to', last |
| Group comp.lang.python has 59 articles, range 3742 to 3803 |
| >>> resp, subs = s.xhdr('subject', first + '-' + last) |
| >>> for id, sub in subs[-10:]: print id, sub |
| ... |
| 3792 Re: Removing elements from a list while iterating... |
| 3793 Re: Who likes Info files? |
| 3794 Emacs and doc strings |
| 3795 a few questions about the Mac implementation |
| 3796 Re: executable python scripts |
| 3797 Re: executable python scripts |
| 3798 Re: a few questions about the Mac implementation |
| 3799 Re: PROPOSAL: A Generic Python Object Interface for Python C Modules |
| 3802 Re: executable python scripts |
| 3803 Re: \POSIX{} wait and SIGCHLD |
| >>> s.quit() |
| '205 news.cwi.nl closing connection. Goodbye.' |
| |
| To post an article from a file (this assumes that the article has valid |
| headers):: |
| |
| >>> s = NNTP('news.cwi.nl') |
| >>> f = open('/tmp/article') |
| >>> s.post(f) |
| '240 Article posted successfully.' |
| >>> s.quit() |
| '205 news.cwi.nl closing connection. Goodbye.' |
| |
| The module itself defines the following items: |
| |
| |
| .. class:: NNTP(host[, port [, user[, password [, readermode][, usenetrc]]]]) |
| |
| Return a new instance of the :class:`NNTP` class, representing a connection |
| to the NNTP server running on host *host*, listening at port *port*. The |
| default *port* is 119. If the optional *user* and *password* are provided, |
| or if suitable credentials are present in :file:`/.netrc` and the optional |
| flag *usenetrc* is true (the default), the ``AUTHINFO USER`` and ``AUTHINFO |
| PASS`` commands are used to identify and authenticate the user to the server. |
| If the optional flag *readermode* is true, then a ``mode reader`` command is |
| sent before authentication is performed. Reader mode is sometimes necessary |
| if you are connecting to an NNTP server on the local machine and intend to |
| call reader-specific commands, such as ``group``. If you get unexpected |
| :exc:`NNTPPermanentError`\ s, you might need to set *readermode*. |
| *readermode* defaults to ``None``. *usenetrc* defaults to ``True``. |
| |
| |
| .. exception:: NNTPError |
| |
| Derived from the standard exception :exc:`Exception`, this is the base class for |
| all exceptions raised by the :mod:`nntplib` module. |
| |
| |
| .. exception:: NNTPReplyError |
| |
| Exception raised when an unexpected reply is received from the server. For |
| backwards compatibility, the exception ``error_reply`` is equivalent to this |
| class. |
| |
| |
| .. exception:: NNTPTemporaryError |
| |
| Exception raised when an error code in the range 400--499 is received. For |
| backwards compatibility, the exception ``error_temp`` is equivalent to this |
| class. |
| |
| |
| .. exception:: NNTPPermanentError |
| |
| Exception raised when an error code in the range 500--599 is received. For |
| backwards compatibility, the exception ``error_perm`` is equivalent to this |
| class. |
| |
| |
| .. exception:: NNTPProtocolError |
| |
| Exception raised when a reply is received from the server that does not begin |
| with a digit in the range 1--5. For backwards compatibility, the exception |
| ``error_proto`` is equivalent to this class. |
| |
| |
| .. exception:: NNTPDataError |
| |
| Exception raised when there is some error in the response data. For backwards |
| compatibility, the exception ``error_data`` is equivalent to this class. |
| |
| |
| .. _nntp-objects: |
| |
| NNTP Objects |
| ------------ |
| |
| NNTP instances have the following methods. The *response* that is returned as |
| the first item in the return tuple of almost all methods is the server's |
| response: a string beginning with a three-digit code. If the server's response |
| indicates an error, the method raises one of the above exceptions. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.getwelcome() |
| |
| Return the welcome message sent by the server in reply to the initial |
| connection. (This message sometimes contains disclaimers or help information |
| that may be relevant to the user.) |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.set_debuglevel(level) |
| |
| Set the instance's debugging level. This controls the amount of debugging |
| output printed. The default, ``0``, produces no debugging output. A value of |
| ``1`` produces a moderate amount of debugging output, generally a single line |
| per request or response. A value of ``2`` or higher produces the maximum amount |
| of debugging output, logging each line sent and received on the connection |
| (including message text). |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.newgroups(date, time, [file]) |
| |
| Send a ``NEWGROUPS`` command. The *date* argument should be a string of the |
| form ``'yymmdd'`` indicating the date, and *time* should be a string of the form |
| ``'hhmmss'`` indicating the time. Return a pair ``(response, groups)`` where |
| *groups* is a list of group names that are new since the given date and time. If |
| the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the ``NEWGROUPS`` command |
| is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method will open a file |
| object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object, |
| then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the command |
| output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.newnews(group, date, time, [file]) |
| |
| Send a ``NEWNEWS`` command. Here, *group* is a group name or ``'*'``, and |
| *date* and *time* have the same meaning as for :meth:`newgroups`. Return a pair |
| ``(response, articles)`` where *articles* is a list of message ids. If the |
| *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the ``NEWNEWS`` command is |
| stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method will open a file |
| object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object, |
| then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the command |
| output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.list([file]) |
| |
| Send a ``LIST`` command. Return a pair ``(response, list)`` where *list* is a |
| list of tuples. Each tuple has the form ``(group, last, first, flag)``, where |
| *group* is a group name, *last* and *first* are the last and first article |
| numbers (as strings), and *flag* is ``'y'`` if posting is allowed, ``'n'`` if |
| not, and ``'m'`` if the newsgroup is moderated. (Note the ordering: *last*, |
| *first*.) If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the ``LIST`` |
| command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method will open |
| a file object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* is a file |
| object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the |
| command output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty |
| list. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.descriptions(grouppattern) |
| |
| Send a ``LIST NEWSGROUPS`` command, where *grouppattern* is a wildmat string as |
| specified in RFC2980 (it's essentially the same as DOS or UNIX shell wildcard |
| strings). Return a pair ``(response, list)``, where *list* is a list of tuples |
| containing ``(name, title)``. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.description(group) |
| |
| Get a description for a single group *group*. If more than one group matches |
| (if 'group' is a real wildmat string), return the first match. If no group |
| matches, return an empty string. |
| |
| This elides the response code from the server. If the response code is needed, |
| use :meth:`descriptions`. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.group(name) |
| |
| Send a ``GROUP`` command, where *name* is the group name. Return a tuple |
| ``(response, count, first, last, name)`` where *count* is the (estimated) number |
| of articles in the group, *first* is the first article number in the group, |
| *last* is the last article number in the group, and *name* is the group name. |
| The numbers are returned as strings. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.help([file]) |
| |
| Send a ``HELP`` command. Return a pair ``(response, list)`` where *list* is a |
| list of help strings. If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of |
| the ``HELP`` command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the |
| method will open a file object with that name, write to it then close it. If |
| *file* is a file object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store |
| the lines of the command output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* |
| is an empty list. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.stat(id) |
| |
| Send a ``STAT`` command, where *id* is the message id (enclosed in ``'<'`` and |
| ``'>'``) or an article number (as a string). Return a triple ``(response, |
| number, id)`` where *number* is the article number (as a string) and *id* is the |
| message id (enclosed in ``'<'`` and ``'>'``). |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.next() |
| |
| Send a ``NEXT`` command. Return as for :meth:`stat`. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.last() |
| |
| Send a ``LAST`` command. Return as for :meth:`stat`. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.head(id) |
| |
| Send a ``HEAD`` command, where *id* has the same meaning as for :meth:`stat`. |
| Return a tuple ``(response, number, id, list)`` where the first three are the |
| same as for :meth:`stat`, and *list* is a list of the article's headers (an |
| uninterpreted list of lines, without trailing newlines). |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.body(id,[file]) |
| |
| Send a ``BODY`` command, where *id* has the same meaning as for :meth:`stat`. |
| If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the body is stored in a file. If |
| *file* is a string, then the method will open a file object with that name, |
| write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object, then it will start |
| calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the body. Return as for |
| :meth:`head`. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.article(id) |
| |
| Send an ``ARTICLE`` command, where *id* has the same meaning as for |
| :meth:`stat`. Return as for :meth:`head`. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.slave() |
| |
| Send a ``SLAVE`` command. Return the server's *response*. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.xhdr(header, string, [file]) |
| |
| Send an ``XHDR`` command. This command is not defined in the RFC but is a |
| common extension. The *header* argument is a header keyword, e.g. |
| ``'subject'``. The *string* argument should have the form ``'first-last'`` |
| where *first* and *last* are the first and last article numbers to search. |
| Return a pair ``(response, list)``, where *list* is a list of pairs ``(id, |
| text)``, where *id* is an article number (as a string) and *text* is the text of |
| the requested header for that article. If the *file* parameter is supplied, then |
| the output of the ``XHDR`` command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, |
| then the method will open a file object with that name, write to it then close |
| it. If *file* is a file object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it |
| to store the lines of the command output. If *file* is supplied, then the |
| returned *list* is an empty list. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.post(file) |
| |
| Post an article using the ``POST`` command. The *file* argument is an open file |
| object which is read until EOF using its :meth:`readline` method. It should be |
| a well-formed news article, including the required headers. The :meth:`post` |
| method automatically escapes lines beginning with ``.``. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.ihave(id, file) |
| |
| Send an ``IHAVE`` command. *id* is a message id (enclosed in ``'<'`` and |
| ``'>'``). If the response is not an error, treat *file* exactly as for the |
| :meth:`post` method. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.date() |
| |
| Return a triple ``(response, date, time)``, containing the current date and time |
| in a form suitable for the :meth:`newnews` and :meth:`newgroups` methods. This |
| is an optional NNTP extension, and may not be supported by all servers. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.xgtitle(name, [file]) |
| |
| Process an ``XGTITLE`` command, returning a pair ``(response, list)``, where |
| *list* is a list of tuples containing ``(name, title)``. If the *file* parameter |
| is supplied, then the output of the ``XGTITLE`` command is stored in a file. |
| If *file* is a string, then the method will open a file object with that name, |
| write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object, then it will start |
| calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the command output. If *file* |
| is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list. This is an optional NNTP |
| extension, and may not be supported by all servers. |
| |
| .. % XXX huh? Should that be (name, description)? |
| |
| RFC2980 says "It is suggested that this extension be deprecated". Use |
| :meth:`descriptions` or :meth:`description` instead. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.xover(start, end, [file]) |
| |
| Return a pair ``(resp, list)``. *list* is a list of tuples, one for each |
| article in the range delimited by the *start* and *end* article numbers. Each |
| tuple is of the form ``(article number, subject, poster, date, id, references, |
| size, lines)``. If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the |
| ``XOVER`` command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method |
| will open a file object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* |
| is a file object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the |
| lines of the command output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is |
| an empty list. This is an optional NNTP extension, and may not be supported by |
| all servers. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.xpath(id) |
| |
| Return a pair ``(resp, path)``, where *path* is the directory path to the |
| article with message ID *id*. This is an optional NNTP extension, and may not |
| be supported by all servers. |
| |
| |
| .. method:: NNTP.quit() |
| |
| Send a ``QUIT`` command and close the connection. Once this method has been |
| called, no other methods of the NNTP object should be called. |
| |