transfer::connect(n) Data transfer facilities transfer::connect(n)
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NAME
transfer::connect - Connection setup
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.4
package require snit ?1.0?
package require transfer::connect ?0.2?
transfer::connect objectName ?options...?
objectName method ?arg arg ...?
objectName destroy
objectName connect command
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DESCRIPTION
This package provides objects holding enough information to enable them to either actively connect to a counterpart, or to passively wait
for a connection from said counterpart. I.e. any object created by this packages is always in one of two complementary modes, called
active (the object initiates the connection) and passive (the object receives the connection).
Of the two objects in a connecting pair one has to be configured for active mode, and the other then has to be configured for passive mode.
This establishes which of the two partners connects to whom (the active to the other), or, who is waiting on whom (the passive on the
other). Note that this is completely independent of the direction of any data transmission using the connection after it has been estab-
lished. An active object can, after establishing the connection, either transmit or receive data. Equivalently the passive object can do
the same after the waiting for its partner has ended.
API
PACKAGE COMMANDS
transfer::connect objectName ?options...?
This command creates a new connection object with an associated Tcl command whose name is objectName. This object command is
explained in full detail in the sections Object command and Object methods. The set of supported options is explained in section
Options.
The object command will be created under the current namespace if the objectName is not fully qualified, and in the specified names-
pace otherwise. The fully qualified name of the object command is returned as the result of the command.
OBJECT COMMAND
All objects created by the ::transfer::connect command have the following general form:
objectName method ?arg arg ...?
The method method and its arg'uments determine the exact behavior of the command. See section Object methods for the detailed spec-
ifications.
OBJECT METHODS
objectName destroy
This method destroys the object. This is safe to do for an active object when a connection has been started, as the completion
callback is synchronous. For a passive object currently waiting for its partner to establish the connection however this is not
safe and will cause errors later on, when the connection setup completes and tries to access the now missing data structures of the
destroyed object.
objectName connect command
This method starts the connection setup per the configuration of the object. When the connection is established the callback command
will be invoked with one additional argument, the channel handle of the socket over which data can be transfered.
The detailed behaviour of the method depends on the configured mode.
active The connection setup is done synchronously. The object waits until the connection is established. The method returns the
empty string as its result.
passive
The connection setup is done asynchronously. The method returns immediately after a listening socket has been set up. The
connection will be established in the background. The method returns the port number of the listening socket, for use by the
caller. One important use is the transfer of this information to the counterpart so that it knows where it has to connect to.
This is necessary as the object might have been configured for port 0, allowing the operating system to choose the actual
port it will listen on.
The listening port is closed immediately when the connection was established by the partner, to keep the time interval small
within which a third party can connect to the port too. Even so it is recommended to use additional measures in the protocol
outside of the connect and transfer object to ensure that a connection is not used with an unidentified/unauthorized partner
One possibility for this is the use of SSL/TLS. See the option -socketcmd and section Secure connections for information on
how to do this.
OPTIONS
Connection objects support the set of options listed below.
-mode mode
This option specifies the mode the object is in. It is optional and defaults to active mode. The two possible modes are:
active In this mode the two options -host and -port are relevant and specify the host and TCP port the object has to connect to. The
host is given by either name or IP address.
passive
In this mode the option -host has no relevance and is ignored should it be configured. The only option the object needs is
-port, and it specifies the TCP port on which the listening socket is opened to await the connection from the partner.
-host hostname-or-ipaddr
This option specifies the host to connect to in active mode, either by name or ip-address. An object configured for passive mode
ignores this option.
-port int
For active mode this option specifies the port the object is expected to connect to. For passive mode however it is the port where
the object creates the listening socket waiting for a connection. It defaults to 0, which allows the OS to choose the actual port to
listen on.
-socketcmd command
This option allows the user to specify which command to use to open a socket. The default is to use the builtin ::socket. Any com-
patible with that command is allowed.
The envisioned main use is the specfication of tls::socket. I.e. this option allows the creation of secure transfer channels, with-
out making this package explicitly dependent on the tls package.
See also section Secure connections.
-encoding encodingname
-eofchar eofspec
-translation transspec
These options are the same as are recognized by the builtin command fconfigure. They provide the configuration to be set for the
channel between the two partners after it has been established, but before the callback is invoked (See method connect).
SECURE CONNECTIONS
One way to secure connections made by objects of this package is to require the package tls and then configure the option -socketcmd to
force the use of command tls::socket to open the socket.
# Load and initialize tls
package require tls
tls::init -cafile /path/to/ca/cert -keyfile ...
# Create a connector with secure socket setup,
transfer::connect C -socketcmd tls::socket ...
...
BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category transfer
of the Tcllib SF Trackers [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883]. Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for
either package and/or documentation.
KEYWORDS
active, channel, connection, passive, secure, ssl, tls, transfer
CATEGORY
Transfer module
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>
transfer 0.2 transfer::connect(n)