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[inn-innduct.git] / doc / hook-python

INN Python Filtering and Authentication Support

    This file documents INN's built-in optional support for Python article
    filtering.  It is patterned after the Perl and (now obsolete) TCL hooks
    previously added by Bob Heiney and Christophe Wolfhugel.

    For this filter to work successfully, you will need to have at least
    Python 1.5.2 installed.  You can obtain it from
    <http://www.python.org/>.

    The innd Python interface and the original Python filtering
    documentation were written by Greg Andruk (nee Fluffy)
    <gerglery@usa.net>.  The Python authentication and authorization support
    for nnrpd as well as the original documentation for it were written by
    Ilya Etingof <ilya@glas.net> in December 1999.

Installation

    Once you have built and installed Python, you can cause INN to use it by
    adding the --with-python switch to your "configure" command.  You will
    need to have all the headers and libraries required for embedding Python
    into INN; they can be found in Python development packages, which
    include header files and static libraries.

    You will then be able to use Python authentication, dynamic access group
    generation and dynamic access control support in nnrpd along with
    filtering support in innd.

    See the ctlinnd(8) manual page to learn how to enable, disable and
    reload Python filters on a running server (especially "ctlinnd mode",
    "ctlinnd python y|n" and "ctlinnd reload filter.python 'reason'").

    Also, see the filter_innd.py, nnrpd_auth.py, nnrpd_access.py and
    nnrpd_dynamic.py samples in your filters directory for a demonstration
    of how to get all this working.

Writing an innd Filter

  Introduction

    You need to create a filter_innd.py module in INN's filter directory
    (see the *pathfilter* setting in inn.conf).  A heavily-commented sample
    is provided; you can use it as a template for your own filter.  There is
    also an INN.py module there which is not actually used by INN; it is
    there so you can test your module interactively.

    First, define a class containing the methods you want to provide to
    innd.  Methods innd will use if present are:

    __init__(*self*)
        Not explicitly called by innd, but will run whenever the filter
        module is (re)loaded.  This is a good place to initialize constants
        or pick up where "filter_before_reload" or "filter_close" left off.

    filter_before_reload(*self*)
        This will execute any time a "ctlinnd reload all 'reason'" or
        "ctlinnd reload filter.python 'reason'" command is issued.  You can
        use it to save statistics or reports for use after reloading.

    filter_close(*self*)
        This will run when a "ctlinnd shutdown 'reason'" command is
        received.

    filter_art(*self*, *art*)
        *art* is a dictionary containing an article's headers and body. 
        This method is called every time innd receives an article.  The
        following can be defined:

            Also-Control, Approved, Bytes, Cancel-Key, Cancel-Lock,
            Content-Base, Content-Disposition, Content-Transfer-Encoding,
            Content-Type, Control, Date, Date-Received, Distribution, Expires,
            Face, Followup-To, From, In-Reply-To, Injection-Date, Injection-Info,
            Keywords, Lines, List-ID, Message-ID, MIME-Version, Newsgroups,
            NNTP-Posting-Date, NNTP-Posting-Host, Organization, Originator,
            Path, Posted, Posting-Version, Received, References, Relay-Version,
            Reply-To, Sender, Subject, Supersedes, User-Agent,
            X-Auth, X-Canceled-By, X-Cancelled-By, X-Complaints-To, X-Face,
            X-HTTP-UserAgent, X-HTTP-Via, X-Mailer, X-Modbot, X-Modtrace,
            X-Newsposter, X-Newsreader, X-No-Archive, X-Original-Message-ID,
            X-Original-Trace, X-Originating-IP, X-PGP-Key, X-PGP-Sig,
            X-Poster-Trace, X-Postfilter, X-Proxy-User, X-Submissions-To,
            X-Trace, X-Usenet-Provider, Xref, __BODY__, __LINES__.

        Note that all the above values are as they arrived, not modified by
        your INN (especially, the Xref: header, if present, is the one of
        the remote site which sent you the article, and not yours).

        These values will be buffer objects holding the contents of the same
        named article headers, except for the special "__BODY__" and
        "__LINES__" items.  Items not present in the article will contain
        "None".

        "art('__BODY__')" is a buffer object containing the article's entire
        body, and "art('__LINES__')" is an int holding innd's reckoning of
        the number of lines in the article.  All the other elements will be
        buffers with the contents of the same-named article headers.

        The Newsgroups: header of the article is accessible inside the
        Python filter as "art['Newsgroups']".

        If you want to accept an article, return "None" or an empty string. 
        To reject, return a non-empty string.  The rejection strings will be
        shown to local clients and your peers, so keep that in mind when
        phrasing your rejection responses.

    filter_messageid(*self*, *msgid*)
        *msgid* is a buffer object containing the ID of an article being
        offered by IHAVE or CHECK.  Like with "filter_art", the message will
        be refused if you return a non-empty string.  If you use this
        feature, keep it light because it is called at a rather busy place
        in innd's main loop.  Also, do not rely on this function alone to
        reject by ID; you should repeat the tests in "filter_art" to catch
        articles sent with TAKETHIS but no CHECK.

    filter_mode(*self*, *oldmode*, *newmode*, *reason*)
        When the operator issues a ctlinnd "pause", "throttle", "go",
        "shutdown" or "xexec" command, this function can be used to do
        something sensible in accordance with the state change.  Stamp a log
        file, save your state on throttle, etc.  *oldmode* and *newmode*
        will be strings containing one of the values in ("running",
        "throttled", "paused", "shutdown", "unknown").  *oldmode* is the
        state innd was in before ctlinnd was run, *newmode* is the state
        innd will be in after the command finishes.  *reason* is the comment
        string provided on the ctlinnd command line.

  How to Use these Methods with innd

    To register your methods with innd, you need to create an instance of
    your class, import the built-in INN module, and pass the instance to
    "INN.set_filter_hook".  For example:

        class Filter:
            def filter_art(self, art):
                ...
                blah blah
                ...

            def filter_messageid(self, id):
                ...
                yadda yadda
                ...

        import INN
        myfilter = Filter()
        INN.set_filter_hook(myfilter)

    When writing and testing your Python filter, don't be afraid to make use
    of "try:"/"except:" and the provided "INN.syslog" function.  stdout and
    stderr will be disabled, so your filter will die silently otherwise.

    Also, remember to try importing your module interactively before loading
    it, to ensure there are no obvious errors.  One typo can ruin your whole
    filter.  A dummy INN.py module is provided to facilitate testing outside
    the server.  To test, change into your filter directory and use a
    command like:

        python -ic 'import INN, filter_innd'

    You can define as many or few of the methods listed above as you want in
    your filter class (it is fine to define more methods for your own use;
    innd will not be using them but your filter can).  If you *do* define
    the above methods, GET THE PARAMETER COUNTS RIGHT.  There are checks in
    innd to see whether the methods exist and are callable, but if you
    define one and get the parameter counts wrong, innd WILL DIE.  You have
    been warned.  Be careful with your return values, too.  The "filter_art"
    and "filter_messageid" methods have to return strings, or "None".  If
    you return something like an int, innd will *not* be happy.

  A Note regarding Buffer Objects

    Buffer objects are cousins of strings, new in Python 1.5.2.  Using
    buffer objects may take some getting used to, but we can create buffers
    much faster and with less memory than strings.

    For most of the operations you will perform in filters (like
    "re.search", "string.find", "md5.digest") you can treat buffers just
    like strings, but there are a few important differences you should know
    about:

        # Make a string and two buffers.
        s = "abc"
        b = buffer("def")
        bs = buffer("abc")

        s == bs          # - This is false because the types differ...
        buffer(s) == bs  # - ...but this is true, the types now agree.
        s == str(bs)     # - This is also true, but buffer() is faster.
        s[:2] == bs[:2]  # - True.  Buffer slices are strings.

        # While most string methods will take either a buffer or a string,
        # string.join (in the string module) insists on using only strings.
        import string
        string.join([str(b), s], '.')  # Returns 'def.abc'.
        '.'.join([str(b), s])          # Returns 'def.abc' too.
        '.'.join([b, s])               # This raises a TypeError.

        e = s + b                      # This raises a TypeError, but...

        # ...these two both return the string 'abcdef'.  The first one
        # is faster -- choose buffer() over str() whenever you can.
        e = buffer(s) + b
        f = s + str(b)

        g = b + '>'                    # This is legal, returns the string 'def>'.

  Functions Supplied by the Built-in innd Module

    Besides "INN.set_filter_hook" which is used to register your methods
    with innd as it has already been explained above, the following
    functions are available from Python scripts:

    addhist(*message-id*)
    article(*message-id*)
    cancel(*message-id*)
    havehist(*message-id*)
    hashstring(*string*)
    head(*message-id*)
    newsgroup(*groupname*)
    syslog(*level*, *message*)

    Therefore, not only can innd use Python, but your filter can use some of
    innd's features too.  Here is some sample Python code to show what you
    get with the previously listed functions.

        import INN

        # Python's native syslog module isn't compiled in by default,
        # so the INN module provides a replacement.  The first parameter
        # tells the Unix syslogger what severity to use; you can
        # abbreviate down to one letter and it's case insensitive.
        # Available levels are (in increasing levels of seriousness)
        # Debug, Info, Notice, Warning, Err, Crit, and Alert.  (If you
        # provide any other string, it will be defaulted to Notice.)  The
        # second parameter is the message text.  The syslog entries will
        # go to the same log files innd itself uses, with a 'python:'
        # prefix.
        syslog('warning', 'I will not buy this record.  It is scratched.')
        animals = 'eels'
        vehicle = 'hovercraft'
        syslog('N', 'My %s is full of %s.' % (vehicle, animals))

        # Let's cancel an article!  This only deletes the message on the
        # local server; it doesn't send out a control message or anything
        # scary like that.  Returns 1 if successful, else 0.
        if INN.cancel('<meow$123.456@solvangpastries.edu>'):
            cancelled = "yup"
        else:
            cancelled = "nope"

        # Check if a given message is in history.  This doesn't
        # necessarily mean the article is on your spool; cancelled and
        # expired articles hang around in history for a while, and
        # rejected articles will be in there if you have enabled
        # remembertrash in inn.conf.  Returns 1 if found, else 0.
        if INN.havehist('<z456$789.abc@isc.org>'):
            comment = "*yawn* I've already seen this article."
        else:
            comment = 'Mmm, fresh news.'

        # Here we are running a local spam filter, so why eat all those
        # cancels?  We can add fake entries to history so they'll get
        # refused.  Returns 1 on success, 0 on failure.
        cancelled_id = buffer('<meow$123.456@isc.org>')
        if INN.addhist("<cancel." + cancelled_id[1:]):
            thought = "Eat my dust, roadkill!"
        else:
            thought = "Darn, someone beat me to it."

        # We can look at the header or all of an article already on spool,
        # too.  Might be useful for long-memory despamming or
        # authentication things.  Each is returned (if present) as a
        # string object; otherwise you'll end up with an empty string.
        artbody = INN.article('<foo$bar.baz@bungmunch.edu>')
        artheader = INN.head('<foo$bar.baz@bungmunch.edu>')

        # As we can compute a hash digest for a string, we can obtain one
        # for artbody.  It might be of help to detect spam.
        digest = INN.hashstring(artbody)

        # Finally, do you want to see if a given newsgroup is moderated or
        # whatever?  INN.newsgroup returns the last field of a group's
        # entry in active as a string.
        froupflag = INN.newsgroup('alt.fan.karl-malden.nose')
        if froupflag == '':
            moderated = 'no such newsgroup'
        elif froupflag == 'y':
            moderated = "nope"
        elif froupflag == 'm':
            moderated = "yep"
        else:
            moderated = "something else"

Writing an nnrpd Filter

  Changes to Python Authentication and Access Control Support for nnrpd

    The old authentication and access control functionality has been
    combined with the new readers.conf mechanism by Erik Klavon
    <erik@eriq.org>; bug reports should however go to <inn-bugs@isc.org>,
    not Erik.

    The remainder of this section is an introduction to the new mechanism
    (which uses the *python_auth*, *python_access*, and *python_dynamic*
    readers.conf parameters) with porting/migration suggestions for people
    familiar with the old mechanism (identifiable by the now deprecated
    *nnrpperlauth* parameter in inn.conf).

    Other people should skip this section.

    The *python_auth* parameter allows the use of Python to authenticate a
    user.  Authentication scripts (like those from the old mechanism) are
    listed in readers.conf using *python_auth* in the same manner other
    authenticators are using *auth*:

        python_auth: "nnrpd_auth"

    It uses the script named nnrpd_auth.py (note that ".py" is not present
    in the *python_auth* value).

    Scripts should be placed as before in the filter directory (see the
    *pathfilter* setting in inn.conf).  The new hook method "authen_init"
    takes no arguments and its return value is ignored; its purpose is to
    provide a means for authentication specific initialization.  The hook
    method "authen_close" is the more specific analogue to the old "close"
    method.  These two method hooks are not required, contrary to
    "authenticate", the main method.

    The argument dictionary passed to "authenticate" remains the same,
    except for the removal of the *type* entry which is no longer needed in
    this modification and the addition of several new entries (*port*,
    *intipaddr*, *intport*) described below.  The return tuple now only
    contains either two or three elements, the first of which is the NNTP
    response code.  The second is an error string which is passed to the
    client if the response code indicates that the authentication attempt
    has failed.  This allows a specific error message to be generated by the
    Python script in place of the generic message "Authentication failed". 
    An optional third return element, if present, will be used to match the
    connection with the *user* parameter in access groups and will also be
    the username logged.  If this element is absent, the username supplied
    by the client during authentication will be used, as was the previous
    behaviour.

    The *python_access* parameter (described below) is new; it allows the
    dynamic generation of an access group of an incoming connection using a
    Python script.  If a connection matches an auth group which has a
    *python_access* parameter, all access groups in readers.conf are
    ignored; instead the procedure described below is used to generate an
    access group.  This concept is due to Jeffrey M. Vinocur and you can add
    this line to readers.conf in order to use the nnrpd_access.py Python
    script in *pathfilter*:

        python_access: "nnrpd_access"

    In the old implementation, the authorization method allowed for access
    control on a per-group basis.  That functionality is preserved in the
    new implementation by the inclusion of the *python_dynamic* parameter in
    readers.conf.  The only change is the corresponding method name of
    "dynamic" as opposed to "authorize".  Additionally, the associated
    optional housekeeping methods "dynamic_init" and "dynamic_close" may be
    implemented if needed.  In order to use nnrpd_dynamic.py in
    *pathfilter*, you can add this line to readers.conf:

        python_dynamic: "nnrpd_dynamic"

    This new implementation should provide all of the previous capabilities
    of the Python hooks, in combination with the flexibility of readers.conf
    and the use of other authentication and resolving programs (including
    the Perl hooks!).  To use Python code that predates the new mechanism,
    you would need to modify the code slightly (see below for the new
    specification) and supply a simple readers.conf file.  If you do not
    want to modify your code, the sample directory has
    nnrpd_auth_wrapper.py, nnrpd_access_wrapper.py and
    nnrpd_dynamic_wrapper.py which should allow you to use your old code
    without needing to change it.

    However, before trying to use your old Python code, you may want to
    consider replacing it entirely with non-Python authentication.  (With
    readers.conf and the regular authenticator and resolver programs, much
    of what once required Python can be done directly.)  Even if the
    functionality is not available directly, you may wish to write a new
    authenticator or resolver (which can be done in whatever language you
    prefer).

  Python Authentication Support for nnrpd

    Support for authentication via Python is provided in nnrpd by the
    inclusion of a *python_auth* parameter in a readers.conf auth group. 
    *python_auth* works exactly like the *auth* parameter in readers.conf,
    except that it calls the script given as argument using the Python hook
    rather then treating it as an external program.  Multiple, mixed use of
    *python_auth* with other *auth* statements including *perl_auth* is
    permitted.  Each *auth* statement will be tried in the order they appear
    in the auth group until either one succeeds or all are exhausted.

    If the processing of readers.conf requires that a *python_auth*
    statement be used for authentication, Python is loaded (if it has yet to
    be) and the file given as argument to the *python_auth* parameter is
    loaded as well (do not include the ".py" extension of this file in the
    value of *python_auth*).  If a Python object with a method "authen_init"
    is hooked in during the loading of that file, then that method is called
    immediately after the file is loaded.  If no errors have occurred, the
    method "authenticate" is called.  Depending on the NNTP response code
    returned by "authenticate", the authentication hook either succeeds or
    fails, after which the processing of the auth group continues as usual. 
    When the connection with the client is closed, the method "authen_close"
    is called if it exists.

  Dynamic Generation of Access Groups

    A Python script may be used to dynamically generate an access group
    which is then used to determine the access rights of the client.  This
    occurs whenever the *python_access* parameter is specified in an auth
    group which has successfully matched the client.  Only one
    *python_access* statement is allowed in an auth group.  This parameter
    should not be mixed with a *perl_access* statement in the same auth
    group.

    When a *python_access* parameter is encountered, Python is loaded (if it
    has yet to be) and the file given as argument is loaded as well (do not
    include the ".py" extension of this file in the value of
    *python_access*).  If a Python object with a method "access_init" is
    hooked in during the loading of that file, then that method is called
    immediately after the file is loaded.  If no errors have occurred, the
    method "access" is called.  The dictionary returned by "access" is used
    to generate an access group that is then used to determine the access
    rights of the client.  When the connection with the client is closed,
    the method "access_close" is called, if it exists.

    While you may include the *users* parameter in a dynamically generated
    access group, some care should be taken (unless your pattern is just "*"
    which is equivalent to leaving the parameter out).  The group created
    with the values returned from the Python script is the only one
    considered when nnrpd attempts to find an access group matching the
    connection.  If a *users* parameter is included and it does not match
    the connection, then the client will be denied access since there are no
    other access groups which could match the connection.

  Dynamic Access Control

    If you need to have access control rules applied immediately without
    having to restart all the nnrpd processes, you may apply access control
    on a per newsgroup basis using the Python dynamic hooks (as opposed to
    readers.conf, which does the same on per user basis).  These hooks are
    activated through the inclusion of the *python_dynamic* parameter in a
    readers.conf auth group.  Only one *python_dynamic* statement is allowed
    in an auth group.

    When a *python_dynamic* parameter is encountered, Python is loaded (if
    it has yet to be) and the file given as argument is loaded as well (do
    not include the ".py" extension of this file in the value of
    *python_dynamic*).  If a Python object with a method "dynamic_init" is
    hooked in during the loading of that file, then that method is called
    immediately after the file is loaded.  Every time a reader asks nnrpd to
    read or post an article, the Python method "dynamic" is invoked before
    proceeding with the requested operation.  Based on the value returned by
    "dynamic", the operation is either permitted or denied.  When the
    connection with the client is closed, the method "access_close" is
    called if it exists.

  Writing a Python nnrpd Authentication Module

    You need to create a nnrpd_auth.py module in INN's filter directory (see
    the *pathfilter* setting in inn.conf) where you should define a class
    holding certain methods depending on which hooks you want to use.

    Note that you will have to use different Python scripts for
    authentication and access:  the values of *python_auth*, *python_access*
    and *python_dynamic* have to be distinct for your scripts to work.

    The following methods are known to nnrpd:

    __init__(*self*)
        Not explicitly called by nnrpd, but will run whenever the auth
        module is loaded.  Use this method to initialize any general
        variables or open a common database connection.  This method may be
        omitted.

    authen_init(*self*)
        Initialization function specific to authentication.  This method may
        be omitted.

    authenticate(*self*, *attributes*)
        Called when a *python_auth* statement is reached in the processing
        of readers.conf.  Connection attributes are passed in the
        *attributes* dictionary.  Returns a response code, an error string,
        and an optional string to be used in place of the client-supplied
        username (both for logging and for matching the connection with an
        access group).

    authen_close(*self*)
        This method is invoked on nnrpd termination.  You can use it to save
        state information or close a database connection.  This method may
        be omitted.

    access_init(*self*)
        Initialization function specific to generation of an access group. 
        This method may be omitted.

    access(*self*, *attributes*)
        Called when a *python_access* statement is reached in the processing
        of readers.conf.  Connection attributes are passed in the
        *attributes* dictionary.  Returns a dictionary of values
        representing statements to be included in an access group.

    access_close(*self*)
        This method is invoked on nnrpd termination.  You can use it to save
        state information or close a database connection.  This method may
        be omitted.

    dynamic_init(*self*)
        Initialization function specific to dynamic access control.  This
        method may be omitted.

    dynamic(*self*, *attributes*)
        Called when a client requests a newsgroup, an article or attempts to
        post.  Connection attributes are passed in the *attributes*
        dictionary.  Returns "None" to grant access, or a non-empty string
        (which will be reported back to the client) otherwise.

    dynamic_close(*self*)
        This method is invoked on nnrpd termination.  You can use it to save
        state information or close a database connection.  This method may
        be omitted.

  The *attributes* Dictionary

    The keys and associated values of the *attributes* dictionary are
    described below.

    *type*
        "read" or "post" values specify the authentication type; only valid
        for the "dynamic" method.

    *hostname*
        It is the resolved hostname (or IP address if resolution fails) of
        the connected reader.

    *ipaddress*
        The IP address of the connected reader.

    *port*
        The port of the connected reader.

    *interface*
        The hostname of the local endpoint of the NNTP connection.

    *intipaddr*
        The IP address of the local endpoint of the NNTP connection.

    *intport*
        The port of the local endpoint of the NNTP connection.

    *user*
        The username as passed with AUTHINFO command, or "None" if not
        applicable.

    *pass*
        The password as passed with AUTHINFO command, or "None" if not
        applicable.

    *newsgroup*
        The name of the newsgroup to which the reader requests read or post
        access; only valid for the "dynamic" method.

    All the above values are buffer objects (see the notes above on what
    buffer objects are).

  How to Use these Methods with nnrpd

    To register your methods with nnrpd, you need to create an instance of
    your class, import the built-in nnrpd module, and pass the instance to
    "nnrpd.set_auth_hook".  For example:

        class AUTH:
            def authen_init(self):
                ...
                blah blah
                ...

            def authenticate(self, attributes):
                ...
                yadda yadda
                ...

        import nnrpd
        myauth = AUTH()
        nnrpd.set_auth_hook(myauth)

    When writing and testing your Python filter, don't be afraid to make use
    of "try:"/"except:" and the provided "nnrpd.syslog" function.  stdout
    and stderr will be disabled, so your filter will die silently otherwise.

    Also, remember to try importing your module interactively before loading
    it, to ensure there are no obvious errors.  One typo can ruin your whole
    filter.  A dummy nnrpd.py module is provided to facilitate testing
    outside the server.  It is not actually used by nnrpd but provides the
    same set of functions as built-in nnrpd module. This stub module may be
    used when debugging your own module.  To test, change into your filter
    directory and use a command like:

        python -ic 'import nnrpd, nnrpd_auth'

  Functions Supplied by the Built-in nnrpd Module

    Besides "nnrpd.set_auth_hook" used to pass a reference to the instance
    of authentication and authorization class to nnrpd, the nnrpd built-in
    module exports the following function:

    syslog(*level*, *message*)
        It is intended to be a replacement for a Python native syslog.  It
        works like "INN.syslog", seen above.

    $Id: hook-python 7926 2008-06-29 08:27:41Z iulius $