Ubuntu Manpage: transfer::connect

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

_________________________________________________________________

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 established.  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 namespace 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 specifications.

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 compatible 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, without making this package
explicitly dependent on the tls package.

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

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>