[Python-Dev] dictionary order

[John J Lee]

On Sun, 28 May 2006, Armin Rigo wrote:
[...]
> Now I'm stumbling upon this test for urllib2:
>
>    >>> mgr = urllib2.HTTPPasswordMgr()
>    >>> add = mgr.add_password
>    >>> add("Some Realm", "http://example.com/", "joe", "password")
>    >>> add("Some Realm", "http://example.com/ni", "ni", "ni")
>    (...)
>
>    Currently, we use the highest-level path where more than one
>    match:
>
>    >>> mgr.find_user_password("Some Realm", "http://example.com/ni")
>    ('joe', 'password')
>
> Returning the outermost path is a bit strange, if you ask me, but I am
> no expert here.  Stranger is the fact that the actual implement actually
> returns, not the outermost path at all -- there is no code to do that --
> but a random pick, the first match in dictionary order.  The comment in
> the test is just misleading.  I believe that urllib2 should be fixed to
> always return the *innermost* path, but I need confirmation about
> this...

I noticed the same things, and in fact I think this was fixed before you 
posted :-)

FWIW, here are the details:

The checkin was from Georg as -r 46509, patch was 
http://python.org/sf/1496206

Part of the comment on the patch:

"""
The patch also comments out one test which was testing
something not actually guaranteed by the code at all --
it was passing by fluke. The code it's trying to test
could do with some review, which is why I left this
test commented out rather than deleting the test (but
that is a long-standing issue unrelated to this patch,
so should not block this patch from being applied).
"""

Recently I have been slowly working my way through urllib2 auth, fixing 
bugs and adding tests as I go.  This particular issue is horribly unclear 
in the RFC, though, and I haven't yet got round to the necessary checking 
of real-world behaviour.


John