[Python-Dev] backport new server-side SSL to older Pythons?

[Bill Janssen]

> > I'd like to be able to backport this server-side SSL support to older
> > Pythons, like the 2.3.4 in CentOS 4 and the 2.3.5 in OS X 10.4.
> 
> That would have to be a private fork or a 3rd party extension module;
> python.org is committed to keeping existing releases stable
> (feature-wise).

Yes, that was my thinking -- just something for us holdouts to use.

> I think that it probably can be done, but beware that older Pythons
> (and you're going quite a while back!) may use different APIs for
> object creation/deletion, so you may end up having to do some work
> still.

Really?  2.3 to 2.6?  I've looked through the ChangeLog for _ssl.c,
and it does seem extensive.

 Also, those older versions may have (client-side) ssl support
> in their socket module -- isn't that going to conflict?

I don't think so.  Installing this package would upgrade that support
without modifying the existing functionality.

> Finally, some
> old Python versions may not like new openssl versions (I don't know if
> this is the case, but I wouldn't rule it out without testing).

Could be.  But it's the same OpenSSL that we're using to build the new
Python on that platform, so I think it should work.  It's more an
instance of the latest Python not liking older OpenSSL versions.

Bill