[Python-ideas] make Connections iterable

[Ethan Furman]

On 01/09/2018 08:27 AM, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 9, 2018 at 11:12 PM, Random832 <random832 at fastmail.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, Jan 9, 2018, at 05:46, Nick Coghlan wrote:
>>> If you view them as comparable to subprocess pipes, then it can be
>>> surprising that they're not iterable when using a line-oriented
>>> protocol.
>>>
>>> If you instead view them as comparable to socket connections, then the
>>> lack of iteration support seems equally reasonable.
>>
>> Sockets are files - there's no fundamental reason a stream socket using a line-oriented protocol (which is a common enough case), or a datagram socket, shouldn't be iterable. Why aren't they? Making sockets iterable would be a separate discussion, but I don't think this is necessarily an argument.
>>
>
> Only in POSIX. On other platforms, sockets are most definitely NOT
> files. And datagram sockets don't really make sense to iterate over.
>
> Part of the problem with even POSIX stream sockets (either TCP or Unix
> domain) is what you do when there's nothing to read. Do you block,
> waiting for a line? Do you raise StopIteration and then subsequently
> become un-finished again (which, according to Python semantics, is a
> broken iterator)?

This.  Although it is technically broken, this is how reading from the console works.  I believe that falls under 
practicality beats purity.  ;)

--
~Ethan~