python dialer / python telephony?

[Scherer, Bill]

[posted & mailed]

On Sat, 8 Feb 2003, Kenneth Godee wrote:

> Does anyone know of any python related projects/libs
> that involve some telephone dialing routines......

Yes, sort of.

> (low end)
> python controls serial port and uses modem to
> dial number, user picks up analog phone and drops modem
> (very low end, cheap)

No, not this part.
 
> (high end)
> telephony type boards that do the dialing from a given
> number and monitor call status, detect dial tone, busy signal
> hang ups, can flash hook, etc.
> (very high end, expensive)

I have swig'ed Dialogic drivers. I have a box with a D-160SC LS  
board, running Linux.  It can both dial out and answer incoming 
calls. Combined with a TTS engine, spread, and the std lib, you 
have a very powerful IVR platform.

>From my POV, the libraries are large and kludgy.  I'm certain my 
swigging was substationally sub-optimal. I just kept hacking at 
it until I exposed the minimum functionality I needed.  I suspect 
using shadow classes may have helped, but I was unfamiliar with 
that capability at the time.

It was a difficult fight, but once that was over, actually 
creating apps in Python was relatively painless.

> (very high end, expensive)

Well, maybe. The drivers are available for download from Intel's 
Dialogic site. Maybe you can get a board on EBay for cheap?

-- 
Bill.Scherer at Verizon Wireless
RHCE 807101044903581