exec code with timeout?

[Graham Fawcett]

OKB (not okblacke) wrote:

>    	I am fiddling around with a Python-based MUD which allows users to 
>code MUD objects in Python.  This code is executed from within the 
>server code with "exec".  
>
Danger, Will Robinson! Unchecked exec() calls are the path to ruin!

>However, sometimes errors in user code can 
>result in infinite loops, which cause the MUD to hang.  I am wondering 
>if there is a way to put a timeout on the exec, so that it returns 
>control to the main program if the user code doesn't return within a 
>certain amount of time.
>
>    	I am not concerned with security per se here -- in general I can 
>assume that any users who are using the MUD are trusted and will not 
>write malicious code.  
>

Hanlon's Razor:  "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately
explained by stupidity."

>I am chiefly aiming to catch simple, 
>unintentional programming errors. For instance, I don't want the MUD 
>to hang just because someone innocently forgot to include a break 
>inside a "while 1:" block.  All I need is a very crude form of control 
>-- a simple timeout would do.
>  
>

The Python 2.3 C API now provides a function, PyThreadState_SetAsyncExc, 
that
will let you raise an exception in another thread asynchronously, thereby
taking it down. But I don't think there's a Python wrapper function for 
it. I
suppose you could write your own...

The RestrictedPython module in Zope may suit your needs; it was designed 
for a
similar use scenario. Search the list, there was a discussion about
RestrictedPython not long ago.


-- Graham