mod_python and open HTTP connection

[Kane]

> Does mod_python time out after a minute ?

No, but the browser may timeout.  Sending a periodic bit-o-data on a
long running page is a good idea anyway (so the user knows it is still
working).

>If I leave  an HTTP connection open so that the content keeps loading inside the
>browser window indefinately, and if I close the browser window, the
>mod_python process is terminated, right?

In general this is not an issue.  However it depends to some degree on
what your mod_python program is doing.  Here is a really, REALLY feeble
example w/publisher:

def ping(req, target_ip):
  import commands
  output = commands.getoutput('ping -c 10000 %s' % target_ip)
  return output

Even if the user closes the window or hits 'stop' the process stays
until the ping finishes.  In this example this is merely annoying (10k
pings takes almost 3 hours) but if it had been 'fping -el %s' instead
you would be in real trouble (since it would never exit).

Restarting apache clears such zombie processes.

btw, 'ping' as written above is horrible.  If a code review turned
_that_ up on production someone would be fired, along with whoever
hired them, whoever ate lunch with them and anyone that waves goodbye.