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+
+:mod:`nntplib` --- NNTP protocol client
+=======================================
+
+.. module:: nntplib
+ :synopsis: NNTP protocol client (requires sockets).
+
+
+.. index::
+ pair: NNTP; protocol
+ single: Network News Transfer Protocol
+
+This module defines the class :class:`NNTP` which implements the client side of
+the NNTP protocol. It can be used to implement a news reader or poster, or
+automated news processors. For more information on NNTP (Network News Transfer
+Protocol), see Internet :rfc:`977`.
+
+Here are two small examples of how it can be used. To list some statistics
+about a newsgroup and print the subjects of the last 10 articles::
+
+ >>> s = NNTP('news.cwi.nl')
+ >>> resp, count, first, last, name = s.group('comp.lang.python')
+ >>> print 'Group', name, 'has', count, 'articles, range', first, 'to', last
+ Group comp.lang.python has 59 articles, range 3742 to 3803
+ >>> resp, subs = s.xhdr('subject', first + '-' + last)
+ >>> for id, sub in subs[-10:]: print id, sub
+ ...
+ 3792 Re: Removing elements from a list while iterating...
+ 3793 Re: Who likes Info files?
+ 3794 Emacs and doc strings
+ 3795 a few questions about the Mac implementation
+ 3796 Re: executable python scripts
+ 3797 Re: executable python scripts
+ 3798 Re: a few questions about the Mac implementation
+ 3799 Re: PROPOSAL: A Generic Python Object Interface for Python C Modules
+ 3802 Re: executable python scripts
+ 3803 Re: \POSIX{} wait and SIGCHLD
+ >>> s.quit()
+ '205 news.cwi.nl closing connection. Goodbye.'
+
+To post an article from a file (this assumes that the article has valid
+headers)::
+
+ >>> s = NNTP('news.cwi.nl')
+ >>> f = open('/tmp/article')
+ >>> s.post(f)
+ '240 Article posted successfully.'
+ >>> s.quit()
+ '205 news.cwi.nl closing connection. Goodbye.'
+
+The module itself defines the following items:
+
+
+.. class:: NNTP(host[, port [, user[, password [, readermode] [, usenetrc]]]])
+
+ Return a new instance of the :class:`NNTP` class, representing a connection
+ to the NNTP server running on host *host*, listening at port *port*. The
+ default *port* is 119. If the optional *user* and *password* are provided,
+ or if suitable credentials are present in :file:`/.netrc` and the optional
+ flag *usenetrc* is true (the default), the ``AUTHINFO USER`` and ``AUTHINFO
+ PASS`` commands are used to identify and authenticate the user to the server.
+ If the optional flag *readermode* is true, then a ``mode reader`` command is
+ sent before authentication is performed. Reader mode is sometimes necessary
+ if you are connecting to an NNTP server on the local machine and intend to
+ call reader-specific commands, such as ``group``. If you get unexpected
+ :exc:`NNTPPermanentError`\ s, you might need to set *readermode*.
+ *readermode* defaults to ``None``. *usenetrc* defaults to ``True``.
+
+ .. versionchanged:: 2.4
+ *usenetrc* argument added.
+
+
+.. exception:: NNTPError
+
+ Derived from the standard exception :exc:`Exception`, this is the base class for
+ all exceptions raised by the :mod:`nntplib` module.
+
+
+.. exception:: NNTPReplyError
+
+ Exception raised when an unexpected reply is received from the server. For
+ backwards compatibility, the exception ``error_reply`` is equivalent to this
+ class.
+
+
+.. exception:: NNTPTemporaryError
+
+ Exception raised when an error code in the range 400--499 is received. For
+ backwards compatibility, the exception ``error_temp`` is equivalent to this
+ class.
+
+
+.. exception:: NNTPPermanentError
+
+ Exception raised when an error code in the range 500--599 is received. For
+ backwards compatibility, the exception ``error_perm`` is equivalent to this
+ class.
+
+
+.. exception:: NNTPProtocolError
+
+ Exception raised when a reply is received from the server that does not begin
+ with a digit in the range 1--5. For backwards compatibility, the exception
+ ``error_proto`` is equivalent to this class.
+
+
+.. exception:: NNTPDataError
+
+ Exception raised when there is some error in the response data. For backwards
+ compatibility, the exception ``error_data`` is equivalent to this class.
+
+
+.. _nntp-objects:
+
+NNTP Objects
+------------
+
+NNTP instances have the following methods. The *response* that is returned as
+the first item in the return tuple of almost all methods is the server's
+response: a string beginning with a three-digit code. If the server's response
+indicates an error, the method raises one of the above exceptions.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.getwelcome()
+
+ Return the welcome message sent by the server in reply to the initial
+ connection. (This message sometimes contains disclaimers or help information
+ that may be relevant to the user.)
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.set_debuglevel(level)
+
+ Set the instance's debugging level. This controls the amount of debugging
+ output printed. The default, ``0``, produces no debugging output. A value of
+ ``1`` produces a moderate amount of debugging output, generally a single line
+ per request or response. A value of ``2`` or higher produces the maximum amount
+ of debugging output, logging each line sent and received on the connection
+ (including message text).
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.newgroups(date, time, [file])
+
+ Send a ``NEWGROUPS`` command. The *date* argument should be a string of the
+ form ``'yymmdd'`` indicating the date, and *time* should be a string of the form
+ ``'hhmmss'`` indicating the time. Return a pair ``(response, groups)`` where
+ *groups* is a list of group names that are new since the given date and time. If
+ the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the ``NEWGROUPS`` command
+ is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method will open a file
+ object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object,
+ then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the command
+ output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.newnews(group, date, time, [file])
+
+ Send a ``NEWNEWS`` command. Here, *group* is a group name or ``'*'``, and
+ *date* and *time* have the same meaning as for :meth:`newgroups`. Return a pair
+ ``(response, articles)`` where *articles* is a list of message ids. If the
+ *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the ``NEWNEWS`` command is
+ stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method will open a file
+ object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object,
+ then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the command
+ output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.list([file])
+
+ Send a ``LIST`` command. Return a pair ``(response, list)`` where *list* is a
+ list of tuples. Each tuple has the form ``(group, last, first, flag)``, where
+ *group* is a group name, *last* and *first* are the last and first article
+ numbers (as strings), and *flag* is ``'y'`` if posting is allowed, ``'n'`` if
+ not, and ``'m'`` if the newsgroup is moderated. (Note the ordering: *last*,
+ *first*.) If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the ``LIST``
+ command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method will open
+ a file object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file* is a file
+ object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the
+ command output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty
+ list.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.descriptions(grouppattern)
+
+ Send a ``LIST NEWSGROUPS`` command, where *grouppattern* is a wildmat string as
+ specified in RFC2980 (it's essentially the same as DOS or UNIX shell wildcard
+ strings). Return a pair ``(response, list)``, where *list* is a list of tuples
+ containing ``(name, title)``.
+
+ .. versionadded:: 2.4
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.description(group)
+
+ Get a description for a single group *group*. If more than one group matches
+ (if 'group' is a real wildmat string), return the first match. If no group
+ matches, return an empty string.
+
+ This elides the response code from the server. If the response code is needed,
+ use :meth:`descriptions`.
+
+ .. versionadded:: 2.4
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.group(name)
+
+ Send a ``GROUP`` command, where *name* is the group name. Return a tuple
+ ``(response, count, first, last, name)`` where *count* is the (estimated) number
+ of articles in the group, *first* is the first article number in the group,
+ *last* is the last article number in the group, and *name* is the group name.
+ The numbers are returned as strings.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.help([file])
+
+ Send a ``HELP`` command. Return a pair ``(response, list)`` where *list* is a
+ list of help strings. If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of
+ the ``HELP`` command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the
+ method will open a file object with that name, write to it then close it. If
+ *file* is a file object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store
+ the lines of the command output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list*
+ is an empty list.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.stat(id)
+
+ Send a ``STAT`` command, where *id* is the message id (enclosed in ``'<'`` and
+ ``'>'``) or an article number (as a string). Return a triple ``(response,
+ number, id)`` where *number* is the article number (as a string) and *id* is the
+ message id (enclosed in ``'<'`` and ``'>'``).
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.next()
+
+ Send a ``NEXT`` command. Return as for :meth:`stat`.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.last()
+
+ Send a ``LAST`` command. Return as for :meth:`stat`.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.head(id)
+
+ Send a ``HEAD`` command, where *id* has the same meaning as for :meth:`stat`.
+ Return a tuple ``(response, number, id, list)`` where the first three are the
+ same as for :meth:`stat`, and *list* is a list of the article's headers (an
+ uninterpreted list of lines, without trailing newlines).
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.body(id,[file])
+
+ Send a ``BODY`` command, where *id* has the same meaning as for :meth:`stat`.
+ If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the body is stored in a file. If
+ *file* is a string, then the method will open a file object with that name,
+ write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object, then it will start
+ calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the body. Return as for
+ :meth:`head`. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.article(id)
+
+ Send an ``ARTICLE`` command, where *id* has the same meaning as for
+ :meth:`stat`. Return as for :meth:`head`.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.slave()
+
+ Send a ``SLAVE`` command. Return the server's *response*.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.xhdr(header, string, [file])
+
+ Send an ``XHDR`` command. This command is not defined in the RFC but is a
+ common extension. The *header* argument is a header keyword, e.g.
+ ``'subject'``. The *string* argument should have the form ``'first-last'``
+ where *first* and *last* are the first and last article numbers to search.
+ Return a pair ``(response, list)``, where *list* is a list of pairs ``(id,
+ text)``, where *id* is an article number (as a string) and *text* is the text of
+ the requested header for that article. If the *file* parameter is supplied, then
+ the output of the ``XHDR`` command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string,
+ then the method will open a file object with that name, write to it then close
+ it. If *file* is a file object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it
+ to store the lines of the command output. If *file* is supplied, then the
+ returned *list* is an empty list.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.post(file)
+
+ Post an article using the ``POST`` command. The *file* argument is an open file
+ object which is read until EOF using its :meth:`readline` method. It should be
+ a well-formed news article, including the required headers. The :meth:`post`
+ method automatically escapes lines beginning with ``.``.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.ihave(id, file)
+
+ Send an ``IHAVE`` command. *id* is a message id (enclosed in ``'<'`` and
+ ``'>'``). If the response is not an error, treat *file* exactly as for the
+ :meth:`post` method.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.date()
+
+ Return a triple ``(response, date, time)``, containing the current date and time
+ in a form suitable for the :meth:`newnews` and :meth:`newgroups` methods. This
+ is an optional NNTP extension, and may not be supported by all servers.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.xgtitle(name, [file])
+
+ Process an ``XGTITLE`` command, returning a pair ``(response, list)``, where
+ *list* is a list of tuples containing ``(name, title)``. If the *file* parameter
+ is supplied, then the output of the ``XGTITLE`` command is stored in a file.
+ If *file* is a string, then the method will open a file object with that name,
+ write to it then close it. If *file* is a file object, then it will start
+ calling :meth:`write` on it to store the lines of the command output. If *file*
+ is supplied, then the returned *list* is an empty list. This is an optional NNTP
+ extension, and may not be supported by all servers.
+
+ RFC2980 says "It is suggested that this extension be deprecated". Use
+ :meth:`descriptions` or :meth:`description` instead.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.xover(start, end, [file])
+
+ Return a pair ``(resp, list)``. *list* is a list of tuples, one for each
+ article in the range delimited by the *start* and *end* article numbers. Each
+ tuple is of the form ``(article number, subject, poster, date, id, references,
+ size, lines)``. If the *file* parameter is supplied, then the output of the
+ ``XOVER`` command is stored in a file. If *file* is a string, then the method
+ will open a file object with that name, write to it then close it. If *file*
+ is a file object, then it will start calling :meth:`write` on it to store the
+ lines of the command output. If *file* is supplied, then the returned *list* is
+ an empty list. This is an optional NNTP extension, and may not be supported by
+ all servers.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.xpath(id)
+
+ Return a pair ``(resp, path)``, where *path* is the directory path to the
+ article with message ID *id*. This is an optional NNTP extension, and may not
+ be supported by all servers.
+
+
+.. method:: NNTP.quit()
+
+ Send a ``QUIT`` command and close the connection. Once this method has been
+ called, no other methods of the NNTP object should be called.
+