IPPort Class
Properties Methods Events Configuration Settings Errors
The IPPort Class is a generic TCP stream client based on an asynchronous, event-driven architecture.
Syntax
ipworks.ipport()
Remarks
The IPPort Class supports both plaintext and SSL/TLS connections. When connecting over SSL/TLS the SSLServerAuthentication event allows you to check the server identity and other security attributes. The SSLStatus event provides information about the SSL handshake. Additional SSL related settings are also supported via the Config method.
Our main goal in designing IPPort was ease of use. The class has a minimum of properties and five events: Connected, DataIn, Disconnected, ReadyToSend, and Error. The events are relatively self-explanatory.
The connection is attempted by calling the Connect method or setting the Connected property to True, and then waiting for the Connected event. The destination is defined by setting RemoteHost and RemotePort. Data is sent by calling the Send method with Text as a parameter, or by assigning the data string to the DataToSend property.
To disconnect, you just call the Disconnect method or set the Connected property to False. The Linger property controls how the connection is terminated.
The operation of the class is almost completely asynchronous. All the calls except the ones that deal with domain name resolution operate through asynchronous messages (no blocking calls). The gain in performance is considerable when compared to using blocking calls.
Property List
The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.
AcceptData | Enables or disables data reception (the DataIn event). |
BytesSent | The number of bytes actually sent after an assignment to DataToSend . |
Connected | Triggers a connection or disconnection. |
DataToSend | A string of data to be sent to the remote host. |
EOL | Used to break the incoming data stream into chunks separated by EOL. |
Firewall | A set of properties related to firewall access. |
KeepAlive | When True, KEEPALIVE packets are enabled (for long connections). |
Linger | When set to True, connections are terminated gracefully. |
LocalHost | The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted. |
LocalPort | The TCP port in the local host where the class binds. |
ReadyToSend | Indicates whether the class is ready to send data. |
RecordLength | The length of received data records. |
RemoteHost | The address of the remote host. Domain names are resolved to IP addresses. |
RemotePort | The TCP port in the remote host. |
SingleLineMode | Special mode for line-oriented protocols. |
SSLAcceptServerCert | Instructs the class to unconditionally accept the server certificate that matches the supplied certificate. |
SSLCert | The certificate to be used during SSL negotiation. |
SSLEnabled | Whether TLS/SSL is enabled. |
SSLServerCert | The server certificate for the last established connection. |
SSLStartMode | Determines how the class starts the SSL negotiation. |
Timeout | A timeout for the class. |
Method List
The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.
Config | Sets or retrieves a configuration setting. |
Connect | Connects to a remote host. |
Disconnect | Disconnects from the remote host. |
DoEvents | Processes events from the internal message queue. |
GetLine | Gets a line of text from the server. |
Interrupt | Interrupts the current action. |
Reset | Reset the class. |
Send | Sends data to the remote host. |
SendFile | Sends file to the remote host. |
SendLine | Sends a string followed by a newline. |
StartSSL | starts SSL negotiation on a plaintext connection. |
Event List
The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.
Connected | Fired immediately after a connection completes (or fails). |
ConnectionStatus | Fired to indicate changes in connection state. |
DataIn | Fired when data (complete lines) comes in. |
Disconnected | Fired when a connection is closed. |
Error | Information about errors during data delivery. |
ReadyToSend | Fired when the class is ready to send data. |
SSLServerAuthentication | Fired after the server presents its certificate to the client. |
SSLStatus | Shows the progress of the secure connection. |
Configuration Settings
The following is a list of configuration settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.
ConnectionTimeout | Sets a separate timeout value for establishing a connection. |
FirewallAutoDetect | Tells the class whether or not to automatically detect and use firewall system settings, if available. |
FirewallHost | Name or IP address of firewall (optional). |
FirewallPassword | Password to be used if authentication is to be used when connecting through the firewall. |
FirewallPort | The TCP port for the FirewallHost;. |
FirewallType | Determines the type of firewall to connect through. |
FirewallUser | A user name if authentication is to be used connecting through a firewall. |
KeepAliveInterval | The retry interval, in milliseconds, to be used when a TCP keep-alive packet is sent and no response is received. |
KeepAliveTime | The inactivity time in milliseconds before a TCP keep-alive packet is sent. |
Linger | When set to True, connections are terminated gracefully. |
LingerTime | Time in seconds to have the connection linger. |
LocalHost | The name of the local host through which connections are initiated or accepted. |
LocalPort | The port in the local host where the class binds. |
MaxLineLength | The maximum amount of data to accumulate when no EOL is found. |
MaxTransferRate | The transfer rate limit in bytes per second. |
ProxyExceptionsList | A semicolon separated list of hosts and IPs to bypass when using a proxy. |
TCPKeepAlive | Determines whether or not the keep alive socket option is enabled. |
TcpNoDelay | Whether or not to delay when sending packets. |
UseIPv6 | Whether to use IPv6. |
LogSSLPackets | Controls whether SSL packets are logged when using the internal security API. |
OpenSSLCADir | The path to a directory containing CA certificates. |
OpenSSLCAFile | Name of the file containing the list of CA's trusted by your application. |
OpenSSLCipherList | A string that controls the ciphers to be used by SSL. |
OpenSSLPrngSeedData | The data to seed the pseudo random number generator (PRNG). |
ReuseSSLSession | Determines if the SSL session is reused. |
SSLAcceptAnyServerCert | Whether to trust any certificate presented by the server. |
SSLCACerts | A newline separated list of CA certificate to use during SSL client authentication. |
SSLCipherStrength | The minimum cipher strength used for bulk encryption. |
SSLEnabledCipherSuites | The cipher suite to be used in an SSL negotiation. |
SSLEnabledProtocols | Used to enable/disable the supported security protocols. |
SSLEnableRenegotiation | Whether the renegotiation_info SSL extension is supported. |
SSLIncludeCertChain | Whether the entire certificate chain is included in the SSLServerAuthentication event. |
SSLNegotiatedCipher | Returns the negotiated ciphersuite. |
SSLNegotiatedCipherStrength | Returns the negotiated ciphersuite strength. |
SSLNegotiatedCipherSuite | Returns the negotiated ciphersuite. |
SSLNegotiatedKeyExchange | Returns the negotiated key exchange algorithm. |
SSLNegotiatedKeyExchangeStrength | Returns the negotiated key exchange algorithm strength. |
SSLNegotiatedVersion | Returns the negotiated protocol version. |
SSLProvider | The name of the security provider to use. |
SSLSecurityFlags | Flags that control certificate verification. |
SSLServerCACerts | A newline separated list of CA certificate to use during SSL server certificate validation. |
TLS12SignatureAlgorithms | Defines the allowed TLS 1.2 signature algorithms when UseInternalSecurityAPI is True. |
TLS12SupportedGroups | The supported groups for ECC. |
TLS13KeyShareGroups | The groups for which to pregenerate key shares. |
TLS13SignatureAlgorithms | The allowed certificate signature algorithms. |
TLS13SupportedGroups | The supported groups for (EC)DHE key exchange. |
AbsoluteTimeout | Determines whether timeouts are inactivity timeouts or absolute timeouts. |
FirewallData | Used to send extra data to the firewall. |
InBufferSize | The size in bytes of the incoming queue of the socket. |
OutBufferSize | The size in bytes of the outgoing queue of the socket. |
BuildInfo | Information about the product's build. |
CodePage | The system code page used for Unicode to Multibyte translations. |
LicenseInfo | Information about the current license. |
UseInternalSecurityAPI | Tells the class whether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation. |