Python - SOAPpy and HTTP Authentication

The other week I was wanting to use a SOAP web service that was protected by http basic authentication. I could not find a way to do the authentication with SOAPpy. I looked everywhere for an example before I stumbled upon a version of the below code in an archived newsgroup post.

from SOAPpy import Config, HTTPTransport, SOAPAddress, WSDL

class myHTTPTransport(HTTPTransport):
    username = None
    passwd = None
    
    @classmethod
    def setAuthentication(cls,u,p):
        cls.username = u
        cls.passwd = p
          
    def call(self, addr, data, namespace, soapaction=None, encoding=None,
             http_proxy=None, config=Config):
        
        if not isinstance(addr, SOAPAddress):
            addr=SOAPAddress(addr, config)
            
        if self.username != None:
            addr.user = self.username+":"+self.passwd
            
        return HTTPTransport.call(self, addr, data, namespace, soapaction,
                                  encoding, http_proxy, config)
    

if __name__ == '__main__':
    wsdlFile = 'http://localhost/soap/wsdl/'
    myHTTPTransport.setAuthentication('gollum', 'myprecious')
    server = WSDL.Proxy(wsdlFile, transport=myHTTPTransport)
    print server.ApiVersion()

It works because you can specify your own transport to the WSDL.Proxy using Python's **kw feature. The original author subclassed the default transport in Client.HTTPTransport and added a static class method to supply the basic authentication.

IBM's developerWorks - JavaScript and Ajax Tutorial Series

One of my often visited bookmarks is IBM's developerWorks site. The site is virtual library of technical information and tutorials.

In September 2006, Brett McLaughlin, Author and Editor with O'Reilly Media Inc, concluded his six part series on JavaScript, Ajax and the Document Object Model (DOM). Part one of the series starts with a quick-paced introduction to what Ajax is and how it works, follows with the use of the XMLHttpRequest object for Web requests and understanding the HTTP status codes it returns. The remaining parts of the series focus on how to mix JavaScript and the DOM to create interactive Ajax applications.

It is a great series that I still reference now and then when in the midst of a project.

• Mastering Ajax, Part 1: Introduction to Ajax
• Mastering Ajax, Part 2: Make asynchronous requests with JavaScript and Ajax
• Mastering Ajax, Part 3: Advanced requests and responses in Ajax
• Mastering Ajax, Part 4: Exploiting DOM for Web response
• Mastering Ajax, Part 5: Manipulate the DOM
• Mastering Ajax, Part 6: Build DOM-based Web applications