Re: ra_svn and thread-safety/initialization

Here is my current thinking on the issue:

  * On reflection, Cyrus SASL is not acceptable for use within a
library, because it uses global state. Subversion would conflict with
any other library or any application which also uses the Cyrus SASL
library. I've sent mail to the IETF working group working on
standardizing C-language bindings for SASL, in hopes that this might get
addressed some day.

  * There is another implementation, libgsasl, which does not have the
same problems; it uses a global context for initialization and
destruction as well as a per-connection context. The implementation may
not be as mature as Cyrus's, but it may be worth a try. (gnus is using
libgsasl via its command-line "gsasl" front end by default now, so it's
experiencing some field testing.)

  * If that doesn't work out, I'll probably look into solutions using
subprocesses (either using the tunnel agent mechanism or some new
"authentication agent" mechanism which would preserve the existing
protocol).

So, I think I've ruled out the option which would require a static
initializer.

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Received on Mon Jun 2 07:08:37 2003