:mod:`httplib` --- HTTP protocol client ======================================= .. module:: httplib :synopsis: HTTP and HTTPS protocol client (requires sockets). .. note:: The :mod:`httplib` module has been renamed to :mod:`http.client` in Python 3. The :term:`2to3` tool will automatically adapt imports when converting your sources to Python 3. .. index:: pair: HTTP; protocol single: HTTP; httplib (standard module) .. index:: module: urllib **Source code:** :source:`Lib/httplib.py` -------------- This module defines classes which implement the client side of the HTTP and HTTPS protocols. It is normally not used directly --- the module :mod:`urllib` uses it to handle URLs that use HTTP and HTTPS. .. seealso:: The `Requests package <http://requests.readthedocs.org/>`_ is recommended for a higher-level HTTP client interface. .. note:: HTTPS support is only available if the :mod:`socket` module was compiled with SSL support. .. note:: The public interface for this module changed substantially in Python 2.0. The :class:`HTTP` class is retained only for backward compatibility with 1.5.2. It should not be used in new code. Refer to the online docstrings for usage. The module provides the following classes: .. class:: HTTPConnection(host[, port[, strict[, timeout[, source_address]]]]) An :class:`HTTPConnection` instance represents one transaction with an HTTP server. It should be instantiated passing it a host and optional port number. If no port number is passed, the port is extracted from the host string if it has the form ``host:port``, else the default HTTP port (80) is used. When true, the optional parameter *strict* (which defaults to a false value) causes ``BadStatusLine`` to be raised if the status line can't be parsed as a valid HTTP/1.0 or 1.1 status line. If the optional *timeout* parameter is given, blocking operations (like connection attempts) will timeout after that many seconds (if it is not given, the global default timeout setting is used). The optional *source_address* parameter may be a tuple of a (host, port) to use as the source address the HTTP connection is made from. For example, the following calls all create instances that connect to the server at the same host and port:: >>> h1 = httplib.HTTPConnection('www.cwi.nl') >>> h2 = httplib.HTTPConnection('www.cwi.nl:80') >>> h3 = httplib.HTTPConnection('www.cwi.nl', 80) >>> h3 = httplib.HTTPConnection('www.cwi.nl', 80, timeout=10) .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. versionchanged:: 2.6 *timeout* was added. .. versionchanged:: 2.7 *source_address* was added. .. class:: HTTPSConnection(host[, port[, key_file[, cert_file[, strict[, timeout[, source_address[, context]]]]]]]) A subclass of :class:`HTTPConnection` that uses SSL for communication with secure servers. Default port is ``443``. If *context* is specified, it must be a :class:`ssl.SSLContext` instance describing the various SSL options. *key_file* and *cert_file* are deprecated, please use :meth:`ssl.SSLContext.load_cert_chain` instead, or let :func:`ssl.create_default_context` select the system's trusted CA certificates for you. Please read :ref:`ssl-security` for more information on best practices. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. versionchanged:: 2.6 *timeout* was added. .. versionchanged:: 2.7 *source_address* was added. .. versionchanged:: 2.7.9 *context* was added. This class now performs all the necessary certificate and hostname checks by default. To revert to the previous, unverified, behavior :func:`ssl._create_unverified_context` can be passed to the *context* parameter. .. class:: HTTPResponse(sock, debuglevel=0, strict=0) Class whose instances are returned upon successful connection. Not instantiated directly by user. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. class:: HTTPMessage An :class:`HTTPMessage` instance is used to hold the headers from an HTTP response. It is implemented using the :class:`mimetools.Message` class and provides utility functions to deal with HTTP Headers. It is not directly instantiated by the users. The following exceptions are raised as appropriate: .. exception:: HTTPException The base class of the other exceptions in this module. It is a subclass of :exc:`Exception`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: NotConnected A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: InvalidURL A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`, raised if a port is given and is either non-numeric or empty. .. versionadded:: 2.3 .. exception:: UnknownProtocol A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: UnknownTransferEncoding A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: UnimplementedFileMode A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: IncompleteRead A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: ImproperConnectionState A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: CannotSendRequest A subclass of :exc:`ImproperConnectionState`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: CannotSendHeader A subclass of :exc:`ImproperConnectionState`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: ResponseNotReady A subclass of :exc:`ImproperConnectionState`. .. versionadded:: 2.0 .. exception:: BadStatusLine A subclass of :exc:`HTTPException`. Raised if a server responds with a HTTP status code that we don't understand. .. versionadded:: 2.0 The constants defined in this module are: .. data:: HTTP_PORT The default port for the HTTP protocol (always ``80``). .. data:: HTTPS_PORT The default port for the HTTPS protocol (always ``443``). and also the following constants for integer status codes: +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Constant | Value | Definition | +==========================================+=========+=======================================================================+ | :const:`CONTINUE` | ``100`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.1.1 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.1.1>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`SWITCHING_PROTOCOLS` | ``101`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.1.2 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.1.2>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`PROCESSING` | ``102`` | WEBDAV, `RFC 2518, Section 10.1 | | | | <http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc2518.html#STATUS_102>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`OK` | ``200`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.1 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.1>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`CREATED` | ``201`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.2 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.2>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`ACCEPTED` | ``202`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.3 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.3>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NON_AUTHORITATIVE_INFORMATION` | ``203`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.4 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.4>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NO_CONTENT` | ``204`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.5 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.5>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`RESET_CONTENT` | ``205`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.6 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.6>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`PARTIAL_CONTENT` | ``206`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.2.7 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.2.7>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`MULTI_STATUS` | ``207`` | WEBDAV `RFC 2518, Section 10.2 | | | | <http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc2518.html#STATUS_207>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`IM_USED` | ``226`` | Delta encoding in HTTP, | | | | :rfc:`3229`, Section 10.4.1 | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`MULTIPLE_CHOICES` | ``300`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.1 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.1>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`MOVED_PERMANENTLY` | ``301`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.2 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.2>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`FOUND` | ``302`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.3 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.3>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`SEE_OTHER` | ``303`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.4 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.4>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NOT_MODIFIED` | ``304`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.5 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.5>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`USE_PROXY` | ``305`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.6 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.6>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`TEMPORARY_REDIRECT` | ``307`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.3.8 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.3.8>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`BAD_REQUEST` | ``400`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.1 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.1>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`UNAUTHORIZED` | ``401`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.2 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.2>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`PAYMENT_REQUIRED` | ``402`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.3 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.3>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`FORBIDDEN` | ``403`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.4 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.4>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NOT_FOUND` | ``404`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.5 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.5>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED` | ``405`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.6 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.6>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NOT_ACCEPTABLE` | ``406`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.7 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.7>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`PROXY_AUTHENTICATION_REQUIRED` | ``407`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.8 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.8>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`REQUEST_TIMEOUT` | ``408`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.9 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.9>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`CONFLICT` | ``409`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.10 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.10>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`GONE` | ``410`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.11 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.11>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`LENGTH_REQUIRED` | ``411`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.12 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.12>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`PRECONDITION_FAILED` | ``412`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.13 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.13>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`REQUEST_ENTITY_TOO_LARGE` | ``413`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.14 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.14>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`REQUEST_URI_TOO_LONG` | ``414`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.15 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.15>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`UNSUPPORTED_MEDIA_TYPE` | ``415`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.16 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.16>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`REQUESTED_RANGE_NOT_SATISFIABLE` | ``416`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.17 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.17>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`EXPECTATION_FAILED` | ``417`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.4.18 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.4.18>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY` | ``422`` | WEBDAV, `RFC 2518, Section 10.3 | | | | <http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc2518.html#STATUS_422>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`LOCKED` | ``423`` | WEBDAV `RFC 2518, Section 10.4 | | | | <http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc2518.html#STATUS_423>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`FAILED_DEPENDENCY` | ``424`` | WEBDAV, `RFC 2518, Section 10.5 | | | | <http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc2518.html#STATUS_424>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`UPGRADE_REQUIRED` | ``426`` | HTTP Upgrade to TLS, | | | | :rfc:`2817`, Section 6 | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR` | ``500`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.5.1 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.5.1>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NOT_IMPLEMENTED` | ``501`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.5.2 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.5.2>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`BAD_GATEWAY` | ``502`` | HTTP/1.1 `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.5.3 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.5.3>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE` | ``503`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.5.4 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.5.4>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`GATEWAY_TIMEOUT` | ``504`` | HTTP/1.1 `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.5.5 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.5.5>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`HTTP_VERSION_NOT_SUPPORTED` | ``505`` | HTTP/1.1, `RFC 2616, Section | | | | 10.5.6 | | | | <http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html#sec10.5.6>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE` | ``507`` | WEBDAV, `RFC 2518, Section 10.6 | | | | <http://www.webdav.org/specs/rfc2518.html#STATUS_507>`_ | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | :const:`NOT_EXTENDED` | ``510`` | An HTTP Extension Framework, | | | | :rfc:`2774`, Section 7 | +------------------------------------------+---------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ .. data:: responses This dictionary maps the HTTP 1.1 status codes to the W3C names. Example: ``httplib.responses[httplib.NOT_FOUND]`` is ``'Not Found'``. .. versionadded:: 2.5 .. _httpconnection-objects: HTTPConnection Objects ---------------------- :class:`HTTPConnection` instances have the following methods: .. method:: HTTPConnection.request(method, url[, body[, headers]]) This will send a request to the server using the HTTP request method *method* and the selector *url*. If the *body* argument is present, it should be a string of data to send after the headers are finished. Alternatively, it may be an open file object, in which case the contents of the file is sent; this file object should support ``fileno()`` and ``read()`` methods. The *headers* argument should be a mapping of extra HTTP headers to send with the request. If one is not provided in *headers*, a ``Content-Length`` header is added automatically for all methods if the length of the body can be determined, either from the length of the ``str`` representation, or from the reported size of the file on disk. If *body* is ``None`` the header is not set except for methods that expect a body (``PUT``, ``POST``, and ``PATCH``) in which case it is set to ``0``. .. versionchanged:: 2.6 *body* can be a file object. .. method:: HTTPConnection.getresponse() Should be called after a request is sent to get the response from the server. Returns an :class:`HTTPResponse` instance. .. note:: Note that you must have read the whole response before you can send a new request to the server. .. method:: HTTPConnection.set_debuglevel(level) Set the debugging level (the amount of debugging output printed). The default debug level is ``0``, meaning no debugging output is printed. .. method:: HTTPConnection.set_tunnel(host,port=None, headers=None) Set the host and the port for HTTP Connect Tunnelling. Normally used when it is required to do HTTPS Conection through a proxy server. The headers argument should be a mapping of extra HTTP headers to send with the CONNECT request. .. versionadded:: 2.7 .. method:: HTTPConnection.connect() Connect to the server specified when the object was created. .. method:: HTTPConnection.close() Close the connection to the server. As an alternative to using the :meth:`request` method described above, you can also send your request step by step, by using the four functions below. .. method:: HTTPConnection.putrequest(request, selector[, skip_host[, skip_accept_encoding]]) This should be the first call after the connection to the server has been made. It sends a line to the server consisting of the *request* string, the *selector* string, and the HTTP version (``HTTP/1.1``). To disable automatic sending of ``Host:`` or ``Accept-Encoding:`` headers (for example to accept additional content encodings), specify *skip_host* or *skip_accept_encoding* with non-False values. .. versionchanged:: 2.4 *skip_accept_encoding* argument added. .. method:: HTTPConnection.putheader(header, argument[, ...]) Send an :rfc:`822`\ -style header to the server. It sends a line to the server consisting of the header, a colon and a space, and the first argument. If more arguments are given, continuation lines are sent, each consisting of a tab and an argument. .. method:: HTTPConnection.endheaders(message_body=None) Send a blank line to the server, signalling the end of the headers. The optional *message_body* argument can be used to pass a message body associated with the request. The message body will be sent in the same packet as the message headers if it is string, otherwise it is sent in a separate packet. .. versionchanged:: 2.7 *message_body* was added. .. method:: HTTPConnection.send(data) Send data to the server. This should be used directly only after the :meth:`endheaders` method has been called and before :meth:`getresponse` is called. .. _httpresponse-objects: HTTPResponse Objects -------------------- :class:`HTTPResponse` instances have the following methods and attributes: .. method:: HTTPResponse.read([amt]) Reads and returns the response body, or up to the next *amt* bytes. .. method:: HTTPResponse.getheader(name[, default]) Get the contents of the header *name*, or *default* if there is no matching header. .. method:: HTTPResponse.getheaders() Return a list of (header, value) tuples. .. versionadded:: 2.4 .. method:: HTTPResponse.fileno() Returns the ``fileno`` of the underlying socket. .. attribute:: HTTPResponse.msg A :class:`mimetools.Message` instance containing the response headers. .. attribute:: HTTPResponse.version HTTP protocol version used by server. 10 for HTTP/1.0, 11 for HTTP/1.1. .. attribute:: HTTPResponse.status Status code returned by server. .. attribute:: HTTPResponse.reason Reason phrase returned by server. .. _httplib-examples: Examples -------- Here is an example session that uses the ``GET`` method:: >>> import httplib >>> conn = httplib.HTTPSConnection("www.python.org") >>> conn.request("GET", "/") >>> r1 = conn.getresponse() >>> print r1.status, r1.reason 200 OK >>> data1 = r1.read() >>> conn.request("GET", "/") >>> r2 = conn.getresponse() >>> print r2.status, r2.reason 404 Not Found >>> data2 = r2.read() >>> conn.close() Here is an example session that uses the ``HEAD`` method. Note that the ``HEAD`` method never returns any data. :: >>> import httplib >>> conn = httplib.HTTPSConnection("www.python.org") >>> conn.request("HEAD","/") >>> res = conn.getresponse() >>> print res.status, res.reason 200 OK >>> data = res.read() >>> print len(data) 0 >>> data == '' True Here is an example session that shows how to ``POST`` requests:: >>> import httplib, urllib >>> params = urllib.urlencode({'@number': 12524, '@type': 'issue', '@action': 'show'}) >>> headers = {"Content-type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded", ... "Accept": "text/plain"} >>> conn = httplib.HTTPConnection("bugs.python.org") >>> conn.request("POST", "", params, headers) >>> response = conn.getresponse() >>> print response.status, response.reason 302 Found >>> data = response.read() >>> data 'Redirecting to <a href="http://bugs.python.org/issue12524">http://bugs.python.org/issue12524</a>' >>> conn.close() Client side ``HTTP PUT`` requests are very similar to ``POST`` requests. The difference lies only the server side where HTTP server will allow resources to be created via ``PUT`` request. Here is an example session that shows how to do ``PUT`` request using httplib:: >>> # This creates an HTTP message >>> # with the content of BODY as the enclosed representation >>> # for the resource http://localhost:8080/foobar ... >>> import httplib >>> BODY = "***filecontents***" >>> conn = httplib.HTTPConnection("localhost", 8080) >>> conn.request("PUT", "/file", BODY) >>> response = conn.getresponse() >>> print response.status, response.reason 200, OK