Message-ID: <3EEE2B19.5070007@ghaering.de>
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 22:39:53 +0200
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To: pgsql-interfaces@postgresql.org
Subject: Re: PL/Python import _sre module error
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From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Gerhard_H=E4ring?= <lists@ghaering.de>

Glenn R Williams wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> Does anyone else have a problem with importing the re package 
> I am using:
> 
> Redhat 9.0
> PostgreSQL 7.3.3
> Python 2.2.2.26
> 
> When I create a function:
> 
> import re
> o = args[0]
> b = re.match(r"^t.*",o)
> if b:
>    return "fits the bill"
> return "failed the test"
> 
> PostgreSQL fails, and returns the error message:
> 
> exceptions.ImportError: No module named _sre
> 
> If I go into python, this is not a problem, so I suppose it is somehow
> due to the restricted execution environment and/or PostgreSQL. But
> that's as far as I get.

Correct. re is not enabled, because you can create arbitrary cpu (and 
perhaps also memory) utilization with it. Thus it's unsafe.

> Any suggestions on how to pinpoint the problem? [...]

Fork pl/python and create an unsafe version without any restrictions? 
That's what I once did just for fun. I think that'll be necessary 
anyway, because with Python >= 2.2.3, rexec and friends are disabled anyway.

-- Gerhard