Python-Tornado Configuration API Reference for Realtime Apps

Python version support

Python SDK versions 5.0.0 and higher no longer support Python v2.7 and the Twisted and Tornado frameworks. If you require support for any of these, use SDK version 4.8.1.

Note that PubNub will stop supporting versions of Python lower than 3.7 by the end of 2021.

Python-Tornado complete API reference for building Realtime Applications on PubNub, including basic usage and sample code.

Configuration

Description

PNConfiguration instance is storage for user-provided information which describe further PubNub client behavior. Configuration instance contain additional set of properties which allow to perform precise PubNub client configuration.

Method(s)

To create configuration instance you can use the following function in the Python-Tornado SDK:

1. pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
   

   Properties	Type	Required	Defaults	Description
   subscribe_key	String	Yes		subscribe_key from Admin Portal.
   publish_key	String	Optional	None	publish_key from Admin Portal (only required if publishing).
   secret_key	String	Optional	None	secret_key (only required for modifying/revealing access permissions)
   cipher_key	String	Optional	None	If cipher_key is passed, all communications to/from PubNub will be encrypted.
   uuid	String	Yes	SDK generated uuid	UUID to use. You should set a unique UUID to identify the user or the device that connects to PubNub. Allowing the SDK to generate a random UUID can result in significant billing impacts, particularly on an MAU pricing plan.
   auth_key	String	Optional	None	If Access Manager is utilized, client will use this authKey in all restricted requests.
   ssl	Boolean	Optional	False	Use SSL.
   connect_timeout	Int	Optional	5	How long to wait before giving up connection to client.The value is in seconds.
   subscribe_timeout	Int	Optional	310	How long to keep the subscribe loop running before disconnect.The value is in seconds.
   non_subscribe_request_timeout	Int	Optional	10	On non subscribe operations, how long to wait for server response.The value is in seconds.
   filter_expression	String	Optional	None	Feature to subscribe with a custom filter expression.
   heartbeat_notification_options	PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions	Optional	PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions.FAILURES	Heartbeat notifications, by default, the SDK will alert on failed heartbeats (equivalent to: PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions.FAILURES). Other options such as all heartbeats (PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions.ALL) or no heartbeats (PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions.NONE) are supported.
   reconnect_policy	PNReconnectionPolicy	Optional	PNReconnectionPolicy.NONE	Set to PNReconnectionPolicy.LINEAR for automatic reconnects. Use option PNReconnectionPolicy.NONE to disable automatic reconnects.Use option PNReconnectionPolicy.EXPONENTIAL to set exponential retry interval.
   origin	String	Optional	ps.pndsn.com	Custom origin if needed.
   suppress_leave_events	Boolean	Optional	False	If True, the client doesn't send presence leave events during the unsubscribe process.
   enable_subscribe	Boolean	Optional	True	You can disable the subscribe loop if you don't need to perform subscribe operations. By default, subscribe loop is enabled and extra threads/loops are started. They should be explicitly stopped by pubnub.stop() method invocation.
   daemon	Boolean	Optional	False	When set to True, spawned thread won't keep the application running after SIGTERM. (ctrl-c from command line, for example)
   disable_token_manager	Boolean	Optional	False	When set to True, the Token Manager System (TMS) will be disabled. Even if there are applicable tokens, no requests will be authorized.

Basic Usage

Note

Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
from pubnub.enums import PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions

pn_configuration = PNConfiguration()
# subscribe_key from Admin Portal
pn_configuration.subscribe_key = "my_subscribe_key" // required
# publish_key from Admin Portal (only required if publishing)
pn_configuration.publish_key = "my_publish_key"
# secret_key (only required for modifying/revealing access permissions)
pn_configuration.secret_key = "my_secret_key"
# if cipher_key is passed, all communicatons to/from pubnub will be encrypted
pn_configuration.cipher_key = "my_cipher_key"
# UUID to be used as a device identifier, a default UUID is generated
# if not passed
pn_configuration.uuid = "my_custom_uuid"
# if Access Manager is utilized, client will use this authKey in all restricted
# requests
pn_configuration.auth_key = "my_aut_key"
# use SSL
pn_configuration.ssl = True
# how long to wait before giving up connection to client
pn_configuration.connect_timeout = 100
# how long to keep the subscribe loop running before disconnect
pn_configuration.subscribe_timeout = 310
# on non subscribe operations, how long to wait for server response
pn_configuration.non_subscribe_timeout = 300
# PSV2 feature to subscribe with a custom filter expression
pn_configuration.filter_expression = "such=wow"
# heartbeat notifications, by default, the SDK will alert on failed heartbeats.
# other options such as all heartbeats or no heartbeats are supported.
pn_configuration.heartbeat_notification_options = PNHeartbeatNotificationOptions.All

Initialization

Add PubNub to your project using one of the procedures defined under How to Get It

Description

This function is used for initializing the PubNub Client API context. This function must be called before attempting to utilize any API functionality in order to establish account level credentials such as publish_key and subscribe_key.

Method(s)

To Initialize PubNub you can use the following method(s) in the Python-Tornado SDK:

1. pubnub = PubNubTornado(my_pnconfig)
   

   Parameter	Type	Required	Description
   pn_configuration	PNConfiguration	Yes	Goto Configuration for more details.

Basic Usage

Initialize the PubNub client API:

Note

Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
from pubnub.pubnub_tornado import PubNubTornado

pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
pnconfig.subscribe_key = "my_subkey"
pnconfig.publish_key = "my_pubkey"
pnconfig.ssl = True
pnconfig.uuid = "my_custom_uuid"
pubnub = PubNubTornado(pnconfig)

Returns

It returns the PubNub instance for invoking PubNub APIs like publish(), subscribe(), history(), here_now(), etc.

Other Examples

1. Initialize a non-secure client:

   Note

   Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

   from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
   from pubnub.pubnub_tornado import PubNubTornado
   
   pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
   
   pnconfig.subscribe_key = 'my_subscribe_key'
   pnconfig.publish_key = 'my_publish_key'
   pnconfig.secret_key = 'my_secret_key'
   pnconfig.uuid = "my_custom_uuid"
   pnconfig.ssl = False
   
   pubnub = PubNubTornado(pnconfig)
   

2. Initialization for a Read-Only client:

   In the case where a client will only read messages and never publish to a channel, you can simply omit the publish_key when initializing the client:

   Note

   Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

   from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
   from pubnub.pubnub_tornado import PubNubTornado
   
   pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
   pnconfig.subscribe_key = "my_subkey"
   
   pubnub = PubNubTornado(pnconfig)
   

3. Use a custom UUID

   Set a custom UUID to identify your users.

   Note

   Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

   from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
   from pubnub.pubnub_tornado import PubNubTornado
   
   pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
   
   pnconfig.subscribe_key = 'mySubscribeKey'
   pnconfig.publish_key = 'myPublishKey'
   pnconfig.uuid = 'myUniqueUUID'
   
   pubnub = PubNubTornado(pnconfig)
   

4. Initializing with SSL Enabled:

   This examples demonstrates how to enable PubNub Transport Layer Encryption with SSL. Just initialize the client with ssl set to True. The hard work is done, now the PubNub API takes care of the rest. Just subscribe and publish as usual and you are good to go.

   Note

   Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

   from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
   from pubnub.pubnub_tornado import PubNubTornado
   
   pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
   pnconfig.subscribe_key = "my_subkey"
   pnconfig.publish_key = "my_pubkey"
   pnconfig.ssl = True
   pnconfig.uuid = "my_custom_uuid"
   pubnub = PubNubTornado(pnconfig)
   

5. Initializing with Access Manager: Requires Access Manager add-onRequires that the Access Manager add-on is enabled for your key. See this page on enabling add-on features on your keys:
   https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-

   Note

   Anyone with the secret_key can grant and revoke permissions to your app. Never let your secret_key be discovered, and to only exchange it / deliver it securely. Only use the secret_key on secure server-side platforms.

   When you init with secret_key, you get root permissions for the Access Manager. With this feature you don't have to grant access to your servers to access channel data. The servers get all access on all channels.

   For applications that will administer PAM permissions, the API is initialized with the secret_key as in the following example:

   Note

   Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

   from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration
   from pubnub.pubnub_tornado import PubNubTornado
   
   pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
   pnconfig.subscribe_key = "my_subkey"
   pnconfig.publish_key = "my_pubkey"
   pnconfig.secret_key = "my_secretkey"
   pnconfig.uuid = "my_custom_uuid"
   pnconfig.ssl = True
   
   pubnub = PubNubTornado(pnconfig)
   

   Now that the pubnub object is instantiated the client will be able to access the PAM functions. The pubnub object will use the secret_key to sign all PAM messages to the PubNub Network.

Filter Expression

Requires Stream Controller add-on Requires that the Stream Controller add-on is enabled for your key. See this page on enabling add-on features on your keys:
https://support.pubnub.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051974791-How-do-I-enable-add-on-features-for-my-keys-

Description

Stream filtering allows a subscriber to apply a filter to only receive messages that satisfy the conditions of the filter. The message filter is set by the subscribing client(s) but it is applied on the server side thus preventing unwanted messages (those that do not meet the conditions of the filter) from reaching the subscriber.

To set/get filters you can use the following methods. To learn more about filtering, refer to the Publish Messages documentation.

Method(s)

1. Set Filter Expression
   

   The property accepts a string.

2. Get Filter Expression
   

   The property returns a string

Basic Usage

Set Filter Expression

Note

Always set the UUID to uniquely identify the user or device that connects to PubNub. This UUID should be persisted, and should remain unchanged for the lifetime of the user or the device. Not setting the UUID can significantly impact your billing if your account uses the Monthly Active Users (MAUs) based pricing model, and can also lead to unexpected behavior if you have Presence enabled.

from pubnub.pnconfiguration import PNConfiguration

pnconfig = PNConfiguration()
pnconfig.filter_expression = "such=wow"

Get Filter Expression

filter = pnconfig.filter_expression