This is a Python interface to Sun RPC, designed and implemented mostly by reading the Internet RFCs about the subject.

*** NOTE: xdr.py has evolved into the standard module xdrlib.py ***

There are two library modules, xdr.py and rpc.py, and several example clients: mountclient.py, nfsclient.py, and rnusersclient.py, implementing the NFS Mount protocol, (part of) the NFS protocol, and the "rnusers" protocol (used by rusers(1)), respectively. The latter demonstrates the use of broadcast via the Port mapper's CALLIT procedure.

There is also a way to create servers in Python.

To test the nfs client, run it from the shell with something like this:

python -c 'import nfsclient; nfsclient.test()' [hostname [filesystemname]]

When called without a filesystemname, it lists the filesystems at the host; default host is the local machine.

Other clients are tested similarly.

For hostname, use e.g. wuarchive.wustl.edu or gatekeeper.dec.com (two hosts that are known to export NFS filesystems with little restrictions).

There are now two different RPC compilers:

1) Wim Lewis rpcgen.py found on http://www.omnigroup.com/~wiml/soft/stale-index.html#python.

2) Peter �strands rpcgen.py, which is part of "pynfs" (http://www.cendio.se/~peter/pynfs/).