It seems like I've been working on so many random things the past few weeks. And all on different platforms: C (UNIX/POSIX), Python, Cocoa, iOS.

Anyhow, the only things that are almost ready for public consumption are the security-related libraries/modules. (Each succeeding project builds on the previous.) All are BSD licensed.

sha-asaddi
Everything SHA, from SHA-1 to SHA-2 (SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512) to the newest truncated editions (SHA-512/224, SHA-512/256). Also includes HMAC wrappers for each. This is a cleaned up and refactored version of my previous command-line sha project. Still WIP though.

pbkdf2
Implementations of PBKDF2 in C and Python. The C version depends on sha-asaddi, though I suppose it can easily be swapped to use any other SHA/HMAC implementations with similar signatures. The Python version has no dependencies outside of the standard library.

scrypt
Implementations of Colin Percival's scrypt in C and pure Python. This was more of an academic exercise since Mr. Percival's version is far more optimized and is already available under a BSD license. (At least, I'm assuming it's more optimized — I haven't actually looked at his code yet. But he did seem to have assembly/SSE optimized versions.) The Python version is probably too slow to be practical. (A Python wrapper for the original scrypt implementation is already available.) Will gladly take optimization suggestions for the Python version!

Oh, and these three projects represent a general shift in my packaging/building ideals. For now, I've decided to ditch GNU's autotools in favor of CMake for my projects. CMake just seems like a more coherent tool for configuring/building in a platform-independent manner. But, that just, like, my opinion, man...

It's strange, but my most ubiquitous work is probably a href=http://www.saddi.com/software/sha/sha/a (or rather, its individual hash implementations). I lost track of the number of random products I've run across that have a copyright/license attribution to me. SHA implementations are a dime a dozen though, and I'm sure the versions in OpenSSL (libcrypto) draw the most users.br / br / But I have to wonder, what draws developers to mine? The random portability/optimization knobs? The BSD license?br / br / Anyway, I reworked my SHA implementations today. Brought the API to my naming/style standards for this decade. Added SHA-512/224 and SHA-512/256. And, from the work on a href=http://www.saddi.com/software/news/archives/73-pam_oath,-where-art-thou.htmlpam_totp/a, added HMAC wrappers.br / br / Of course, with the addition of HMAC, I had to work it into sha (the utility) as well, which I did.br / br / So after a little over 7 years, here's a new sha release...br / br / a href=http://www.saddi.com/software/sha/dist/sha-1.1.tar.gzsha 1.1 tarball/abr /

For anyone not familiar with it, a href=http://www.jasig.org/casCAS/a is an open source single-sign on service. It's implemented in Java, but I have stumbled across a a href=https://bitbucket.org/desmaj/wsgicas/CAS server implemented in Python/a.br / br / Anyway, I've been running my own CAS server for a while now (which provides SSO service for all the webapps on my server). I actually have my own Python CAS client and WSGI middleware that I've been using for years. In addition to a number of my Python webapps, I've successfully used it to CASsify MoinMoin. I'm sure I could get it to work with Trac too, but that would probably annoy my Trac users. img src=http://www.saddi.com/software/news/templates/default/img/emoticons/wink.png alt=;-) style=display: inline; vertical-align: bottom; class=emoticon / (It works with any app that simply relies on REMOTE_USER.)br / br / casclient and casmiddleware were part of of my 'py-lib' project (if anyone remembers that). Though 'py-lib' was never really a project. It was more like a directory of Python modules I had written for myself mdash; a place to incubate early Python projects (flup's fcgi.py started there, along with the other pre-1.0 flup modules).br / br / But when I moved beyond Subversion, py-lib was abandoned.br / br / Due to all the work-related CAS work I've been doing lately, I was reminded of the fact that my Python CAS stuff was never really released. JA-SIG has their own Python CAS code, but it seems to be more geared toward CGI. I'm sure a few of the various Python authentication frameworks out there have a CAS module. But anyway, I just wanted to get the ball rolling and get my own CASMiddleware 'out there' mdash; in case anyone else finds it useful.br / br / It's pretty small and only depends on Beaker.br / br / For now, it's only available at my Hg repo. I'll send it over to PyPI when I get the chance. (Hah! I should have searched PyPI first, so many hits for 'CAS'. Oh well...)br / br / a href=http://hg.saddi.com/casmiddleware/casmiddleware/abr /

For anyone not familiar with it, CAS is an open source single-sign on service. It's implemented in Java, but I have stumbled across a CAS server implemented in Python. (Which I haven't tried yet.)

Anyway, I've been running my own CAS server for a while now (which provides SSO service for all the webapps on my server). I actually have my own Python CAS client and WSGI middleware that I've been using for years. In addition to a number of my Python webapps, I've successfully used it to CASsify MoinMoin. I'm sure I could get it to work with Trac too, but that would probably annoy my Trac users. (It works with any app that simply relies on REMOTE_USER.)

casclient and casmiddleware were part of of my 'py-lib' project (if anyone remembers that). Though 'py-lib' was never really a project. It was more like a directory of Python modules I had written for myself — a place to incubate early Python projects (flup's fcgi.py started there, along with the other pre-1.0 flup modules).

But when I moved beyond Subversion, py-lib was abandoned.

I was reminded of the fact that my Python CAS stuff was never really released due to all the work-related CAS work I've been doing lately. JA-SIG has their own Python CAS code, but it seems to be more geared toward CGI. I'm sure a few of the various Python authentication frameworks out there have a CAS module. But anyway, I just wanted to get the ball rolling and get my own CASMiddleware 'out there' — in case anyone else finds it useful.

It's pretty small and only depends on Beaker.

For now, it's only available at my Hg repo. I'll send it over to PyPI when I get the chance. (Hah! I should have searched PyPI first, so many hits for 'CAS'. Oh well...)

casmiddleware

...For the time being at least. Training concluded early May and I took about ten days leave back to Santa Maria to hang out with the folks, my brother, and the dog. Yet again, there just wasn't enough time and timing itself restricted me from seeing some faces that I was eager to catch up with but there's always next time. Drove back to San Diego to check into Naval Base San Diego (you know, the real Navy) and got a room with TPU (Transient Personnel Unit). This is where the Sailors separating or in limbo are assigned to before they get flown to their ships (such as my case) or report to their ships once they pull into the pier.

Didn't really have much trouble figuring out my needs and wants when it came to packing (I had acquired about a year and half of "stuff" from staying at the training base) but I've pretty much narrowed it down to literally, two seabags and a backpack. As some of you may not know, the FNG bachelor Sailor will be required to live aboard their ship for the first couple months. When space is available and the command permits it, they will then be able to move into a barracks on base.

I had no choice but to drive my truck back to Santa Maria because all the on-base vehicle storage was taken (the Reagan Battlegroup recently deployed a couple days before I checked in). Plus when it costs me the price of a new Xbox 360 title to fill it up, I figured this was a positive move. So I traded in my four wheels for two - haven't rode a bike since college! This transition to a lightweight lifestyle is going to be interesting.

Eight days until I hop on a commercial plane and fly out to Panama City. I am stoked. A little nervous about the whole real Navy thing but excited at the same time. And to see South America and its many offerings. Hooyah.

It's been quite a while since I've blogged. So many things have happened, and at the same time, nothing has changed. Such is life. Though I also really haven't felt like sharing my thoughts and feelings for quite some time now. Just the way things have been for me.

Anyhow, I really can't stop thinking about the movie Sunshine... and that's probably because I've been listening to the soundtrack non-stop for the past few days now. With the movie in limited release, I guess it was a stroke of luck that I found that the Palm Theatre in SLO was showing it. (And thanks to Steve for letting me know!) Anyway, after a few abortive attempts to watch it with a certain special friend, I nearly gave up. Until Steve let me know that he was going to watch it again, with a few friends from high school. I met up with them and really enjoyed the movie. And it was also good to see everyone again. Anyway, that was quite a while ago, maybe back in August.

Critics will pan the movie because of its supposed bad science, such as: the premature death of the Sun, vacuum exposure effects, the presence of artificial gravity, and the size of the stellar bomb vs. the Sun. I'm normally a stickler for hard science in science fiction, but I found the movie plausible enough to enjoy. And in fact, I found the depictions of science to be reasonable. It was never mentioned in-movie, but the reason for the premature death of the Sun was due to it capturing a Q-ball... or dark matter. I thought this was a neat explanation because it reminded me of Baxter's Xeelee Sequence, where dark matter beings — the Photino Birds — would take up residence in stars, causing them to age and darken prematurely.

Artificial gravity I just chalked up to technology. Hey, 50 years in the future is quite a bit of time for technological progress, especially at the exponential or near-exponential rate of advance we have going. Same with the bomb. It was obviously not nuclear, despite being constructed of every last bit of fissile material on the Earth. So who knows what principles it operated on. All it takes is a little suspension of disbelief...

Anyway, what fascinated me was the people. Here we have a crew of 8, all alone in space, with the monumental task of saving all life on Earth from extinction. How do they cope with the pressure? Well, of course some do and some don't. A few pick up obsessive hobbies, like sunbathing, reading the same book over and over again, or constantly listening to solar winds. And of course, the movie is about the second attempt. Obviously, the crew of the first ship failed... what lead to their failure? Was it technological? Or some human element?

But what also hooked me was the soundtrack, composed by John Murphy and Underworld. The music that played during the first climactic scene (with Captain Kaneda on the solar shield) left my jaw on the floor when the scene concluded. It was just so intense and so epic. (It's entitled "What do you see?")

Anyway, ending this entry with a quote from Jeffrey Sinclair of Babylon 5 seems apt:

“Ask ten different scientists about the environment, population control, genetics, and you'll get ten different answers, but there's one thing every scientist on the planet agrees on. Whether it happens in a hundred years or a thousand years or a million years, eventually our sun will grow cold and go out. When that happens, it won't just take us. It'll take Marilyn Monroe, and Lao-Tzu, and Einstein, and Morobuto, and Buddy Holly, and Aristophanes... and all of this... all of this... was for nothing. Unless we go to the stars.”