Add application development basics blogpost

i2p2www/blog/2018/10/23/application-development-basics.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,232 @@
+{% trans -%}
+=========================================================
+Developing privacy-aware applications with Python and I2P
+=========================================================
+{%- endtrans %}
+.. meta::
+    :author: villain
+    :date: 2018-10-23
+    :category: development
+    :excerpt: {% trans %}Basic concepts of I2P application development with Python{% endtrans %}
+
+.. image:: {{ url_for('static', filename='images/blog/i2plib.jpeg') }}
+   :align: center
+   :width: 700px
+   :alt: {% trans %}i2plib{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+`Invisible Internet Project`_ (I2P) provides a framework for
+developing privacy-aware applications. It is a virtual network working on top of
+the regular Internet, in which hosts can exchange data without disclosing their
+"real" IP addresses. Connections inside I2P network are established between 
+virtual addresses called *I2P destinations*. It's possible to have as many
+of destinations as one needs, even use a new destination for each connection,
+they don't disclose any information about the real IP address to the other
+side. 
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. _`Invisible Internet Project`: https://geti2p.net/
+
+{% trans -%}
+This article describes basic concepts one needs to know when developing I2P
+applications. Code samples are written in Python with the use of built-in
+asynchronous framework asyncio.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+Enabling SAM API and i2plib installation
+========================================
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+I2P provides many different APIs to the client applications. Regular
+client-server apps can use I2PTunnel, HTTP and Socks proxies, Java applications 
+usually use I2CP. For developing with other languages, like Python, the best 
+option is `SAM`_. SAM is disabled by 
+default in the original Java client implementation, so we need to enable it. 
+Go to Router Console, page "I2P internals" -> "Clients". Check "Run at Startup" 
+and press "Start", then "Save Client Configuration".
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. _`SAM`: https://geti2p.net/en/docs/api/samv3
+
+.. image:: {{ url_for('static', filename='images/enable-sam.jpeg') }}
+   :align: center
+   :width: 700px
+   :alt: {% trans %}Enable SAM API{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+`C++ implementation i2pd`_ has SAM enabled by default.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. _`C++ implementation i2pd`: https://i2pd.website
+
+{% trans -%}
+I've developed a handy Python library for SAM API called
+`i2plib`_. You can install it with pip or
+manually download the source code from GitHub. 
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. _`i2plib`: https://github.com/l-n-s/i2plib
+
+
+::
+
+    pip install i2plib
+
+
+{% trans -%}
+This library works with the Python's built-in `asynchronous framework asyncio`_,
+so please note that code samples are taken from async functions (coroutines)
+which are running inside the event loop. Additional examples of i2plib usage can
+be found in the `source code repository`_.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. _`asynchronous framework asyncio`: https://docs.python.org/3/library/asyncio.html
+.. _`source code repository`: https://github.com/l-n-s/i2plib/tree/master/docs/examples
+    
+{% trans -%}
+I2P Destination and session creation
+====================================
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+I2P destination is literally a set of encryption and cryptographic signature
+keys. Public keys from this set are published to the I2P network and are used to
+make connections instead of IP addresses.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+This is how you create `i2plib.Destination`_:
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. _`i2plib.Destination`: https://i2plib.readthedocs.io/en/latest/api.html#i2plib.Destination
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+    dest = await i2plib.new_destination()
+    print(dest.base32 + ".b32.i2p") # print base32 address
+
+
+{% trans -%}
+base32 address is a hash which is used by other peers to discover your full
+Destination in the network. If you plan to use this destination as a permanent
+address in your program, save the binary data from *dest.private\_key.data* 
+to a local file.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+Now you can create a SAM session, which literally means to make the Destination
+online in I2P:
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+        session_nickname = "test-i2p" # each session must have unique nickname
+        _, session_writer = await i2plib.create_session(session_nickname, destination=dest)
+
+
+{% trans -%}
+Important note here: Destination will remain online while *session\_writer* socket
+is kept open. If you wish to switch it off, you can call *session\_writer.close()*.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+Making outgoing connections
+===========================
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+Now when the Destination is online, you can use it to connect to other peers.
+For example, this is how you connect to
+"udhdrtrcetjm5sxzskjyr5ztpeszydbh4dpl3pl4utgqqw2v4jna.b32.i2p", send HTTP GET
+request and read the response (it is "i2p-projekt.i2p" web server):
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+    remote_host = "udhdrtrcetjm5sxzskjyr5ztpeszydbh4dpl3pl4utgqqw2v4jna.b32.i2p"
+    reader, writer = await i2plib.stream_connect(session_nickname, remote_host)
+
+    writer.write("GET /en/ HTTP/1.0\nHost: {}\r\n\r\n".format(remote_host).encode())
+
+    buflen, resp = 4096, b""
+    while 1:
+        data = await reader.read(buflen)
+        if len(data) > 0:
+            resp += data
+        else:
+            break
+
+    writer.close()
+    print(resp.decode())
+
+
+{% trans -%}
+Accepting incoming connections
+==============================
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+While making outgoing connections is trivial, when you accept connections there
+is one important detail. After a new client is connected, SAM API sends an ASCII
+string with base64-encoded client's Destination to the socket. Since Destination 
+and data can come in one chunk, you should be aware of it.
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+This is how a simple PING-PONG server looks like. It accepts incoming
+connection, saves client's Destination to a *remote\_destination* variable and
+sends back "PONG" string:
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+    async def handle_client(incoming, reader, writer):
+        """Client connection handler"""
+        dest, data = incoming.split(b"\n", 1)
+        remote_destination = i2plib.Destination(dest.decode())
+        if not data:
+            data = await reader.read(BUFFER_SIZE)
+        if data == b"PING":
+            writer.write(b"PONG")
+        writer.close()
+
+    # An endless loop which accepts connetions and runs a client handler
+    while True:
+        reader, writer = await i2plib.stream_accept(session_nickname)
+        incoming = await reader.read(BUFFER_SIZE)
+        asyncio.ensure_future(handle_client(incoming, reader, writer))
+
+
+{% trans -%}
+More info
+=========
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+This article describes the usage of a TCP-like Streaming protocol. SAM API also
+provides a UDP-like protocol to send and receive datagrams. This feature will
+be added to i2plib later. 
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+{% trans -%}
+This is just a basic information, but it's enough to start your own project with
+the use of I2P. Invisible Internet is a great tool to develop all kinds of
+privacy-aware applications. There are no design constraints by the network,
+those applications can be client-server as well as P2P. 
+{%- endtrans %}
+
+- `Examples of i2plib usage`_
+- `i2plib documentation`_
+- `i2plib at GitHub`_
+- `SAM API documentation`_ 
+- `asyncio documentation`_ 
+- `I2P network technical overview`_
+
+.. _`Examples of i2plib usage`: https://github.com/l-n-s/i2plib/tree/master/docs/examples
+.. _`i2plib documentation`: https://i2plib.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
+.. _`i2plib at GitHub`: https://github.com/l-n-s/i2plib
+.. _`SAM API documentation`: https://geti2p.net/en/docs/api/samv3
+.. _`asyncio documentation`: https://docs.python.org/3/library/asyncio.html
+.. _`I2P network technical overview`: https://geti2p.net/en/docs/how/tech-intro