[ sf.net patch # 1121611 ]

A new hashlib module to replace the md5 and sha modules.  It adds
support for additional secure hashes such as SHA-256 and SHA-512.  The
hashlib module uses OpenSSL for fast platform optimized
implementations of algorithms when available.  The old md5 and sha
modules still exist as wrappers around hashlib to preserve backwards
compatibility.

1 files changed, 13 insertions, 7 deletions

diff --git a/Doc/lib/libhmac.tex b/Doc/lib/libhmac.tex
index 1d49417..5ca24d1 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libhmac.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libhmac.tex
@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ This module implements the HMAC algorithm as described by \rfc{2104}.
 \begin{funcdesc}{new}{key\optional{, msg\optional{, digestmod}}}
   Return a new hmac object.  If \var{msg} is present, the method call
   \code{update(\var{msg})} is made. \var{digestmod} is the digest
-  module for the HMAC object to use. It defaults to the
-  \refmodule{md5} module.
+  constructor or module for the HMAC object to use. It defaults to 
+  the \code{\refmodule{hashlib}.md5} constructor.  \note{The md5 hash
+  has known weaknesses but remains the default for backwards compatibility.
+  Choose a better one for your application.}
 \end{funcdesc}
 
 An HMAC object has the following methods:
@@ -29,14 +31,14 @@ An HMAC object has the following methods:
 
 \begin{methoddesc}[hmac]{digest}{}
   Return the digest of the strings passed to the \method{update()}
-  method so far.  This is a 16-byte string (for \refmodule{md5}) or a
-  20-byte string (for \refmodule{sha}) which may contain non-\ASCII{}
-  characters, including NUL bytes.
+  method so far.  This string will be the same length as the
+  \var{digest_size} of the digest given to the constructor.  It
+  may contain non-\ASCII{} characters, including NUL bytes.
 \end{methoddesc}
 
 \begin{methoddesc}[hmac]{hexdigest}{}
-  Like \method{digest()} except the digest is returned as a string of
-  length 32 for \refmodule{md5} (40 for \refmodule{sha}), containing
+  Like \method{digest()} except the digest is returned as a string
+  twice the length containing
   only hexadecimal digits.  This may be used to exchange the value
   safely in email or other non-binary environments.
 \end{methoddesc}
@@ -46,3 +48,7 @@ An HMAC object has the following methods:
   efficiently compute the digests of strings that share a common
   initial substring.
 \end{methoddesc}
+
+\begin{seealso}
+  \seemodule{hashlib}{The python module providing secure hash functions.}
+\end{seealso}