Re[2]: --passphrase-fd with a pipe handle under Win32

[Maxim Masiutin]

Hello Timo!

>>   I found a workaround: to specify the passphrase via stdin,
>>   delimiting the passphrase from data by LF character.

TS> Another solution would be to use the 'command-fd' switch.

  Thank you for the hint! The problem, however, is in interprocess
  communication under Win32. It seems that GnuPG is unable to read
  from a pipe handle passed as a numeric value. Maybe that was because
  mingw32 adds some unwanted wrappers to operations with handles? I
  should continue the investigation. I took a look into GnuPG source
  code but it seems to be all right there. I tried to download mingw32
  to do see what's really happening inside GnuPG, but
  ftp://ftp.openit.de gave me a timeout today. Should try again later.

  I wrote a program that works with a modem under Win32 via COM-port
  without using TAPI. This program runs external applications (e.g.
  fax receiver) passing COM port handle to it as a numeric value in
  the command line. I wonder why GnuPG doesn't work.
  
TS> Then all input from the keyboard is redirected to the file
TS> descriptor you specify for the command. For example:

TS> gpg --status-fd=2 --command-fd=23 -c foo

TS> Then all input would be read from fd 23 which was created by
TS> a pipe call. You've to watch for the 'status-fd' messages to
TS> send the correct strings.

  It seems that it's all that is needed to integrate GnuPG into a MUA.
 
>>   Did anyone spawn GnuPG under Win32?
TS> If you want a more elegant solution you should use GPGME.

  Although there was written that "authors of MUAs should consider to
  use GPGME", I found no API reference inside gpgme-0.2.1 archive. Is
  there any reference exist?

  I do not agree that the direct use of GnuPG from an application is
  a complicated programming task, if there are no key management
  functions in the application. It's very easy when it only comes to
  encryption/signing/decryption/signature checking.

-- 
Maxim Masiutin
Vice President, Ritlabs S.R.L. 
http://www.ritlabs.com/