Re: Documenting gpg-agent

[Ken Manheimer]

On 12/18/06, Richard Stallman <address@hidden> wrote:

>     Since GnuPG2 and therefor gpg-agent is released, and we are
>     recommending its use: should we change the default value of
>     pgg-gpg-use-agent to t?
>
>     When no agent is available the old passphrase input/caching will still
>     be used as a fallback so changing the default should not do much harm.
>
> That seems like the right thing, but I don't really know anything
> about this, so I can't be sure.  Please let's wait a few days to see
> if anyone presents a valid objection.

my allout encryption provisions are badly disrupted with the new pgg
revision, when gpg-agent is active.  it may be that i can work around
that by inhibiting use of gpg-agent in my code (assuming that the new
pgg revisions provide an easy way to do that?).  the timing is bad,
though - i have one week before i'm away for three weeks, and my time
available for unexpected problems like this, up to then, is extremely
limited.  so i'm in a bind, and worried about it.

one problem shows with allout symmetric-key encryption.  allout
prompts for the passphrase, and then pinentry prompts (multiple times,
because allout is checking validity of the symmetric key against a
dummy string, as well as using it for the target text) on each
encryption and decryption.  allout's key caching works, so it doesn't
prompt the user until the cached entry times out, but pinentry still
prompts multiple times on every encryption and decryption.

i wonder whether the new pgg provisions are ignoring a passed-in
passphrase when one is provided?  that would render useless allout's
caching, as appears to be happening.

i'll look at having allout do transient inhibition of the new
gpg-agent provisions (eg, let-binding pgg-gpg-use-agent to nil), but
doubt i'll have time to look at the new pgg code to see about whether
passed-in passphrases are disregarded.  so barring the former
workaround, i doubt i'll have time to look at proper integration with
the new pgg provisions before late january.

--
ken
http://myriadicity.net