Deconnection detection.

[jean-paul roumian <jp roumian mobileway com>]

Hello,

When I use the 'echo-client/server ' from examples in ORBit source,
if the echo-server is killed with KILL signal, the echo-client is
hanging. ( on a select call
in connection.c, giop_check_connections, block_for_reply is TRUE).

It's very annoing from my point of view . (our softwares use connection
timeouts, and retry mecanisms)

I've found in the orbit-list archives about timeouts, and I 've
concluded that: (correct me if I'm wrong)

*  IIOP is built over TCP, so no deconnection detection (SO_KEEPALIVE is

not flexible enough (no per-connection timeout,  not well-implemented
every TCP stack,...)).
* only a noop message implemented on a higher layer can acheive this.

* Is it a bad thing to set the select timeout by an orbit-specific api
call, and to implement a "NOOP" message mecanism (under,inside or over
the IIOP layer ?). (I' don't masterise IIOP specs...)
* Can the exception raised say precisely "connection tlmeout", not just
comm failure ?

Thanks.