Christmas Bird Count history report system

At this writing, we use an XML-RPC server running elsewhere to do the XSL-FO → PDF conversion step. This server is undocumented. Within a matter of a few months our server should be upgraded and it will be possible to do this using an os.system() call on the server system.

# - - -   c o n v e r t T o P d f

def convertToPdf(foName):
    '''Convert the XSL-FO to PDF format.

      [ foName is the absolute path to a readable .fo file ->
          if XEPPER_URL can convert that file to PDF ->
            (file named 'foName' but with its extension replaced by
            PDF_EXTENSION)  :=  PDF conversion of the file named
                                (foName)
          else -> raise lib.ScriptError ]
    '''
    #-- 1
    # [ foBase  :=  basename of foName ]
    foBase = os.path.basename(foName)

    #-- 2
    # [ if XEPPER_URL is running the xepper server ->
    #     s  :=  an xmlrpclib.ServerProxy connected to that server
    #   else -> raise lib.ScriptError ]
    try:
        s = xmlrpclib.ServerProxy(XEPPER_URL)
    except xmlrpclib.Error, x:
        raise lib.ScriptError("PDF converter unavailable: %s" %
                              str(x))

    #-- 3
    # [ if s can compile foName into a PDF ->
    #       (file named 'foName' but with its extension replaced by
    #       PDF_EXTENSION)  :=  PDF conversion of the file named
    #                           (foName)
    #   else -> raise lib.ScriptError ]
    try:
        result = s.xep(foBase)
        if result > 0:
            raise lib.ScriptError("PDF converter failure code %d" %
                                  result)
    except xmlrpclib.Error, x:
        raise lib.ScriptError("PDF converter failure: %s" %
                              str(x))