I have tested a socket client script on two versions of 
RedHat/Python and the later version is slow  to execute 
the initial recv().  In each test the client script was 
identical and the server end was the same Windows 
XML-ODBC service.  The code and strace below shows 
an initial recv taking 0.09 secs and 4.5 secs respectively.
The tests are repeatable with similar results each time.

Should I expect this kind of effect as software evolves or 
is there a solution?  Could it be internetwork latency as 
the clients tests were run on hosts in different locations?

-------------
import socket

host = "xx.xx.xx.xx"
port = xxxx
DSN  = "xxxx;UID=xxxx;"
length = 1024

Request = '''xxxxxxx'''

socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, 
socket.SOCK_STREAM)
socket.connect((host,port))

XML = ''
EOM = '</Result>'

bytecount = socket.send(Request)
while  XML[-10:-1] != EOM: 
	XML += socket.recv(length)

socket.close()

------------------------------------------------------
strace results on client script run from command line:

1. RedHat Enterprise Linux 3 ES
Python 2.2.3 (#1, Aug  8 2003, 08:44:02)
[GCC 3.2.3 20030502 (Red Hat Linux 3.2.3-13)] on linux2

[pid 14467] socket(PF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 
IPPROTO_IP) = 3 <0.000028>
[pid 14467] rt_sigaction(SIGPIPE, {SIG_IGN}, 
{SIG_IGN}, 8) = 0 <0.000016>
[pid 14467] connect(3, {sa_family=AF_INET, 
sin_port=htons(xxxx), sin_addr=inet_addr("xx.xx.xx")}, 
16) = 0 <0.017305>
[pid 14467] send(3, "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?
>\r\n\t\t<Reques"..., 287, 0) = 287 <0.000025>
[pid 14467] recv(3, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" 
encoding=\"UT"..., 1024, 0) = 40 <0.093178>
[pid 14467] recv(3, "<!--\r\n  Generated by Easysoft 
XM"..., 1024, 0) = 378 <0.019240>
[pid 14467] close(3)                    = 0 <0.000027>

2. RedHat Enterprise Linux 4 ES
Python 2.3.4 (#1, Feb  2 2005, 11:44:49)
[GCC 3.4.3 20041212 (Red Hat 3.4.3-9.EL4)] on linux2

[pid 11072] socket(PF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 
IPPROTO_IP) = 3 <0.000039>
[pid 11072] rt_sigaction(SIGPIPE, {SIG_IGN}, 
{SIG_IGN}, 8) = 0 <0.000011>
[pid 11072] connect(3, {sa_family=AF_INET, 
sin_port=htons(xxxx), sin_addr=inet_addr
("xx.xx.xx.xx")}, 16) = 0 <0.016039>
[pid 11072] send(3, "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?
>\r\n\t\t<Reques"..., 287, 0) = 287 <0.000021>
[pid 11072] recv(3, "<?xml version=\"1.0\" 
encoding=\"UT"..., 1024, 0) = 40 <4.539525>
[pid 11072] recv(3, "<!--\r\n  Generated by Easysoft 
XM"..., 1024, 0) = 378 <0.019317>
[pid 11072] close(3)                    = 0 <0.000069>