Message-Id: <199607172049.PAA10778@sierra.zyzzyva.com>
To: new-httpd@hyperreal.com
Subject: Re: Authentication API 
In-reply-to: rasmus's message of Wed, 17 Jul 1996 16:24:09 -0400.
         <ML-2.3.837635049.2749.rasmus@rathaus>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 15:49:44 -0500
From: Randy Terbush <randy@zyzzyva.com>
Sender: owner-new-httpd@apache.org
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: new-httpd@hyperreal.com

> > However, it seems to me that if this is what you're trying to do,
> > it's better engineering to try to find an approach which is not limited
> > to authentication and access control --- mod_mime and mod_dirs can be
> > reconfigured per-directory as well, and they might as well be approachable
> > through the same interface.
> 
> And a bunch of other modules that are floating about out there are also
> configurable on a per directory basis.  I think a completely general
> case would be a good idea.  Limiting the configurability to just a few
> known modules will just frustrate everyone.
> 
> > This would require something like mod_info to tell the reconfigurer
> > what commands are allowed by the server as currently configured. so it
> > could parse what it had written.  However, it doesn't get into issues
> > of trying to unparse the modules' private internal data structures.
> > 
> > What's tough about parsing the modules' private internal data
> > structures is that the are private --- by deliberate choice, I decided
> > to make them private, meaning that no one else is supposed to be
> > looking at that stuff, or tweaking it...).
> 
> My first shot at writing mod_info was to try to walk through the currently
> loaded internal configurations of all modules.  This proved to be impossible
> both because I couldn't actually get at all the data, and also because the
> configurations could change on a per-directory basis.  I would have had to
> choose a directory and see what the different configurations were in that
> particular case.  Instead, I made it parse the startup configuration files
> and only report on those.  Taking mod_info and making it parse .htaccess
> files in individual directories would be trivial.  The hard part would
> be writing the code to allow you to edit and write back changes.
> 
> -Rasmus

Actually, I think I have a good part of the editing/interface code
written. My frustration has been getting at the data.

The other issue I am trying to address is authenticating access
to the config info. Not everyone on the server should have access
to all of the config data.