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Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 15:21:04 +1000
To: new-httpd@apache.org
From: Gary Wisniewski <garyw@spidereye.com.au>
Subject: Re: config idea, scoping
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At 11:25 16/06/97 -0700, you wrote:
>We have various modules which define essentially the same directives but
>with slightly different names....
>What if we required scoping like this:
>
><mod auth_dbm>
>    File foobar
>    Group blah
></mod>

Good idea.  I fully expect the problem to get worse as proliferation of
modules grows, and it would be nice to have features which encourage
the proliferation of modules rather than add to config file confusion.

What about (don't yell---I'm new here) borrowing object/verb syntax:

	auth_dbm.File foobar
	auth_dbm.Group blah

This would seem to have several advantages, and wouldn't lead
to additional config file verbiage.  Backward-compatible names could
be provided, so long as they could be disambiguated:

	auth_dbm.File foobar
co-exists with
	auth_dbm.AuthDBMFile foobar

and unqualified references such as
	AuthDBMFile foobar

work, so long as there is no ambiguity.

Just an idea,
Gary