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Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.2.20021027204304.023b3f48@pop3.rowe-clan.net>
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 20:56:23 -0600
To: docs@httpd.apache.org
From: "William A. Rowe, Jr." <wrowe@apache.org>
Subject: Re: Authentication in 2.0
Cc: Apache Documentation Project <docs@httpd.apache.org>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.33.0210272124390.3656-100000@rhiannon.rcbowen.c
 om>
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Yes Rich, it's an issue, and it was one of the 'big' drivers in my pushing
to begin preparation of a stable 2.2 release.  [When we say 'stable', we
are even talking about module API stability.]  The Auth changes get
a little harry for the upgrader's existing httpd.conf, at least for a sub
version point-bump.

The thought is we will migrate these changes to 2.1 development,
make sure the server is stable (API and all) and release 2.2.  If there
is a change in the API, along comes 2.4.  Users know what to expect.

If we decide we have some "really big" change that will totally confound
users or introduce a whole new way of doing things, that becomes a
major bump.

The hope developers have expressed is that we roll out 2.2 very soon,
within a month to three.  It's better to push forward and get Justin's new
auth out there (and improve Apache's reputation on module stability)
rather than trying to revert changes like mod_authz_hostname back
to mod_access.

What does that mean for docs?

Probably a fork in the road there too.  Of course many modules have
few changes, so dealing with a branch is probably cleaner than keeping
up two separate repositories.  But the choice affects everyone on this
list contributing docs, so please offer your thoughts.

The branch would look like;

apache-2.0 MAIN branch - current development, 2.1 stays here.
  \--- APACHE_2_0_BRANCH [when we declare 2.1, we 'freeze' 2.0]
     \--- APACHE_2_2_BRANCH [as we prepare to release 2.2, we branch]
        \--- APACHE_2_1_BRANCH [once we move on to 2.3/2.4]

Another thought is that APACHE_2_1 is never 'stable', so there will be
no need to branch it when we begin '2.3' work on the MAIN branch.

In any case, I sort of see new docs working this way;

APACHE_2_0_BRANCH - maintenance for older docs.
MAIN - -new- documentation not-yet-ready-to-release.
APACHE_2_2_BRANCH - introduce ready-to-release changes.

Finally, see httpd-2.0/ROADMAP for the 'working' description of
how all this might work.

Docco committers, please share your thoughts!

Bill

At 08:33 PM 10/27/2002, Rich Bowen wrote:
>I know I've been a little out of it for the last little bit. I'm finding
>some things that seem a little undesired on the
>httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0 site, in particular regarding authentication.
>There are a number of docs on there that refer to auth changes in
>2.0.44, which is confusing some folks, since 2.0.44 is not released yet,
>and they are still trying to struggle along with 2.0.43 or earlier.
>http://httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0/mod/mod_auth.html is a 404, and it's
>not clear what folks should do upon encountering that particular
>problem.
>
>Now, I apologize if this has come up before, and been resolved to
>everyone's satisfaction, but if a module goes away in a particular
>version (even assuming that version has been released!) shouldn't there
>be some period during which there's some kind of place holder telling
>people what that functionality has been replaced with?
>
>It seems to me that mod_auth's functionality has been replaced with
>several other modules - mod_auth_basic, mod_authz_groupfile,
>mod_authn_file - and apart from having to redo the auth tutorial
>document, this means some added confusion for the users, and I'd like to
>minimize their frustration as they transition to the new way of thinking
>about things. And, of course, I have to redo my ApacheCon presentation,
>also. *sigh*.
>
>Thoughts?
>
>-- 
>Pilgrim, how you journey on the road you chose
>To find out where the winds die and where the stories go
> --Pilgrim (Enya - A Day Without Rain)
>
>
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