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<title>Apache 1.3 API notes - Apache HTTP Server</title>
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<p class="menu"><a href="../mod/">Modules</a> | <a href="../mod/directives.html">Directives</a> | <a href="../faq/">FAQ</a> | <a href="../glossary.html">Glossary</a> | <a href="../sitemap.html">Sitemap</a></p>
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<p class="apache">Apache HTTP Server Version 2.2</p>
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<div class="up"><a href="./"><img title="<-" alt="<-" src="../images/left.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</a> > <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">HTTP Server</a> > <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/">Documentation</a> > <a href="../">Version 2.2</a> > <a href="./">Developer Documentation</a></div><div id="page-content"><div id="preamble"><h1>Apache 1.3 API notes</h1>
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<p><span>Available Languages: </span><a href="../en/developer/API.html" title="English"> en </a></p>
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<div class="warning"><h3>Warning</h3>
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<p>This document has not been updated to take into account changes made
26
in the 2.0 version of the Apache HTTP Server. Some of the information may
27
still be relevant, but please use it with care.</p>
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<p>These are some notes on the Apache API and the data structures you have
31
to deal with, <em>etc.</em> They are not yet nearly complete, but hopefully,
32
they will help you get your bearings. Keep in mind that the API is still
33
subject to change as we gain experience with it. (See the TODO file for
34
what <em>might</em> be coming). However, it will be easy to adapt modules
35
to any changes that are made. (We have more modules to adapt than you
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<p>A few notes on general pedagogical style here. In the interest of
39
conciseness, all structure declarations here are incomplete -- the real
40
ones have more slots that I'm not telling you about. For the most part,
41
these are reserved to one component of the server core or another, and
42
should be altered by modules with caution. However, in some cases, they
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really are things I just haven't gotten around to yet. Welcome to the
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<p>Finally, here's an outline, to give you some bare idea of what's coming
47
up, and in what order:</p>
51
<a href="#basics">Basic concepts.</a>
54
<li><a href="#HMR">Handlers, Modules, and
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<li><a href="#moduletour">A brief tour of a
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<a href="#handlers">How handlers work</a>
66
<li><a href="#req_tour">A brief tour of the
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<code>request_rec</code></a></li>
69
<li><a href="#req_orig">Where request_rec structures come
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<li><a href="#req_return">Handling requests, declining,
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and returning error codes</a></li>
75
<li><a href="#resp_handlers">Special considerations for
76
response handlers</a></li>
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<li><a href="#auth_handlers">Special considerations for
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authentication handlers</a></li>
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<li><a href="#log_handlers">Special considerations for
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logging handlers</a></li>
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<li><a href="#pools">Resource allocation and resource
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<a href="#config">Configuration, commands and the like</a>
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<li><a href="#per-dir">Per-directory configuration
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<li><a href="#commands">Command handling</a></li>
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<li><a href="#servconf">Side notes --- per-server
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configuration, virtual servers, <em>etc</em>.</a></li>
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<div id="quickview"><ul id="toc"><li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#basics">Basic concepts</a></li>
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<li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#handlers">How handlers work</a></li>
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<li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#pools">Resource allocation and resource pools</a></li>
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<li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#config">Configuration, commands and the like</a></li>
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<div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
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<div class="section">
111
<h2><a name="basics" id="basics">Basic concepts</a></h2>
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<p>We begin with an overview of the basic concepts behind the API, and how
113
they are manifested in the code.</p>
115
<h3><a name="HMR" id="HMR">Handlers, Modules, and Requests</a></h3>
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<p>Apache breaks down request handling into a series of steps, more or
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less the same way the Netscape server API does (although this API has a
118
few more stages than NetSite does, as hooks for stuff I thought might be
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useful in the future). These are:</p>
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<li>URI -> Filename translation</li>
123
<li>Auth ID checking [is the user who they say they are?]</li>
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<li>Auth access checking [is the user authorized <em>here</em>?]</li>
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<li>Access checking other than auth</li>
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<li>Determining MIME type of the object requested</li>
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<li>`Fixups' -- there aren't any of these yet, but the phase is intended
128
as a hook for possible extensions like <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_env.html#setenv">SetEnv</a></code>, which don't really fit well elsewhere.</li>
129
<li>Actually sending a response back to the client.</li>
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<li>Logging the request</li>
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<p>These phases are handled by looking at each of a succession of
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<em>modules</em>, looking to see if each of them has a handler for the
135
phase, and attempting invoking it if so. The handler can typically do one
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<li><em>Handle</em> the request, and indicate that it has done so by
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returning the magic constant <code>OK</code>.</li>
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<li><em>Decline</em> to handle the request, by returning the magic integer
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constant <code>DECLINED</code>. In this case, the server behaves in all
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respects as if the handler simply hadn't been there.</li>
146
<li>Signal an error, by returning one of the HTTP error codes. This
147
terminates normal handling of the request, although an ErrorDocument may
148
be invoked to try to mop up, and it will be logged in any case.</li>
151
<p>Most phases are terminated by the first module that handles them;
152
however, for logging, `fixups', and non-access authentication checking,
153
all handlers always run (barring an error). Also, the response phase is
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unique in that modules may declare multiple handlers for it, via a
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dispatch table keyed on the MIME type of the requested object. Modules may
156
declare a response-phase handler which can handle <em>any</em> request,
157
by giving it the key <code>*/*</code> (<em>i.e.</em>, a wildcard MIME type
158
specification). However, wildcard handlers are only invoked if the server
159
has already tried and failed to find a more specific response handler for
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the MIME type of the requested object (either none existed, or they all
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<p>The handlers themselves are functions of one argument (a
164
<code>request_rec</code> structure. vide infra), which returns an integer,
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<h3><a name="moduletour" id="moduletour">A brief tour of a module</a></h3>
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<p>At this point, we need to explain the structure of a module. Our
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candidate will be one of the messier ones, the CGI module -- this handles
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both CGI scripts and the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code> config file command. It's actually a great deal
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more complicated than most modules, but if we're going to have only one
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example, it might as well be the one with its fingers in every place.</p>
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<p>Let's begin with handlers. In order to handle the CGI scripts, the
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module declares a response handler for them. Because of <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code>, it also has handlers for the
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name translation phase (to recognize <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code>ed URIs), the type-checking phase (any
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<code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code>ed request is typed
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as a CGI script).</p>
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<p>The module needs to maintain some per (virtual) server information,
182
namely, the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code>es in
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effect; the module structure therefore contains pointers to a functions
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which builds these structures, and to another which combines two of them
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(in case the main server and a virtual server both have <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code>es declared).</p>
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<p>Finally, this module contains code to handle the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code> command itself. This particular
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module only declares one command, but there could be more, so modules have
189
<em>command tables</em> which declare their commands, and describe where
190
they are permitted, and how they are to be invoked.</p>
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<p>A final note on the declared types of the arguments of some of these
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commands: a <code>pool</code> is a pointer to a <em>resource pool</em>
194
structure; these are used by the server to keep track of the memory which
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has been allocated, files opened, <em>etc.</em>, either to service a
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particular request, or to handle the process of configuring itself. That
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way, when the request is over (or, for the configuration pool, when the
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server is restarting), the memory can be freed, and the files closed,
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<em>en masse</em>, without anyone having to write explicit code to track
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them all down and dispose of them. Also, a <code>cmd_parms</code>
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structure contains various information about the config file being read,
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and other status information, which is sometimes of use to the function
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which processes a config-file command (such as <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#scriptalias">ScriptAlias</a></code>). With no further ado, the
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<div class="example"><p><code>
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/* Declarations of handlers. */<br />
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int translate_scriptalias (request_rec *);<br />
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int type_scriptalias (request_rec *);<br />
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int cgi_handler (request_rec *);<br />
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/* Subsidiary dispatch table for response-phase <br />
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* handlers, by MIME type */<br />
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handler_rec cgi_handlers[] = {<br />
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<span class="indent">
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{ "application/x-httpd-cgi", cgi_handler },<br />
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/* Declarations of routines to manipulate the <br />
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* module's configuration info. Note that these are<br />
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* returned, and passed in, as void *'s; the server<br />
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* core keeps track of them, but it doesn't, and can't,<br />
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* know their internal structure.<br />
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void *make_cgi_server_config (pool *);<br />
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void *merge_cgi_server_config (pool *, void *, void *);<br />
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/* Declarations of routines to handle config-file commands */<br />
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extern char *script_alias(cmd_parms *, void *per_dir_config, char *fake,
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command_rec cgi_cmds[] = {<br />
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<span class="indent">
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{ "ScriptAlias", script_alias, NULL, RSRC_CONF, TAKE2,<br />
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<span class="indent">"a fakename and a realname"},<br /></span>
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module cgi_module = {
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</code></p><pre> STANDARD_MODULE_STUFF,
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NULL, /* initializer */
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NULL, /* dir config creator */
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NULL, /* dir merger */
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make_cgi_server_config, /* server config */
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merge_cgi_server_config, /* merge server config */
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cgi_cmds, /* command table */
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cgi_handlers, /* handlers */
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translate_scriptalias, /* filename translation */
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NULL, /* check_user_id */
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NULL, /* check auth */
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NULL, /* check access */
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type_scriptalias, /* type_checker */
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NULL /* header parser */
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</div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
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<div class="section">
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<h2><a name="handlers" id="handlers">How handlers work</a></h2>
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<p>The sole argument to handlers is a <code>request_rec</code> structure.
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This structure describes a particular request which has been made to the
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server, on behalf of a client. In most cases, each connection to the
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client generates only one <code>request_rec</code> structure.</p>
273
<h3><a name="req_tour" id="req_tour">A brief tour of the request_rec</a></h3>
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<p>The <code>request_rec</code> contains pointers to a resource pool
275
which will be cleared when the server is finished handling the request;
276
to structures containing per-server and per-connection information, and
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most importantly, information on the request itself.</p>
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<p>The most important such information is a small set of character strings
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describing attributes of the object being requested, including its URI,
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filename, content-type and content-encoding (these being filled in by the
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translation and type-check handlers which handle the request,
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<p>Other commonly used data items are tables giving the MIME headers on
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the client's original request, MIME headers to be sent back with the
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response (which modules can add to at will), and environment variables for
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any subprocesses which are spawned off in the course of servicing the
289
request. These tables are manipulated using the <code>ap_table_get</code>
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and <code>ap_table_set</code> routines.</p>
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<p>Note that the <code>Content-type</code> header value <em>cannot</em>
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be set by module content-handlers using the <code>ap_table_*()</code>
295
routines. Rather, it is set by pointing the <code>content_type</code>
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field in the <code>request_rec</code> structure to an appropriate
297
string. <em>e.g.</em>,</p>
298
<div class="example"><p><code>
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r->content_type = "text/html";
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<p>Finally, there are pointers to two data structures which, in turn,
304
point to per-module configuration structures. Specifically, these hold
305
pointers to the data structures which the module has built to describe
306
the way it has been configured to operate in a given directory (via
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<code>.htaccess</code> files or <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a></code> sections), for private data it has built in the
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course of servicing the request (so modules' handlers for one phase can
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pass `notes' to their handlers for other phases). There is another such
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configuration vector in the <code>server_rec</code> data structure pointed
311
to by the <code>request_rec</code>, which contains per (virtual) server
312
configuration data.</p>
314
<p>Here is an abridged declaration, giving the fields most commonly
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<div class="example"><p><code>
318
struct request_rec {<br />
321
conn_rec *connection;<br />
322
server_rec *server;<br />
324
/* What object is being requested */<br />
327
char *filename;<br />
329
</code></p><pre>char *args; /* QUERY_ARGS, if any */
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struct stat finfo; /* Set by server core;
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* st_mode set to zero if no such file */</pre><p><code>
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char *content_type;<br />
333
char *content_encoding;<br />
335
/* MIME header environments, in and out. Also, <br />
336
* an array containing environment variables to<br />
337
* be passed to subprocesses, so people can write<br />
338
* modules to add to that environment.<br />
340
* The difference between headers_out and <br />
341
* err_headers_out is that the latter are printed <br />
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* even on error, and persist across internal<br />
343
* redirects (so the headers printed for <br />
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* <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#errordocument">ErrorDocument</a></code> handlers will have
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table *headers_in;<br />
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table *headers_out;<br />
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table *err_headers_out;<br />
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table *subprocess_env;<br />
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/* Info about the request itself... */<br />
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</code></p><pre>int header_only; /* HEAD request, as opposed to GET */
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char *protocol; /* Protocol, as given to us, or HTTP/0.9 */
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char *method; /* GET, HEAD, POST, <em>etc.</em> */
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int method_number; /* M_GET, M_POST, <em>etc.</em> */
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/* Info for logging */<br />
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char *the_request;<br />
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int bytes_sent;<br />
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/* A flag which modules can set, to indicate that<br />
367
* the data being returned is volatile, and clients<br />
368
* should be told not to cache it.<br />
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/* Various other config info which may change<br />
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* with .htaccess files<br />
375
* These are config vectors, with one void*<br />
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* pointer for each module (the thing pointed<br />
377
* to being the module's business).<br />
380
</code></p><pre>void *per_dir_config; /* Options set in config files, <em>etc.</em> */
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void *request_config; /* Notes on *this* request */</pre><p><code>
387
<h3><a name="req_orig" id="req_orig">Where request_rec structures come from</a></h3>
388
<p>Most <code>request_rec</code> structures are built by reading an HTTP
389
request from a client, and filling in the fields. However, there are a
393
<li>If the request is to an imagemap, a type map (<em>i.e.</em>, a
394
<code>*.var</code> file), or a CGI script which returned a local
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`Location:', then the resource which the user requested is going to be
396
ultimately located by some URI other than what the client originally
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supplied. In this case, the server does an <em>internal redirect</em>,
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constructing a new <code>request_rec</code> for the new URI, and
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processing it almost exactly as if the client had requested the new URI
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<li>If some handler signaled an error, and an <code>ErrorDocument</code>
403
is in scope, the same internal redirect machinery comes into play.</li>
405
<li><p>Finally, a handler occasionally needs to investigate `what would
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happen if' some other request were run. For instance, the directory
407
indexing module needs to know what MIME type would be assigned to a
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request for each directory entry, in order to figure out what icon to
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<p>Such handlers can construct a <em>sub-request</em>, using the
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functions <code>ap_sub_req_lookup_file</code>,
413
<code>ap_sub_req_lookup_uri</code>, and <code>ap_sub_req_method_uri</code>;
414
these construct a new <code>request_rec</code> structure and processes it
415
as you would expect, up to but not including the point of actually sending
416
a response. (These functions skip over the access checks if the
417
sub-request is for a file in the same directory as the original
420
<p>(Server-side includes work by building sub-requests and then actually
421
invoking the response handler for them, via the function
422
<code>ap_run_sub_req</code>).</p>
427
<h3><a name="req_return" id="req_return">Handling requests, declining, and returning
429
<p>As discussed above, each handler, when invoked to handle a particular
430
<code>request_rec</code>, has to return an <code>int</code> to indicate
431
what happened. That can either be</p>
434
<li><code>OK</code> -- the request was handled successfully. This may or
435
may not terminate the phase.</li>
437
<li><code>DECLINED</code> -- no erroneous condition exists, but the module
438
declines to handle the phase; the server tries to find another.</li>
440
<li>an HTTP error code, which aborts handling of the request.</li>
443
<p>Note that if the error code returned is <code>REDIRECT</code>, then
444
the module should put a <code>Location</code> in the request's
445
<code>headers_out</code>, to indicate where the client should be
446
redirected <em>to</em>.</p>
449
<h3><a name="resp_handlers" id="resp_handlers">Special considerations for response
451
<p>Handlers for most phases do their work by simply setting a few fields
452
in the <code>request_rec</code> structure (or, in the case of access
453
checkers, simply by returning the correct error code). However, response
454
handlers have to actually send a request back to the client.</p>
456
<p>They should begin by sending an HTTP response header, using the
457
function <code>ap_send_http_header</code>. (You don't have to do anything
458
special to skip sending the header for HTTP/0.9 requests; the function
459
figures out on its own that it shouldn't do anything). If the request is
460
marked <code>header_only</code>, that's all they should do; they should
461
return after that, without attempting any further output.</p>
463
<p>Otherwise, they should produce a request body which responds to the
464
client as appropriate. The primitives for this are <code>ap_rputc</code>
465
and <code>ap_rprintf</code>, for internally generated output, and
466
<code>ap_send_fd</code>, to copy the contents of some <code>FILE *</code>
467
straight to the client.</p>
469
<p>At this point, you should more or less understand the following piece
470
of code, which is the handler which handles <code>GET</code> requests
471
which have no more specific handler; it also shows how conditional
472
<code>GET</code>s can be handled, if it's desirable to do so in a
473
particular response handler -- <code>ap_set_last_modified</code> checks
474
against the <code>If-modified-since</code> value supplied by the client,
475
if any, and returns an appropriate code (which will, if nonzero, be
476
USE_LOCAL_COPY). No similar considerations apply for
477
<code>ap_set_content_length</code>, but it returns an error code for
480
<div class="example"><p><code>
481
int default_handler (request_rec *r)<br />
483
<span class="indent">
487
if (r->method_number != M_GET) return DECLINED;<br />
488
if (r->finfo.st_mode == 0) return NOT_FOUND;<br />
490
if ((errstatus = ap_set_content_length (r, r->finfo.st_size))<br />
491
||
492
(errstatus = ap_set_last_modified (r, r->finfo.st_mtime)))<br />
493
return errstatus;<br />
495
f = fopen (r->filename, "r");<br />
497
if (f == NULL) {<br />
498
<span class="indent">
499
log_reason("file permissions deny server access", r->filename, r);<br />
500
return FORBIDDEN;<br />
504
register_timeout ("send", r);<br />
505
ap_send_http_header (r);<br />
507
if (!r->header_only) send_fd (f, r);<br />
508
ap_pfclose (r->pool, f);<br />
514
<p>Finally, if all of this is too much of a challenge, there are a few
515
ways out of it. First off, as shown above, a response handler which has
516
not yet produced any output can simply return an error code, in which
517
case the server will automatically produce an error response. Secondly,
518
it can punt to some other handler by invoking
519
<code>ap_internal_redirect</code>, which is how the internal redirection
520
machinery discussed above is invoked. A response handler which has
521
internally redirected should always return <code>OK</code>.</p>
523
<p>(Invoking <code>ap_internal_redirect</code> from handlers which are
524
<em>not</em> response handlers will lead to serious confusion).</p>
527
<h3><a name="auth_handlers" id="auth_handlers">Special considerations for authentication
529
<p>Stuff that should be discussed here in detail:</p>
532
<li>Authentication-phase handlers not invoked unless auth is
533
configured for the directory.</li>
535
<li>Common auth configuration stored in the core per-dir
536
configuration; it has accessors <code>ap_auth_type</code>,
537
<code>ap_auth_name</code>, and <code>ap_requires</code>.</li>
539
<li>Common routines, to handle the protocol end of things, at
540
least for HTTP basic authentication
541
(<code>ap_get_basic_auth_pw</code>, which sets the
542
<code>connection->user</code> structure field
543
automatically, and <code>ap_note_basic_auth_failure</code>,
544
which arranges for the proper <code>WWW-Authenticate:</code>
545
header to be sent back).</li>
549
<h3><a name="log_handlers" id="log_handlers">Special considerations for logging
551
<p>When a request has internally redirected, there is the question of
552
what to log. Apache handles this by bundling the entire chain of redirects
553
into a list of <code>request_rec</code> structures which are threaded
554
through the <code>r->prev</code> and <code>r->next</code> pointers.
555
The <code>request_rec</code> which is passed to the logging handlers in
556
such cases is the one which was originally built for the initial request
557
from the client; note that the <code>bytes_sent</code> field will only be
558
correct in the last request in the chain (the one for which a response was
561
</div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
562
<div class="section">
563
<h2><a name="pools" id="pools">Resource allocation and resource pools</a></h2>
564
<p>One of the problems of writing and designing a server-pool server is
565
that of preventing leakage, that is, allocating resources (memory, open
566
files, <em>etc.</em>), without subsequently releasing them. The resource
567
pool machinery is designed to make it easy to prevent this from happening,
568
by allowing resource to be allocated in such a way that they are
569
<em>automatically</em> released when the server is done with them.</p>
571
<p>The way this works is as follows: the memory which is allocated, file
572
opened, <em>etc.</em>, to deal with a particular request are tied to a
573
<em>resource pool</em> which is allocated for the request. The pool is a
574
data structure which itself tracks the resources in question.</p>
576
<p>When the request has been processed, the pool is <em>cleared</em>. At
577
that point, all the memory associated with it is released for reuse, all
578
files associated with it are closed, and any other clean-up functions which
579
are associated with the pool are run. When this is over, we can be confident
580
that all the resource tied to the pool have been released, and that none of
581
them have leaked.</p>
583
<p>Server restarts, and allocation of memory and resources for per-server
584
configuration, are handled in a similar way. There is a <em>configuration
585
pool</em>, which keeps track of resources which were allocated while reading
586
the server configuration files, and handling the commands therein (for
587
instance, the memory that was allocated for per-server module configuration,
588
log files and other files that were opened, and so forth). When the server
589
restarts, and has to reread the configuration files, the configuration pool
590
is cleared, and so the memory and file descriptors which were taken up by
591
reading them the last time are made available for reuse.</p>
593
<p>It should be noted that use of the pool machinery isn't generally
594
obligatory, except for situations like logging handlers, where you really
595
need to register cleanups to make sure that the log file gets closed when
596
the server restarts (this is most easily done by using the function <code><a href="#pool-files">ap_pfopen</a></code>, which also arranges for the
597
underlying file descriptor to be closed before any child processes, such as
598
for CGI scripts, are <code>exec</code>ed), or in case you are using the
599
timeout machinery (which isn't yet even documented here). However, there are
600
two benefits to using it: resources allocated to a pool never leak (even if
601
you allocate a scratch string, and just forget about it); also, for memory
602
allocation, <code>ap_palloc</code> is generally faster than
603
<code>malloc</code>.</p>
605
<p>We begin here by describing how memory is allocated to pools, and then
606
discuss how other resources are tracked by the resource pool machinery.</p>
608
<h3>Allocation of memory in pools</h3>
609
<p>Memory is allocated to pools by calling the function
610
<code>ap_palloc</code>, which takes two arguments, one being a pointer to
611
a resource pool structure, and the other being the amount of memory to
612
allocate (in <code>char</code>s). Within handlers for handling requests,
613
the most common way of getting a resource pool structure is by looking at
614
the <code>pool</code> slot of the relevant <code>request_rec</code>; hence
615
the repeated appearance of the following idiom in module code:</p>
617
<div class="example"><p><code>
618
int my_handler(request_rec *r)<br />
620
<span class="indent">
621
struct my_structure *foo;<br />
624
foo = (foo *)ap_palloc (r->pool, sizeof(my_structure));<br />
629
<p>Note that <em>there is no <code>ap_pfree</code></em> --
630
<code>ap_palloc</code>ed memory is freed only when the associated resource
631
pool is cleared. This means that <code>ap_palloc</code> does not have to
632
do as much accounting as <code>malloc()</code>; all it does in the typical
633
case is to round up the size, bump a pointer, and do a range check.</p>
635
<p>(It also raises the possibility that heavy use of
636
<code>ap_palloc</code> could cause a server process to grow excessively
637
large. There are two ways to deal with this, which are dealt with below;
638
briefly, you can use <code>malloc</code>, and try to be sure that all of
639
the memory gets explicitly <code>free</code>d, or you can allocate a
640
sub-pool of the main pool, allocate your memory in the sub-pool, and clear
641
it out periodically. The latter technique is discussed in the section
642
on sub-pools below, and is used in the directory-indexing code, in order
643
to avoid excessive storage allocation when listing directories with
644
thousands of files).</p>
647
<h3>Allocating initialized memory</h3>
648
<p>There are functions which allocate initialized memory, and are
649
frequently useful. The function <code>ap_pcalloc</code> has the same
650
interface as <code>ap_palloc</code>, but clears out the memory it
651
allocates before it returns it. The function <code>ap_pstrdup</code>
652
takes a resource pool and a <code>char *</code> as arguments, and
653
allocates memory for a copy of the string the pointer points to, returning
654
a pointer to the copy. Finally <code>ap_pstrcat</code> is a varargs-style
655
function, which takes a pointer to a resource pool, and at least two
656
<code>char *</code> arguments, the last of which must be
657
<code>NULL</code>. It allocates enough memory to fit copies of each of
658
the strings, as a unit; for instance:</p>
660
<div class="example"><p><code>
661
ap_pstrcat (r->pool, "foo", "/", "bar", NULL);
664
<p>returns a pointer to 8 bytes worth of memory, initialized to
665
<code>"foo/bar"</code>.</p>
668
<h3><a name="pools-used" id="pools-used">Commonly-used pools in the Apache Web
670
<p>A pool is really defined by its lifetime more than anything else.
671
There are some static pools in http_main which are passed to various
672
non-http_main functions as arguments at opportune times. Here they
676
<dt><code>permanent_pool</code></dt>
677
<dd>never passed to anything else, this is the ancestor of all pools</dd>
679
<dt><code>pconf</code></dt>
682
<li>subpool of permanent_pool</li>
684
<li>created at the beginning of a config "cycle"; exists
685
until the server is terminated or restarts; passed to all
686
config-time routines, either via cmd->pool, or as the
687
"pool *p" argument on those which don't take pools</li>
689
<li>passed to the module init() functions</li>
693
<dt><code>ptemp</code></dt>
696
<li>sorry I lie, this pool isn't called this currently in
697
1.3, I renamed it this in my pthreads development. I'm
698
referring to the use of ptrans in the parent... contrast
699
this with the later definition of ptrans in the
702
<li>subpool of permanent_pool</li>
704
<li>created at the beginning of a config "cycle"; exists
705
until the end of config parsing; passed to config-time
706
routines <em>via</em> cmd->temp_pool. Somewhat of a
707
"bastard child" because it isn't available everywhere.
708
Used for temporary scratch space which may be needed by
709
some config routines but which is deleted at the end of
714
<dt><code>pchild</code></dt>
717
<li>subpool of permanent_pool</li>
719
<li>created when a child is spawned (or a thread is
720
created); lives until that child (thread) is
723
<li>passed to the module child_init functions</li>
725
<li>destruction happens right after the child_exit
726
functions are called... (which may explain why I think
727
child_exit is redundant and unneeded)</li>
731
<dt><code>ptrans</code></dt>
734
<li>should be a subpool of pchild, but currently is a
735
subpool of permanent_pool, see above</li>
737
<li>cleared by the child before going into the accept()
738
loop to receive a connection</li>
740
<li>used as connection->pool</li>
744
<dt><code>r->pool</code></dt>
747
<li>for the main request this is a subpool of
748
connection->pool; for subrequests it is a subpool of
749
the parent request's pool.</li>
751
<li>exists until the end of the request (<em>i.e.</em>,
752
ap_destroy_sub_req, or in child_main after
753
process_request has finished)</li>
755
<li>note that r itself is allocated from r->pool;
756
<em>i.e.</em>, r->pool is first created and then r is
757
the first thing palloc()d from it</li>
762
<p>For almost everything folks do, <code>r->pool</code> is the pool to
763
use. But you can see how other lifetimes, such as pchild, are useful to
764
some modules... such as modules that need to open a database connection
765
once per child, and wish to clean it up when the child dies.</p>
767
<p>You can also see how some bugs have manifested themself, such as
768
setting <code>connection->user</code> to a value from
769
<code>r->pool</code> -- in this case connection exists for the
770
lifetime of <code>ptrans</code>, which is longer than
771
<code>r->pool</code> (especially if <code>r->pool</code> is a
772
subrequest!). So the correct thing to do is to allocate from
773
<code>connection->pool</code>.</p>
775
<p>And there was another interesting bug in <code class="module"><a href="../mod/mod_include.html">mod_include</a></code>
776
/ <code class="module"><a href="../mod/mod_cgi.html">mod_cgi</a></code>. You'll see in those that they do this test
777
to decide if they should use <code>r->pool</code> or
778
<code>r->main->pool</code>. In this case the resource that they are
779
registering for cleanup is a child process. If it were registered in
780
<code>r->pool</code>, then the code would <code>wait()</code> for the
781
child when the subrequest finishes. With <code class="module"><a href="../mod/mod_include.html">mod_include</a></code> this
782
could be any old <code>#include</code>, and the delay can be up to 3
783
seconds... and happened quite frequently. Instead the subprocess is
784
registered in <code>r->main->pool</code> which causes it to be
785
cleaned up when the entire request is done -- <em>i.e.</em>, after the
786
output has been sent to the client and logging has happened.</p>
789
<h3><a name="pool-files" id="pool-files">Tracking open files, etc.</a></h3>
790
<p>As indicated above, resource pools are also used to track other sorts
791
of resources besides memory. The most common are open files. The routine
792
which is typically used for this is <code>ap_pfopen</code>, which takes a
793
resource pool and two strings as arguments; the strings are the same as
794
the typical arguments to <code>fopen</code>, <em>e.g.</em>,</p>
796
<div class="example"><p><code>
798
FILE *f = ap_pfopen (r->pool, r->filename, "r");<br />
800
if (f == NULL) { ... } else { ... }<br />
803
<p>There is also a <code>ap_popenf</code> routine, which parallels the
804
lower-level <code>open</code> system call. Both of these routines arrange
805
for the file to be closed when the resource pool in question is
808
<p>Unlike the case for memory, there <em>are</em> functions to close files
809
allocated with <code>ap_pfopen</code>, and <code>ap_popenf</code>, namely
810
<code>ap_pfclose</code> and <code>ap_pclosef</code>. (This is because, on
811
many systems, the number of files which a single process can have open is
812
quite limited). It is important to use these functions to close files
813
allocated with <code>ap_pfopen</code> and <code>ap_popenf</code>, since to
814
do otherwise could cause fatal errors on systems such as Linux, which
815
react badly if the same <code>FILE*</code> is closed more than once.</p>
817
<p>(Using the <code>close</code> functions is not mandatory, since the
818
file will eventually be closed regardless, but you should consider it in
819
cases where your module is opening, or could open, a lot of files).</p>
822
<h3>Other sorts of resources -- cleanup functions</h3>
823
<p>More text goes here. Describe the the cleanup primitives in terms of
824
which the file stuff is implemented; also, <code>spawn_process</code>.</p>
826
<p>Pool cleanups live until <code>clear_pool()</code> is called:
827
<code>clear_pool(a)</code> recursively calls <code>destroy_pool()</code>
828
on all subpools of <code>a</code>; then calls all the cleanups for
829
<code>a</code>; then releases all the memory for <code>a</code>.
830
<code>destroy_pool(a)</code> calls <code>clear_pool(a)</code> and then
831
releases the pool structure itself. <em>i.e.</em>,
832
<code>clear_pool(a)</code> doesn't delete <code>a</code>, it just frees
833
up all the resources and you can start using it again immediately.</p>
836
<h3>Fine control -- creating and dealing with sub-pools, with
837
a note on sub-requests</h3>
838
<p>On rare occasions, too-free use of <code>ap_palloc()</code> and the
839
associated primitives may result in undesirably profligate resource
840
allocation. You can deal with such a case by creating a <em>sub-pool</em>,
841
allocating within the sub-pool rather than the main pool, and clearing or
842
destroying the sub-pool, which releases the resources which were
843
associated with it. (This really <em>is</em> a rare situation; the only
844
case in which it comes up in the standard module set is in case of listing
845
directories, and then only with <em>very</em> large directories.
846
Unnecessary use of the primitives discussed here can hair up your code
847
quite a bit, with very little gain).</p>
849
<p>The primitive for creating a sub-pool is <code>ap_make_sub_pool</code>,
850
which takes another pool (the parent pool) as an argument. When the main
851
pool is cleared, the sub-pool will be destroyed. The sub-pool may also be
852
cleared or destroyed at any time, by calling the functions
853
<code>ap_clear_pool</code> and <code>ap_destroy_pool</code>, respectively.
854
(The difference is that <code>ap_clear_pool</code> frees resources
855
associated with the pool, while <code>ap_destroy_pool</code> also
856
deallocates the pool itself. In the former case, you can allocate new
857
resources within the pool, and clear it again, and so forth; in the
858
latter case, it is simply gone).</p>
860
<p>One final note -- sub-requests have their own resource pools, which are
861
sub-pools of the resource pool for the main request. The polite way to
862
reclaim the resources associated with a sub request which you have
863
allocated (using the <code>ap_sub_req_...</code> functions) is
864
<code>ap_destroy_sub_req</code>, which frees the resource pool. Before
865
calling this function, be sure to copy anything that you care about which
866
might be allocated in the sub-request's resource pool into someplace a
867
little less volatile (for instance, the filename in its
868
<code>request_rec</code> structure).</p>
870
<p>(Again, under most circumstances, you shouldn't feel obliged to call
871
this function; only 2K of memory or so are allocated for a typical sub
872
request, and it will be freed anyway when the main request pool is
873
cleared. It is only when you are allocating many, many sub-requests for a
874
single main request that you should seriously consider the
875
<code>ap_destroy_...</code> functions).</p>
877
</div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
878
<div class="section">
879
<h2><a name="config" id="config">Configuration, commands and the like</a></h2>
880
<p>One of the design goals for this server was to maintain external
881
compatibility with the NCSA 1.3 server --- that is, to read the same
882
configuration files, to process all the directives therein correctly, and
883
in general to be a drop-in replacement for NCSA. On the other hand, another
884
design goal was to move as much of the server's functionality into modules
885
which have as little as possible to do with the monolithic server core. The
886
only way to reconcile these goals is to move the handling of most commands
887
from the central server into the modules.</p>
889
<p>However, just giving the modules command tables is not enough to divorce
890
them completely from the server core. The server has to remember the
891
commands in order to act on them later. That involves maintaining data which
892
is private to the modules, and which can be either per-server, or
893
per-directory. Most things are per-directory, including in particular access
894
control and authorization information, but also information on how to
895
determine file types from suffixes, which can be modified by
896
<code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addtype">AddType</a></code> and <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#defaulttype">DefaultType</a></code> directives, and so forth. In general,
897
the governing philosophy is that anything which <em>can</em> be made
898
configurable by directory should be; per-server information is generally
899
used in the standard set of modules for information like
900
<code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#alias">Alias</a></code>es and <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_alias.html#redirect">Redirect</a></code>s which come into play before the
901
request is tied to a particular place in the underlying file system.</p>
903
<p>Another requirement for emulating the NCSA server is being able to handle
904
the per-directory configuration files, generally called
905
<code>.htaccess</code> files, though even in the NCSA server they can
906
contain directives which have nothing at all to do with access control.
907
Accordingly, after URI -> filename translation, but before performing any
908
other phase, the server walks down the directory hierarchy of the underlying
909
filesystem, following the translated pathname, to read any
910
<code>.htaccess</code> files which might be present. The information which
911
is read in then has to be <em>merged</em> with the applicable information
912
from the server's own config files (either from the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a></code> sections in
913
<code>access.conf</code>, or from defaults in <code>srm.conf</code>, which
914
actually behaves for most purposes almost exactly like <code><Directory
917
<p>Finally, after having served a request which involved reading
918
<code>.htaccess</code> files, we need to discard the storage allocated for
919
handling them. That is solved the same way it is solved wherever else
920
similar problems come up, by tying those structures to the per-transaction
923
<h3><a name="per-dir" id="per-dir">Per-directory configuration structures</a></h3>
924
<p>Let's look out how all of this plays out in <code>mod_mime.c</code>,
925
which defines the file typing handler which emulates the NCSA server's
926
behavior of determining file types from suffixes. What we'll be looking
927
at, here, is the code which implements the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addtype">AddType</a></code> and <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addencoding">AddEncoding</a></code> commands. These commands can appear in
928
<code>.htaccess</code> files, so they must be handled in the module's
929
private per-directory data, which in fact, consists of two separate
930
tables for MIME types and encoding information, and is declared as
933
<div class="example"><pre>typedef struct {
934
table *forced_types; /* Additional AddTyped stuff */
935
table *encoding_types; /* Added with AddEncoding... */
936
} mime_dir_config;</pre></div>
938
<p>When the server is reading a configuration file, or <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a></code> section, which includes
939
one of the MIME module's commands, it needs to create a
940
<code>mime_dir_config</code> structure, so those commands have something
941
to act on. It does this by invoking the function it finds in the module's
942
`create per-dir config slot', with two arguments: the name of the
943
directory to which this configuration information applies (or
944
<code>NULL</code> for <code>srm.conf</code>), and a pointer to a
945
resource pool in which the allocation should happen.</p>
947
<p>(If we are reading a <code>.htaccess</code> file, that resource pool
948
is the per-request resource pool for the request; otherwise it is a
949
resource pool which is used for configuration data, and cleared on
950
restarts. Either way, it is important for the structure being created to
951
vanish when the pool is cleared, by registering a cleanup on the pool if
954
<p>For the MIME module, the per-dir config creation function just
955
<code>ap_palloc</code>s the structure above, and a creates a couple of
956
tables to fill it. That looks like this:</p>
958
<div class="example"><p><code>
959
void *create_mime_dir_config (pool *p, char *dummy)<br />
961
<span class="indent">
962
mime_dir_config *new =<br />
963
<span class="indent">
964
(mime_dir_config *) ap_palloc (p, sizeof(mime_dir_config));<br />
967
new->forced_types = ap_make_table (p, 4);<br />
968
new->encoding_types = ap_make_table (p, 4);<br />
975
<p>Now, suppose we've just read in a <code>.htaccess</code> file. We
976
already have the per-directory configuration structure for the next
977
directory up in the hierarchy. If the <code>.htaccess</code> file we just
978
read in didn't have any <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addtype">AddType</a></code>
979
or <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addencoding">AddEncoding</a></code> commands, its
980
per-directory config structure for the MIME module is still valid, and we
981
can just use it. Otherwise, we need to merge the two structures
984
<p>To do that, the server invokes the module's per-directory config merge
985
function, if one is present. That function takes three arguments: the two
986
structures being merged, and a resource pool in which to allocate the
987
result. For the MIME module, all that needs to be done is overlay the
988
tables from the new per-directory config structure with those from the
991
<div class="example"><p><code>
992
void *merge_mime_dir_configs (pool *p, void *parent_dirv, void *subdirv)<br />
994
<span class="indent">
995
mime_dir_config *parent_dir = (mime_dir_config *)parent_dirv;<br />
996
mime_dir_config *subdir = (mime_dir_config *)subdirv;<br />
997
mime_dir_config *new =<br />
998
<span class="indent">
999
(mime_dir_config *)ap_palloc (p, sizeof(mime_dir_config));<br />
1002
new->forced_types = ap_overlay_tables (p, subdir->forced_types,<br />
1003
<span class="indent">
1004
parent_dir->forced_types);<br />
1006
new->encoding_types = ap_overlay_tables (p, subdir->encoding_types,<br />
1007
<span class="indent">
1008
parent_dir->encoding_types);<br />
1016
<p>As a note -- if there is no per-directory merge function present, the
1017
server will just use the subdirectory's configuration info, and ignore
1018
the parent's. For some modules, that works just fine (<em>e.g.</em>, for
1019
the includes module, whose per-directory configuration information
1020
consists solely of the state of the <code>XBITHACK</code>), and for those
1021
modules, you can just not declare one, and leave the corresponding
1022
structure slot in the module itself <code>NULL</code>.</p>
1025
<h3><a name="commands" id="commands">Command handling</a></h3>
1026
<p>Now that we have these structures, we need to be able to figure out how
1027
to fill them. That involves processing the actual <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addtype">AddType</a></code> and <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addencoding">AddEncoding</a></code> commands. To find commands, the server looks in
1028
the module's command table. That table contains information on how many
1029
arguments the commands take, and in what formats, where it is permitted,
1030
and so forth. That information is sufficient to allow the server to invoke
1031
most command-handling functions with pre-parsed arguments. Without further
1032
ado, let's look at the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addtype">AddType</a></code>
1033
command handler, which looks like this (the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_mime.html#addencoding">AddEncoding</a></code> command looks basically the same, and won't be
1036
<div class="example"><p><code>
1037
char *add_type(cmd_parms *cmd, mime_dir_config *m, char *ct, char *ext)<br />
1039
<span class="indent">
1040
if (*ext == '.') ++ext;<br />
1041
ap_table_set (m->forced_types, ext, ct);<br />
1047
<p>This command handler is unusually simple. As you can see, it takes
1048
four arguments, two of which are pre-parsed arguments, the third being the
1049
per-directory configuration structure for the module in question, and the
1050
fourth being a pointer to a <code>cmd_parms</code> structure. That
1051
structure contains a bunch of arguments which are frequently of use to
1052
some, but not all, commands, including a resource pool (from which memory
1053
can be allocated, and to which cleanups should be tied), and the (virtual)
1054
server being configured, from which the module's per-server configuration
1055
data can be obtained if required.</p>
1057
<p>Another way in which this particular command handler is unusually
1058
simple is that there are no error conditions which it can encounter. If
1059
there were, it could return an error message instead of <code>NULL</code>;
1060
this causes an error to be printed out on the server's
1061
<code>stderr</code>, followed by a quick exit, if it is in the main config
1062
files; for a <code>.htaccess</code> file, the syntax error is logged in
1063
the server error log (along with an indication of where it came from), and
1064
the request is bounced with a server error response (HTTP error status,
1067
<p>The MIME module's command table has entries for these commands, which
1070
<div class="example"><p><code>
1071
command_rec mime_cmds[] = {<br />
1072
<span class="indent">
1073
{ "AddType", add_type, NULL, OR_FILEINFO, TAKE2,<br />
1074
<span class="indent">"a mime type followed by a file extension" },<br /></span>
1075
{ "AddEncoding", add_encoding, NULL, OR_FILEINFO, TAKE2,<br />
1076
<span class="indent">
1077
"an encoding (<em>e.g.</em>, gzip), followed by a file extension" },<br />
1084
<p>The entries in these tables are:</p>
1086
<li>The name of the command</li>
1087
<li>The function which handles it</li>
1088
<li>a <code>(void *)</code> pointer, which is passed in the
1089
<code>cmd_parms</code> structure to the command handler ---
1090
this is useful in case many similar commands are handled by
1091
the same function.</li>
1093
<li>A bit mask indicating where the command may appear. There
1094
are mask bits corresponding to each
1095
<code>AllowOverride</code> option, and an additional mask
1096
bit, <code>RSRC_CONF</code>, indicating that the command may
1097
appear in the server's own config files, but <em>not</em> in
1098
any <code>.htaccess</code> file.</li>
1100
<li>A flag indicating how many arguments the command handler
1101
wants pre-parsed, and how they should be passed in.
1102
<code>TAKE2</code> indicates two pre-parsed arguments. Other
1103
options are <code>TAKE1</code>, which indicates one
1104
pre-parsed argument, <code>FLAG</code>, which indicates that
1105
the argument should be <code>On</code> or <code>Off</code>,
1106
and is passed in as a boolean flag, <code>RAW_ARGS</code>,
1107
which causes the server to give the command the raw, unparsed
1108
arguments (everything but the command name itself). There is
1109
also <code>ITERATE</code>, which means that the handler looks
1110
the same as <code>TAKE1</code>, but that if multiple
1111
arguments are present, it should be called multiple times,
1112
and finally <code>ITERATE2</code>, which indicates that the
1113
command handler looks like a <code>TAKE2</code>, but if more
1114
arguments are present, then it should be called multiple
1115
times, holding the first argument constant.</li>
1117
<li>Finally, we have a string which describes the arguments
1118
that should be present. If the arguments in the actual config
1119
file are not as required, this string will be used to help
1120
give a more specific error message. (You can safely leave
1121
this <code>NULL</code>).</li>
1124
<p>Finally, having set this all up, we have to use it. This is ultimately
1125
done in the module's handlers, specifically for its file-typing handler,
1126
which looks more or less like this; note that the per-directory
1127
configuration structure is extracted from the <code>request_rec</code>'s
1128
per-directory configuration vector by using the
1129
<code>ap_get_module_config</code> function.</p>
1131
<div class="example"><p><code>
1132
int find_ct(request_rec *r)<br />
1134
<span class="indent">
1136
char *fn = ap_pstrdup (r->pool, r->filename);<br />
1137
mime_dir_config *conf = (mime_dir_config *)<br />
1138
<span class="indent">
1139
ap_get_module_config(r->per_dir_config, &mime_module);<br />
1143
if (S_ISDIR(r->finfo.st_mode)) {<br />
1144
<span class="indent">
1145
r->content_type = DIR_MAGIC_TYPE;<br />
1150
if((i=ap_rind(fn,'.')) < 0) return DECLINED;<br />
1153
if ((type = ap_table_get (conf->encoding_types, &fn[i])))<br />
1155
<span class="indent">
1156
r->content_encoding = type;<br />
1158
/* go back to previous extension to try to use it as a type */<br />
1159
fn[i-1] = '\0';<br />
1160
if((i=ap_rind(fn,'.')) < 0) return OK;<br />
1165
if ((type = ap_table_get (conf->forced_types, &fn[i])))<br />
1167
<span class="indent">
1168
r->content_type = type;<br />
1178
<h3><a name="servconf" id="servconf">Side notes -- per-server configuration,
1179
virtual servers, <em>etc</em>.</a></h3>
1180
<p>The basic ideas behind per-server module configuration are basically
1181
the same as those for per-directory configuration; there is a creation
1182
function and a merge function, the latter being invoked where a virtual
1183
server has partially overridden the base server configuration, and a
1184
combined structure must be computed. (As with per-directory configuration,
1185
the default if no merge function is specified, and a module is configured
1186
in some virtual server, is that the base configuration is simply
1189
<p>The only substantial difference is that when a command needs to
1190
configure the per-server private module data, it needs to go to the
1191
<code>cmd_parms</code> data to get at it. Here's an example, from the
1192
alias module, which also indicates how a syntax error can be returned
1193
(note that the per-directory configuration argument to the command
1194
handler is declared as a dummy, since the module doesn't actually have
1195
per-directory config data):</p>
1197
<div class="example"><p><code>
1198
char *add_redirect(cmd_parms *cmd, void *dummy, char *f, char *url)<br />
1200
<span class="indent">
1201
server_rec *s = cmd->server;<br />
1202
alias_server_conf *conf = (alias_server_conf *)<br />
1203
<span class="indent">
1204
ap_get_module_config(s->module_config,&alias_module);<br />
1206
alias_entry *new = ap_push_array (conf->redirects);<br />
1208
if (!ap_is_url (url)) return "Redirect to non-URL";<br />
1210
new->fake = f; new->real = url;<br />
1217
<div class="bottomlang">
1218
<p><span>Available Languages: </span><a href="../en/developer/API.html" title="English"> en </a></p>
1219
</div><div id="footer">
1220
<p class="apache">Copyright 2006 The Apache Software Foundation.<br />Licensed under the <a href="http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0">Apache License, Version 2.0</a>.</p>
1221
<p class="menu"><a href="../mod/">Modules</a> | <a href="../mod/directives.html">Directives</a> | <a href="../faq/">FAQ</a> | <a href="../glossary.html">Glossary</a> | <a href="../sitemap.html">Sitemap</a></p></div>
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