[mod_python] Rendering a page as a 404?

> (roughly), but what was happening was that my page was being sent, then
> the normal Apache 404 handler was occuring.

mod_python.c has this to say on the matter:

/* When the script sets an error status by using req.status,
 * it can then either provide its own HTML error message or have
 * Apache provide one. To have Apache provide one, you need to send
 * no output and return the error from the handler function. However,
 * if the script is providing HTML, then the return value of the
 * handler should be OK, else the user will get both the script
 * output and the Apache output.
 */

So basically, you need to set req.status = apache.HTTP_NOT_FOUND (which is 
basically a synonym for 404, but perhaps clearer to read), and then return a 
value saying that no error occured, in order to successfully handle an error.  
That's backwards if you ask me, and definitely something that should be make 
clear in the manual.


> The first header sent was including a 200 status as well.

That's a separate problem; the status is sent as the very first line of the 
response, so you need to set req.status before sending any headers, else 
mod_python defaults to 200.

-- 
Jim Dabell