[mod_python] handling virtual files

You might also look at:

   http://www.boddie.org.uk/python/WebStack.html

Embodies the same idea of componentised middleware and can host
on top of mod_python.

Graham

On 16/07/2005, at 9:49 AM, Graham Dumpleton wrote:

>
> On 16/07/2005, at 9:15 AM, Alejandro Mery wrote:
>
>> Hi, i need some directions :-)
>>
>> i need to have 'virtual' and real files on a tree, virtual paths have 
>> a folder on the root which somehow gets the next folder, and again 
>> and again. mixing different methods. /dir1/dir2/dir3/dir4/file
>>
>> dir1 is simply a folder, dir2 is 'mounted' for a database, where dir3 
>> is  simply a folder, and dir4 is a 'COW' (copy on write) of another 
>> directory.
>>
>> i get the file into temporal location and now i call the file handler 
>> over the temporal location but thinking its on the virtual one.
>>
>> but req.filename is read-only.. how should i solve this problem? what 
>> do you recommend?
>
> In mod_python 3.X, req.filename can be modified. It was read only
> in mod_python 2.7 though.
>
> What base handler were you thinking of using, were you thinking
> of starting with something like mod_python.publisher or writing
> your own handlers from scratch?
>
> In respect of req.filename, its use becomes limited in a system
> where you have virtual directory concepts, or where you want to
> store the physical files somewhere else besides the actual document
> tree and have a proxy handler which serves them up. This is because
> req.filename is set based on what physical files Apache is able
> to identify and thus if the files are elsewhere or map to a virtual
> resource, it by itself doesn't help much. Thus, you still need to
> go off and do your own interpretation of req.path_info to identify
> the actual virtual resource.
>
> Anyway, that you feel you need to modify req.filename sounds like
> you have in mind a scheme like the WSGI middlware stack where
> middlware components can modify things like the script name and
> path info to reflect how much of the URI has been processed and
> also automatically remap it as necessary to support operation
> of nested middleware components. This componentised approach can
> certainly make it easier to implement more complex systems where
> there is a mix of physical and virtual resources. You might thus
> want to consider using WSGI on top of mod_python to make use of that
> top of model. Alternatively, I have been working on similar stuff
> for mod_python for a while, even before knowing that WSGI was doing
> a similar thing, but want I am doing is still in a slightly volatile
> state. If you are interested though, we can take the discussion
> off list.....
>
> Graham
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