# HG changeset patch
# User paulb
# Date 1076276541 0
# Node ID 718bdfeec0449a170cf8acf1aac5b7993b7a8206
# Parent  95e17b0514193556e454bf2c94700ae8cce37b03
[project @ 2004-02-08 21:42:21 by paulb]
Added notes about authentication/authorisation in mod_python.

diff -r 95e17b051419 -r 718bdfeec044 docs/ModPython/NOTES.txt
--- a/docs/ModPython/NOTES.txt	Sun Feb 08 21:42:02 2004 +0000
+++ b/docs/ModPython/NOTES.txt	Sun Feb 08 21:42:21 2004 +0000
@@ -27,3 +27,34 @@
 
   /agenda/my-agenda.simple
   /simple/tasks/my-tasks.simple
+
+--------
+
+Authentication/authorisation in mod_python:
+
+Whilst WebStack applications are permitted to send the "WWW-Authenticate"
+header to HTTP clients, Apache appears to avoid defining the current user
+unless various Auth directives have been applied to such applications in the
+httpd.conf file, and since Apache sends such authentication headers when such
+directives have been applied in the configuration, WebStack applications seem
+to have limited control over the precise circumstances of authentication
+itself.
+
+Consequently, it is necessary to define authentication methods in the
+httpd.conf file as in the following example:
+
+Alias /auth "/home/paulb/Software/Python/WebStack/examples/ModPython/AuthApp"
+
+<Directory "/home/paulb/Software/Python/WebStack/examples/ModPython/AuthApp">
+    AddHandler python-program .py
+    PythonHandler AuthHandler
+    PythonDebug On
+    AuthType Basic
+    AuthName "AuthResource"
+    AuthUserFile /usr/local/apache2/conf/users
+    require valid-user
+</Directory>
+
+The details of the application's deployment, including the exact pathname of
+the users file and the appropriate access policy, must obviously be defined
+according to the actual application concerned.