NAME
        Apache::Roaming - A mod_perl handler for Roaming Profiles

SYNOPSIS
          # Configuration in httpd.conf or srm.conf
          # Assuming DocumentRoot /home/httpd/html

          PerlModule Apache::Roaming
          <Location /roaming>
            PerlHandler Apache::Roaming->handler
            PerlTypeHandler Apache::Roaming->handler_type
            AuthType Basic
            AuthName "Roaming User"
            AuthUserFile /home/httpd/.htusers
            require valid-user
            PerlSetVar BaseDir /home/httpd/html/roaming
          </Location>

      In theory any AuthType and require statement should be possible
      as long as the $r->connection()->user() method returns something
      non trivial.

DESCRIPTION
    With Apache::Roaming you can use your Apache webserver as a Netscape
    Roaming Access server. This allows you to store you Netscape
    Communicator 4.5 preferences, bookmarks, address books, cookies etc. on
    the server so that you can use (and update) the same settings from any
    Netscape Communicator 4.5 that can access the server.

    The source is based on mod_roaming by Vincent Partington
    <vincentp@xs4all.nl>, see

        http://www.xs4all.nl/~vincentp/software/mod_roaming.html

    Vincent in turn was inspired by a Perl script from Frederik Vermeulen
    <Frederik.Vermeulen@imec.be>, see

        http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~vermeule/roam/put

    Compared to Apache::Roaming, this script doesn't need mod_perl. On the
    other hand it doesn't support the MOVE method, thus you need to set the
    li.prefs.http.useSimplePut attribute in your Netscape preferences. Due
    to the missing MOVE method, it may be even slower than Apache::Roaming
    and perhaps a little bit less stable.

    The modules features are:

    *       GET, HEAD, PUT, DELETE and MOVE are handled by the module. In
            particular the Non-standard MOVE method is implemented, although
            Apache doesn't know it by default. Thus you need no set the
            li.prefs.http.useSimplePut attribute to true.

    *       Directories are created automatically.

    *       The module is subclassable, so that you can create profiles on
            the fly or parse and modify the user preferences. See the
            Apache::Roaming::LiPrefs(3) manpage for an example subclass.

INSTALLATION
    First of all you need an Apache Web server with mod_perl support. The
    TypeHandler must be enabled, so you need to set PERL_TYPE=1 when running
    Makefile.PL. For example, I use the following statements to build
    Apache:

        cd mod_perl-1.16
        perl Makefile.PL APACHE_SRC=../apache_1.3.X/src DO_HTTPD=1 \
            USE_APACI=1 PERL_METHOD_HANDLERS=1 PERL_AUTHEN=1 \
            PERL_CLEANUP=1 PREP_HTTPD=1 PERL_STACKED_HANDLERS=1 \
            PERL_FILE_API=1
        cd ../apache-1.3.3
        ./configure --activate-module=src/modules/perl/libperl.a
        make
        make install
        cd ../mod_perl-1.16
        make
        make install

    See the mod_perl docs for details.

    Once the web server is installed, you need to create a directory for
    roaming profiles, I assume /home/httpd/html/roaming in what follows,
    with /home/httpd/html being the servers root directory. Be sure, that
    this directory is writable for the web server, better for the web server
    only. For example I do

        mkdir /home/httpd/html/roaming
        chown nobody /home/httpd/html/roaming
        chgrp nobody /home/httpd/html/roaming
        chmod 700 /home/httpd/html/roaming

    with *nobody* being the web server user.

    Access to the roaming directory must be restricted and enabled via
    password only. Finally tell the web server, that Apache::Roaming is
    handling requests to this directory by adding something like this to
    your srm.conf or access.conf:

        PerlModule Apache::Roaming
        <Location /roaming>
          PerlHandler Apache::Roaming->handler
          PerlTypeHandler Apache::Roaming->handler_type
          AuthType Basic
          AuthName "Roaming User"
          AuthUserFile /home/httpd/.htusers
          require valid-user
          PerlSetVar BaseDir /home/httpd/html/roaming
        </Location>

    That's it!

NETSCAPE COMMUNICATOR CONFIGURATION
    Assuming your document root directory is /home/httpd/html and you want
    your profile files being located under http://your.host/roaming, do the
    following:

    1.)     Create a directory /home/httpd/html/roaming. Make it writable by
            the web server and noone else, for example by doing a

                mkdir /home/httpd/html/roaming
                chown nobody /home/httpd/html/roaming
                    # Insert your web servers UID here
                chmod 700 /home/httpd/html/roaming

    2.)     Start your communicator and open Preferences/Roaming User. Click
            the "Enable Roaming Access for this profile" checkbox.

    3.)     Open Preferences/Roaming User/Server Information. Click the
            "HTTP Server" checkbox and enter the Base URL
            "http://your.host/roaming/$USERID".

    That's all. Now hit the Ok button. A directory with the name of your
    user id should automatically be generated under /roaming and files
    should be stored there.

METHOD INTERFACE
    As already said, the Apache::Roaming module is subclassable. You can
    well use it by itself, but IMO the most important possibility is
    overwriting the GET method for complete control over the users settings.

  handler

      $result = Apache::Roaming->handler($r);

    (Class Method) The *handler* method is called by the Apache server for
    any request. It receives an Apache request $r. The methods main task is
    creating an instance of Apache::Roaming by calling the *new* method and
    then passing control to the *Authenticate*, *CheckDir* and *GET*, *PUT*,
    *DELETE* or *MOVE*, respectively, methods.

  handler_type

      $status = Apache::Roaming->handler_type($r)

    (Class Method) This method is required only, because the Apache server
    would refuse other methods than GET otherwise. It checks whether the
    requested method is GET, PUT, HEAD, DELETE or MOVE, in which case it
    returns the value OK. Otherwise the value DECLINED is returned.

  new

      $ar_req = Apache::Roaming->new(%attr);

    (Class Method) This is the modules constructor, called by the *handler*
    method. Instances of Apache::Request have the following attributes:

    basedir The roaming servers base directory, as an absolute path. You set
            this using a PerlSetVar instruction, see the INSTALLATION
            manpage above for an example.

    file    This is the path of the file being created (PUT), read (GET),
            deleted (DELETE) or moved (MOVE). It's an absolute path.

    method  The requested method, one of HEAD, GET, PUT, MOVE or DELETE.

    request This is the Apache request object.

    status  If a method dies, it should set this value to a return code like
            SERVER_ERROR (default), FORBIDDEN, METHOD_NOT_ALLOWED, or
            something similar from Apache::Constants. See the
            Apache::Constants(3) manpage. The *handler* method will catch
            Perl exceptions for you and generate an error page.

    user    Name the user authenticated as.

  Authenticate

      $ar_req->Authenticate();

    (Instance Method) This method is checking whether the user has
    authorized himself. The current implementation is checking only whether
    user name is given via $r->connection()->user(), in other words you can
    use simple basic authentication or something similar.

    The method should throw an exception in case of problems.

  CheckDir

      $ar_req->CheckDir();

    (Instance method) Once the user is authenticated, this method should
    determine whether the user is permitted to access the requested URI. The
    current implementation verifies whether the user is accessing a file in
    the directory $basedir/$user. If not, a Perl exception is thrown with
    $ar_req->{'status'} set to FORBIDDEN.

  GET, PUT, MOVE, DELETE

      $ar_req->GET();
      $ar_req->PUT();
      $ar_req->MOVE();
      $ar_req->DELETE();

    (Instance Methods) These methods are called finally for performing the
    real action. With the exception of GET, they call *Success* finally for
    reporting Ok.

    Alternative method names are possible, depending on the name of the
    requested file. For example, if you request the file *liprefs* via GET,
    then it is checked whether your sublass has a method *GET_liprefs*. If
    so, this method is called rather than the default method *GET*. The
    alternative method names are obtained by removing all non-alpha- numeric
    characters from the files base name. That is, if you request a file
    *pab.na2*, then the alternative name is *pabna2*. Note, these method
    names are case sensitive!

  MkDir

      $ar_req->MkDir($file);

    (Instance Method) Helper function of *PUT*, creates the directory where
    $file is located, if it doesn't yet exist. Works recursively, if more
    than one directory must be created.

  Success

      $ar_req->Success($status, $text);

    (Instance Method) Creates an HTML document with status $status,
    containing $text as success messages.

AUTHOR AND COPYRIGHT
    This module is

        Copyright (C) 1998    Jochen Wiedmann
                              Am Eisteich 9
                              72555 Metzingen
                              Germany

                              Phone: +49 7123 14887
                              Email: joe@ispsoft.de

    All rights reserved.

    You may distribute this module under the terms of either the GNU General
    Public License or the Artistic License, as specified in the Perl README
    file.

SEE ALSO
    the Apache(3) manpage, the mod_perl(3) manpage

    An example subclass is Apache::Roaming::LiPrefs. See the
    Apache::Roaming::LiPrefs(3) manpage.

    A C module for Apache is mod_roaming, by Vincent Partington
    <vincentp@xs4all.nl>, see

        http://www.xs4all.nl/~vincentp/software/mod_roaming.html

    Frederic Vermeulen <Frederik.Vermeulen@imec.be> has written a CGI binary
    for roaming profiles. It's missing a MOVE method, though.

        http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~vermeule/roam/put

