NAME
    Apache2::WebApp - A simplified web application framework

SYNOPSIS
    This module should not be used directly; it is intended to be run as a
    *mod_perl* handler that can be configured as such by adding the
    following directives to your "httpd.conf"

      PerlRequire /path/to/project/bin/startup.pl

      <Perl>
          use Apache2::WebApp;
          $Apache2::WebApp = Apache2::WebApp->new;
      </Perl>

      <Location /app>
          SetHandler perl-script
          PerlHandler $Apache2::WebApp->handler
          SetEnv WEBAPP_CONF /path/to/project/conf/webapp.conf
      </Location>

DESCRIPTION
    The WebApp::Toolkit is a *mod_perl* web application framework for the
    Perl programming language. It defines a set of methods, processes, and
    conventions that help provide a consistent application environment.

    The way this package works is actually pretty simple. For every HTTP
    request, a *mod_perl* handler is executed that instanciates a new
    "WebApp" controller object. This object is then passed to a "dispatch()"
    method that parses the URI request and maps the result to a public
    class/method while passing the %controller as the first argument.

    Example:

      # URI                                    # Class                          # Method
      /app/project           --> maps to -->   Project
      /app/project/foo       --> maps to -->   Project::Foo        --> or -->   Project->foo()
      /app/project/foo/bar   --> maps to -->   Project::Foo::Bar   --> or -->   Project::Foo->bar()

    If the target method does not exist, the "distpatch()" will execute the
    class "_global()" and "_default()" methods. Below is an example of what
    a class (.pm) would look like.

    Example:

      package Project::Foo;

      use strict;
      use warnings;

      # this method is executed for every request
      sub _global {
          my ( $self, $c ) = @_;

          $c->stash('baz','qux');

          return $c;
      }

      # if the target method doesn't exist, this will be executed
      sub _default {
          my ( $self, $c ) = @_;

          $self->_print_result( $c, 'bar' );
      }

      # _ always denotes a private method
      sub _print_result {
          my ( $self, $c, $output ) = @_;

          $c->request->content_type('text/html');

          print $output;
          exit;
      }

      # /app/project/foo/bar --> maps to Project::Foo->bar()
      sub bar {
          my ( $self, $c ) = @_;

          $self->_print_result( $c, $c->stash('baz') );     # output 'qux'
      }

      1;

PREREQUISITES
      Apache2::Request
      AppConfig
      Template::Toolkit
      Getopt::Long
      Params::Validate

INSTALLATION
    From source:

      $ tar xfz Apache2-WebApp-Toolkit-0.X.X.tar.gz
      $ perl MakeFile.PL PREFIX=~/path/to/custom/dir LIB=~/path/to/custom/lib
      $ make
      $ make test     <-- Make sure you do this before contacting me
      $ make install

    Perl one liner using CPAN.pm:

      $ perl -MCPAN -e 'install Apache2::WebApp'

    Use of CPAN.pm in interactive mode:

      $ perl -MCPAN -e shell
      cpan> install Apache2::WebApp
      cpan> quit

    Just like the manual installation of Perl modules, the user may need
    root access during this process to insure write permission is allowed
    within the installation directory.

GETTING STARTED
  HELPER SCRIPTS
   Create a new project
      $ webapp-project --project_title Project --apache_doc_root /var/www

        or

      $ webapp-project --config /path/to/conf/webapp.conf

   Export project settings to the Unix shell
      $ source /path/to/project/.projrc

   Create a new class
      $ webapp-class ClassName

   Add a pre-packaged *Extra* to an existing project
      $ webapp-extra ExtraName

   Start your application
      $ webapp-kickstart

   Standard output
      /var/www/project/app                              <-- A
      /var/www/project/app/Project
      /var/www/project/app/Project/Base.pm              <-- B
      /var/www/project/app/Project/Example.pm           <-- C
      /var/www/project/bin
      /var/www/project/bin/startup.pl                   <-- D
      /var/www/project/conf
      /var/www/project/conf/htpasswd                    <-- E
      /var/www/project/conf/httpd.conf                  <-- F
      /var/www/project/conf/webapp.conf                 <-- G
      /var/www/project/htdocs                           <-- H
      /var/www/project/templates/example.tt             <-- I
      /var/www/project/templates/error.tt               <-- J
      /var/www/project/logs                             <-- K
      /var/www/project/logs/access_log
      /var/www/project/logs/errror_log
      /var/www/project/tmp                              <-- L
      /var/www/project/tmp/cache
      /var/www/project/tmp/cache/templates
      /var/www/project/tmp/uploads

    A) Application directory. All classes *(*.pm)* within this directory are
    precompiled into memory when Apache starts/restarts.

    B) Base class that can be "included" from other classes. Contains
    "_global()" and "_error()" methods that can be inherited using:

    Example:

      use base qw(
          Project::Base
        );

    C) Basic class.

    D) This is executed when the Apache server starts. It's used to reset
    Perl module search paths in @INC, preload web application classes,
    precompile constants, etc.

    Example:

      #!/usr/bin/env perl

      $ENV{MOD_PERL} or die "Not running under mod_perl";

      use lib '/var/www/project/app';

      ..

      # Modules added here will be URI accessible 
      __DATA__ 
      Project::Foo

    E) Password file used for restricting access to a specified path (see
    "httpd.conf").

    The login information below is currently set-up by default.

      User Name       admin
      Password        password

    You can change the login password using the "htpasswd" command-line
    script.

      $ htpasswd /var/www/project/conf/htpasswd admin

    F) Apache server *Virtual Host* configuration.

    G) Application configuration. This file contains your project settings.
    Due to security reasons, this file should always remain outside the
    *htdocs/* directory path.

    Example:

      [project]
      title              = Project                           # must not contain spaces or special characters
      author             = Your Name Here
      email              = email@domain.com
      version            = 0.01

      [apache]
      doc_root           = /var/www/project                  # path to project directory
      domain             = www.domain.com                    # valid domain name
      disable_uploads    = 0                                 # allow file uploads
      post_max           = 5242880                           # post max in bytes (example 5MB)
      temp_dir           = /var/www/project/tmp/uploads

      [template]
      cache_size         = 100                               # total files to store in cache
      compile_dir        = /var/www/project/tmp/templates    # path to template cache
      include_path       = /var/www/project/templates        # path to template directory
      stat_ttl           = 60                                # template to HTML build time (in seconds)

    H) Website sources. This includes HTML, CSS, Javascript, and images.
    When setting up FTP access - restrict access to this directory only.

    I) Basic template.

    J) Application error templates.

    K) Apache log directory that contains both access and error logs. Due to
    security reasons, this directory should always remain outside the
    *htdocs/* directory path.

    L) Temporary shared space for file processing.

CAVEATS
    Since your classes get compiled at Apache start-up, the server must be
    restarted when any code changes take place. You can do this easily using
    the "webapp-kickstart" script provided with this package.

WARNING
    In Perl, variables do not need to be declared and are by default
    globally scoped. The issue with *mod_perl* is that global variables can
    persist between requests. To avoid this problem, you should always have
    the following line in your code:

      use strict;

SEE ALSO
    perl(1), mod_perl(2), Apache(2), Apache2::Request, Apache2::RequestRec,
    Apache2::RequestUtil, Apache2::Connection, Apache2::Upload,
    Apache2::Const, Apache2::Log

AUTHOR
    Marc S. Brooks, <mbrooks@cpan.org> - <http://mbrooks.info>

COPYRIGHT
    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the same terms as Perl itself.

    See <http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html>

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
    BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
    FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN
    OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
    PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
    EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
    WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
    ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH
    YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL
    NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

    IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING
    WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR
    REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENCE, BE LIABLE
    TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR
    CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
    SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING
    RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A
    FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF
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    DAMAGES.

