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 use Apache2::WebApp; $Apache2::WebApp = Apache2::WebApp->new; SetHandler perl-script PerlHandler $Apache2::WebApp->handler SetEnv WEBAPP_CONF /path/to/project/conf/webapp.conf 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 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::Toolkit' Use of CPAN.pm in interactive mode: $> perl -MCPAN -e shell cpan> install Apache2::WebApp::Toolkit 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 --config /path/to/conf/webapp.conf 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'; # Preload classes - Modules added here will be URI accessible use Project::Foo; E) Password file used for restricting access to a specified path (see "httpd.conf"). 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 *html/* 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/template # path to template cache include_path = /var/www/project/template # 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 *html/* 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, - COPYRIGHT This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. See 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 SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.