Re: How to make FASTCGI deliver an external file

Jose Adriano Baltieri wrote:
> Suppose that you have a FASTCGI like this :
> 
> While there are requests()
>   if  request is not OK, say for security reasons, then
>       send a message to the browser and loop again
>   end if
>   // the request is OK, that is, authorized THEN...
>   // we need to send to the browser an external file
>   // that is on this path : C:\SOMEWHERE\DOWN\ON\THE\SERVER\HARDDISK\EMPLOYEE_PICTURE.JPG
> end While
> 
> 
> Can I do that DIRECTLY ? That is, withouth having to RE-READ that file 
> from inside FASTCGI itself ?
> 
> IOW, is there some special order or instruction that I can issue from 
> FASTCGI telling the http server :
> 
> "Hey http server, deliver THE FILE ON THIS PATH to the browser, will you ?"
> 
> I use something similar on a particular implementation of a webserver 
> API that we have here...
> 


It sounds like what you want to use FastCGI for authentication or 
authorization.  I have done this for my own system.  I am not quite 
clear on the difference between the authorizer and the authenticator 
roles.  What I implemented was the Authenticator role.

Paraphrasing from my apache config:
     <Location /private>
         AuthType             Basic
         AuthName             PrivateStuff
         FastCgiAuthenticator /var/www/bin/myauth
         require              valid-user
         Allow from all
     </Location>

The app used the REMOTE_USER, REMOTE_PASSWD and REMOTE_ADDR variables as 
passed in to determine if access will be granted.  If allowed it outputs 
something like:
Status: 200 OK
Variable-AUTH_TYPE: Basic
Variable-REMOTE_PASSWD:
Variable-MYAUTH_USERID: SOMEUSERID

Note that every header in the response that begins 'Variable' gets 
translated into a variable that is passed to the request handler (which 
may also be a FastCGI app).  Note also that the REMOTE_PASSWD is cleared 
so that it will not be visible.  The app can trust the MYAUTH_USERID/

If auth fails the the program sends:

Status: 401 Unauthorized
WWW-Authenticate: Basic realm="PrivateStuff"

which gets passed onto the browser and causes the name and password 
prompt to be displayed.

-- 
Bryan White, ArcaMax Publishing Inc.
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