mod_perl handler inside apache 1.x serving partial content

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hello, I have to code a mod_perl handler for apache 1.x that supports partial file downloads. Apache::Archive doesn't bother with partial downloads at all. Apache::PAR::Static claims it supports them, but it looks it doesn't - it always returns 200 status code. Here is how it handles serving content:

        #$contents is content of entire file we are asked for, not a p
+art of it!
        $r->set_content_length(length($contents));


        if((my $status = $r->meets_conditions) eq OK()) {
                $r->send_http_header if ($mod_perl::VERSION < 1.99);
        }
        else {
                return $status;
        }
        return OK() if $r->header_only;

        my $range_request = ($mod_perl::VERSION < 1.99) ? $r->set_byte
+range : 0;

        if($range_request) {
                while(my($offset, $length) = $r->each_byterange) {
                        $r->print(substr($contents, $offset, $length))
+;
                }
        }
        #I've also tried adding "return 206;" here. Apache still retur
+ns status code 200
        else {
                $r->print($contents);
        }
        return OK();
[download]

Here are headers I'm getting when fetching document served by handler doing the same:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:06:46 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.33 (Unix) mod_perl/1.29 PHP/5.2.10
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Last-Modified: Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:35:02 GMT
Connection: close
Content-Type: text/html
[download]

Here what headers same Apache returns when serving a part of some static file:

HTTP/1.1 206 Partial Content
Date: Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:25:23 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.33 (Unix) mod_perl/1.29 PHP/5.2.10
Last-Modified: Thu, 14 Feb 2002 17:33:24 GMT
ETag: "1ea-23908b-3c6bf4e4"
Accept-Ranges: bytes
Content-Length: 147241
Content-Range: bytes 2183522-2330762/2330763
Keep-Alive: timeout=15, max=100
Connection: Keep-Alive
Content-Type: text/html
[download]

So the questions - is it possible to serve partial http requests in mod_perl handlers? If yes, can you give a hint on what module does it (in order to see how it implements it)? The biggest problems I see is forcing apache to return proper status code and accept my Content-Range headers. Thanks in advance for your answers!

Comment on mod_perl handler inside apache 1.x serving partial content - is this possible? How? Select or Download Code

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Re: mod_perl handler inside apache 1.x serving partial content - is this possible? How? by Anonymous Monk on Jan 12, 2010 at 11:48 UTC
So the questions - is it possible to serve partial http requests in mod_perl handlers? Absolutely, there is nothing special about partial requests If yes, can you give a hint on what module does it (in order to see how it implements it)? Read the RFC. A client requests a range of bytes, the server (your handler) sends the bytes requested, or returns an error, all with the required headers (refer to the RFC for those). The biggest problems I see is forcing apache to return proper status code and accept my Content-Range headers. Why? Just try it.	[reply]
Re: mod_perl handler inside apache 1.x serving partial content - is this possible? How? by Anonymous Monk on Jan 12, 2010 at 11:49 UTC
It turned out that setting status to 206 before call of $r->send_http_header solved the problem. Here is a fixed version of code: `my $range_request = ($mod_perl::VERSION < 1.99) ? $r->set_byte +range : 0; if((my $status = $r->meets_conditions) eq OK()) { if ($mod_perl::VERSION < 1.99) { if ($range_request) { $r->status(206); }; $r->send_http_header; }; } else { return $status; } return OK() if $r->header_only; if($range_request) { while(my($offset, $length) = $r->each_byterange) { $r->print(substr($contents, $offset, $length)) +; } } else { $r->print($contents); } return OK();` [download]	[reply] [d/l]