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

Is there a way (possibly using HTML::Template) to pass httpd.conf to httpd as a stream instead of a file? I know I can wrap the httpd command with a build command, but I'm wondering if you can pass a stream instead of a filename ...

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We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age.

Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.

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Re: dynamic httpd.conf
by borisz (Canon) on Mar 01, 2004 at 17:00 UTC
    You can dynamicly rewrite your httpd.conf from PerlSections. Assuming you use mod_perl. See perldoc Apache::PerlSections
    Boris
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Re: dynamic httpd.conf
by Fletch (Bishop) on Mar 01, 2004 at 16:50 UTC

    Not HTML::Template, but if you use mod_perl you can use <Perl></Perl> sections (and other things) to dynamically configure Apache.

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Re: dynamic httpd.conf
by Abigail-II (Bishop) on Mar 01, 2004 at 16:12 UTC
    You could replace httpd.conf with a named pipe.

    Abigail

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Re: dynamic httpd.conf
by matija (Priest) on Mar 01, 2004 at 16:27 UTC
    I don't think so. The apache man page says:
    -f config Execute the commands in the file config on startup. If config does not begin with a /, then it is taken to be a path relative to the ServerRoot. The default is conf/httpd.conf

    So even if you started it as httpd -f -, it would only try to open a file called /(serverroot)/-.

    You could replace httpd.conf with a named pipe, but you would have to be very carefull: if the process tried to re-read it's config (for instance, if it received a kill -HUP, and you weren't ready for that, apache would hang waiting for input...

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Re: dynamic httpd.conf
by waswas-fng (Curate) on Mar 01, 2004 at 16:36 UTC
    dragonchild, what are you trying to do? For instance I have created a setup here that is managed by a perl script that generates the httpd.conf file from a database. The process runs a few times a day grabs the info from the DB and generates a httpd.conf, then sends the signal to httpd to reread config. There may be a way to do what you want that is a little different from that approach, but I need more info on what the actual goal is.


    -Waswas
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      I have four copies of the same application. One is prod, one is test, and two are the developer instances. The httpd.conf is almost exactly the same, save for about 8 values. I was trying to be cute and not have to wrap the httpd command in a process to generate the appropriate httpd.conf in the appropriate place before calling httpd, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to.

      Thanks!

      ------
      We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age.

      Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.

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        Most people start httpd by running the apachectl command, which is just a shell script. You can edit it or replace it with something that runs some perl code, generates httpd.conf in a temp file, and then passes that with httpd -f.
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Re: dynamic httpd.conf
by techy (Scribe) on Mar 01, 2004 at 22:53 UTC
    dragonchild,

    As mentioned previously, with mod_perl you can use <Perl> sections, etc. to do this. If mod_perl is not available, another option is to use environment variables and <IfDefine> sections. You can then set these environment variables from the apachectl, with the -D option. for example:

    HTTPD="/path/to/httpd -f ... -DFOO"

    [download]

    The FOO can also be set in the apachectl by an environment variable, etc. Then inside the httpd.conf: 
    <IfDefine FOO>
specific conf for FOO or...
Include conf/FOO_conf.conf
</IfDefine>

    [download]

    Other sections could also be added for <IfDefine BAR>, etc. Hope this helps!

    techy

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