Re: [Zope] - keys() and items() for Request objects... and maybe a bug w/ PATH_INFO

22 Dec 1998

      skip@calendar.com wrote:
...
I offer the following implementations of keys() and items() for Z Publisher
Request objects:
def keys(self):
        keys = {}
        for key in self.environ.keys():
            if isCGI_NAME(key) or key[:5] == 'HTTP_':
                keys[key] = 1
        keys.update(self.other)
        lasturl = ""
        for n in "0123456789":
            key = "URL%s"%n
            try:
                if lasturl != self[key]:
                    keys[key] = 1
                    lasturl = self[key]
                else:
                    break
            except KeyError:
                pass
        for n in "0123456789":
            key = "BASE%s"%n
            try:
                if lasturl != self[key]:
                    keys[key] = 1
                    lasturl = self[key]
                else:
                    break
            except KeyError:
                pass
        return keys.keys()
def items(self):
        result = []
        for k in self.keys():
            result.append((k, self[k]))
        return result
They probably aren't useful in general settings, but are useful for people
like myself who aren't familiar with what's in a Request and want to explore
a bit.
I don't want to add this, because I don't want to maintain it.  
If I have a choice between maintaining the above function
(which is incorrect, BTW) and maintaining documentation, I'd
rather maintain documentation.  But if alot of people would
consider the above method useful, I'll reluctantly add (a corrected
version of) it.
...
Also, when using this, I discovered what may be a bug.  It's at least a
feature.   I am using ZopeHTTPServer.  When I examine the REQUEST argument
of a URL, among other things I find
PATH_INFO: '/check_request'
    PATH_TRANSLATED: '/home/dolphin/skip/src/Zope-1.9.0b3-src/check_request'
    SCRIPT_NAME: '/'
    URL: 'http://127.0.0.2:8043/check_request'
I suppose in a Z Publisher context the distinction between elements of
PATH_INFO and elements of SCRIPT_NAME is fuzzy, but it seems somehow more
intuitive to me that I should see
PATH_INFO: ''
    PATH_TRANSLATED: '/home/dolphin/skip/src/Zope-1.9.0b3-src'
    SCRIPT_NAME: '/check_request'
    URL: 'http://127.0.0.2:8043/check_request'
instead.  In a CGI context you always have a non-empty SCRIPT_NAME.  You
might or might not have a non-empty PATH_INFO.  Given that SCRIPT_NAME and
PATH_INFO are holdovers from CGI, I think it makes sense to pile everything
into SCRIPT_NAME and leave PATH_INFO empty.
The script name is the URL up to the name of the application.
PATH_INFO is the part of the URL after the application name
and is used to march into the application.  With ZopeHTTPServer, 
the web server *is* the application, so SCRIPT_NAME must be ''.

Jim

--
Jim Fulton           mailto:jim@digicool.com
Technical Director   (540) 371-6909              Python Powered!
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