handler.html.en revision 8951c7d73bfa2ae5a2c8fe5bd27f3e677be02564
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This file is generated from xml source: DO NOT EDIT
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
-->
<title>Apache's Handler Use - Apache HTTP Server</title>
<link href="/style/css/manual.css" rel="stylesheet" media="all" type="text/css" title="Main stylesheet" />
<link href="/style/css/manual-loose-100pc.css" rel="alternate stylesheet" media="all" type="text/css" title="No Sidebar - Default font size" />
<body id="manual-page"><div id="page-header">
<p class="menu"><a href="/mod/">Modules</a> | <a href="/mod/directives.html">Directives</a> | <a href="/faq/">FAQ</a> | <a href="/glossary.html">Glossary</a> | <a href="/sitemap.html">Sitemap</a></p>
<p class="apache">Apache HTTP Server Version 2.3</p>
<div id="path">
<a href="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</a> > <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">HTTP Server</a> > <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs/">Documentation</a> > <a href="./">Version 2.3</a></div><div id="page-content"><div id="preamble"><h1>Apache's Handler Use</h1>
<div class="toplang">
<p><span>Available Languages: </span><a href="/en/handler.html" title="English"> en </a> |
</div>
<p>This document describes the use of Apache's Handlers.</p>
</div>
<div id="quickview"><ul id="toc"><li><img alt="" src="/images/down.gif" /> <a href="#definition">What is a Handler</a></li>
</ul></div>
<div class="section">
<h2><a name="definition" id="definition">What is a Handler</a></h2>
<table class="related"><tr><th>Related Modules</th><th>Related Directives</th></tr><tr><td><ul><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_actions.html">mod_actions</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_asis.html">mod_asis</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_cgi.html">mod_cgi</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_imagemap.html">mod_imagemap</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_info.html">mod_info</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_mime.html">mod_mime</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_negotiation.html">mod_negotiation</a></code></li><li><code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_status.html">mod_status</a></code></li></ul></td><td><ul><li><code class="directive"><a href="/mod/mod_actions.html#action">Action</a></code></li><li><code class="directive"><a href="/mod/mod_mime.html#addhandler">AddHandler</a></code></li><li><code class="directive"><a href="/mod/mod_mime.html#removehandler">RemoveHandler</a></code></li><li><code class="directive"><a href="/mod/core.html#sethandler">SetHandler</a></code></li></ul></td></tr></table>
<p>A "handler" is an internal Apache representation of the
action to be performed when a file is called. Generally, files
have implicit handlers, based on the file type. Normally, all
files are simply served by the server, but certain file types
are "handled" separately.</p>
<p>Apache 1.1 adds the ability to use handlers explicitly.
Based on either filename extensions or on location, handlers
can be specified without relation to file type. This is
advantageous both because it is a more elegant solution, and
because it also allows for both a type <strong>and</strong> a
handler to be associated with a file. (See also <a href="mod/mod_mime.html#multipleext">Files with Multiple
Extensions</a>.)</p>
<p>Handlers can either be built into the server or included in
a module, or they can be added with the <code class="directive"><a href="/mod/mod_actions.html#action">Action</a></code> directive. The
built-in handlers in the standard distribution are as
follows:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>default-handler</strong>: Send the file using the
<code>default_handler()</code>, which is the handler used by
default to handle static content. (core)</li>
<li><strong>send-as-is</strong>: Send file with HTTP headers
<li><strong>cgi-script</strong>: Treat the file as a CGI
<li><strong>imap-file</strong>: Parse as an imagemap rule
<li><strong>server-info</strong>: Get the server's
configuration information. (<code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_info.html">mod_info</a></code>)</li>
<li><strong>server-status</strong>: Get the server's status
<li><strong>type-map</strong>: Parse as a type map file for
content negotiation. (<code class="module"><a href="/mod/mod_negotiation.html">mod_negotiation</a></code>)</li>
</ul>
<div class="section">
<h2><a name="examples" id="examples">Examples</a></h2>
<h3><a name="example1" id="example1">Modifying static content using a CGI script</a></h3>
<p>The following directives will cause requests for files with
the <code>html</code> extension to trigger the launch of the
<div class="example"><p><code>
AddHandler add-footer .html
</code></p></div>
<p>Then the CGI script is responsible for sending the
originally requested document (pointed to by the
<code>PATH_TRANSLATED</code> environment variable) and making
whatever modifications or additions are desired.</p>
<h3><a name="example2" id="example2">Files with HTTP headers</a></h3>
<p>The following directives will enable the
<code>send-as-is</code> handler, which is used for files which
contain their own HTTP headers. All files in the
the <code>send-as-is</code> handler, regardless of their
filename extensions.</p>
<div class="example"><p><code>
SetHandler send-as-is<br />
</Directory>
</code></p></div>
<div class="section">
<h2><a name="programmer" id="programmer">Programmer's Note</a></h2>
<p>In order to implement the handler features, an addition has
you may wish to make use of. Specifically, a new record has
been added to the <code>request_rec</code> structure:</p>
<div class="example"><p><code>
char *handler
</code></p></div>
<p>If you wish to have your module engage a handler, you need
only to set <code>r->handler</code> to the name of the
handler at any time prior to the <code>invoke_handler</code>
stage of the request. Handlers are implemented as they were
before, albeit using the handler name instead of a content
type. While it is not necessary, the naming convention for
handlers is to use a dash-separated word, with no slashes, so
as to not invade the media type name-space.</p>
</div></div>
<div class="bottomlang">
<p><span>Available Languages: </span><a href="/en/handler.html" title="English"> en </a> |
</div><div id="footer">
<p class="apache">Copyright 1995-2006 The Apache Software Foundation or its licensors, as applicable.<br />Licensed under the <a href="http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0">Apache License, Version 2.0</a>.</p>
<p class="menu"><a href="/mod/">Modules</a> | <a href="/mod/directives.html">Directives</a> | <a href="/faq/">FAQ</a> | <a href="/glossary.html">Glossary</a> | <a href="/sitemap.html">Sitemap</a></p></div>
</body></html>