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581N/A --><title>mod_usertrack- Apache HTTP Server</title><link href="/style/manual.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"/></head><body><blockquote><div align="center"><img src="/images/sub.gif" alt="[APACHE DOCUMENTATION]"/><h3>Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0</h3></div><h1 align="center">Apache Module mod_usertrack</h1><table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td valign="top"><span class="help">Description:</span></td><td>
581N/A This module uses cookies to provide for a
581N/A <em>clickstream</em> log of user activity on a site.
581N/A</td></tr><tr><td><a href="module-dict.html#Status" class="help">Status:</a></td><td>Extension</td></tr><tr><td><a href="module-dict.html#ModuleIdentifier" class="help">Module&nbsp;Identifier:</a></td><td>usertrack_module</td></tr><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="module-dict.html#Compatibility" class="help">Compatibility:</a></td><td><compatibility>Known as mod_cookies prior to Apache 1.3.</compatibility></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><h2>Summary</h2>
581N/A <p>Previous releases of Apache have included a module which
581N/A generates a 'clickstream' log of user activity on a site using
581N/A cookies. This was called the "cookies" module, mod_cookies. In
581N/A Apache 1.2 and later this module has been renamed the "user
581N/A tracking" module, mod_usertrack. This module has been
581N/A simplified and new directives added.</p>
581N/A<h2>Directives</h2><ul><li><a href="#cookiedomain">CookieDomain</a></li><li><a href="#cookieexpires">CookieExpires</a></li><li><a href="#cookiename">CookieName</a></li><li><a href="#cookiestyle">CookieStyle</a></li><li><a href="#cookietracking">CookieTracking</a></li></ul><h2>Logging</h2>
581N/A
581N/A
581N/A <p>Previously, the cookies module (now the user tracking
581N/A module) did its own logging, using the <code class="directive">CookieLog</code>
581N/A directive. In this release, this module does no logging at all.
581N/A Instead, a configurable log format file should be used to log
581N/A user click-streams. This is possible because the logging module
1899N/A now allows multiple log files. The cookie itself is logged by
2859N/A using the text <code>%{cookie}n</code> in the log file format. For
1899N/A example:</p>
581N/A<blockquote><table cellpadding="10"><tr><td bgcolor="#eeeeee"><code>
581N/ACustomLog logs/clickstream "%{cookie}n %r %t"
581N/A</code></td></tr></table></blockquote>
817N/A
1715N/A <p>For backward compatibility the configurable log module
581N/A implements the old <code class="directive">CookieLog</code> directive, but this
742N/A should be upgraded to the above <code class="directive">CustomLog</code> directive. </p>
581N/A<h2>2-digit or 4-digit dates for cookies?</h2>
581N/A
817N/A
1020N/A <p>(the following is from message
1117N/A &lt;022701bda43d$9d32bbb0$1201a8c0@christian.office.sane.com&gt;
738N/A in the new-httpd archives) </p>
742N/A<pre>
1117N/AFrom: "Christian Allen" &lt;christian@sane.com&gt;
581N/ASubject: Re: Apache Y2K bug in mod_usertrack.c
2028N/ADate: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 11:41:56 -0400
1507N/A
1507N/ADid some work with cookies and dug up some info that might be useful.
1507N/A
1968N/ATrue, Netscape claims that the correct format NOW is four digit dates, and
1507N/Afour digit dates do in fact work... for Netscape 4.x (Communicator), that
2992N/Ais. However, 3.x and below do NOT accept them. It seems that Netscape
2992N/Aoriginally had a 2-digit standard, and then with all of the Y2K hype and
581N/Aprobably a few complaints, changed to a four digit date for Communicator.
1715N/AFortunately, 4.x also understands the 2-digit format, and so the best way to
581N/Aensure that your expiration date is legible to the client's browser is to
1715N/Ause 2-digit dates.
581N/A
1151N/AHowever, this does not limit expiration dates to the year 2000; if you use
1151N/Aan expiration year of "13", for example, it is interpreted as 2013, NOT
1151N/A1913! In fact, you can use an expiration year of up to "37", and it will be
1151N/Aunderstood as "2037" by both MSIE and Netscape versions 3.x and up (not sure
1151N/Aabout versions previous to those). Not sure why Netscape used that
1151N/Aparticular year as its cut-off point, but my guess is that it was in respect
1151N/Ato UNIX's 2038 problem. Netscape/MSIE 4.x seem to be able to understand
1151N/A2-digit years beyond that, at least until "50" for sure (I think they
1151N/Aunderstand up until about "70", but not for sure).
1151N/A
581N/ASummary: Mozilla 3.x and up understands two digit dates up until "37"
581N/A(2037). Mozilla 4.x understands up until at least "50" (2050) in 2-digit
581N/Aform, but also understands 4-digit years, which can probably reach up until
1715N/A9999. Your best bet for sending a long-life cookie is to send it for some
1715N/Atime late in the year "37".
581N/A</pre>
581N/A
689N/A<hr/><h2><a name="CookieDomain">CookieDomain</a> <a name="cookiedomain">Directive</a></h2><table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><strong>Description: </strong></td><td>controls the setting of the domain to which the tracking cookie applies.</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Syntax" class="help">Syntax:</a></td><td>CookieDomain <em>domain</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Default" class="help">Default:</a></td><td><code>None</code></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Context" class="help">Context:</a></td><td>server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Status" class="help">Status:</a></td><td>Extension</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Module" class="help">Module:</a></td><td>mod_usertrack</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>
689N/A
689N/A <p>This directive controls the setting of the domain to which
689N/A the tracking cookie applies. If not present, no domain is
1025N/A included in the cookie header field.</p>
1025N/A
1025N/A <p>The domain string <strong>must</strong> begin with a dot, and
1025N/A <strong>must</strong> include at least one embedded dot. That is,
1025N/A ".foo.com" is legal, but "foo.bar.com" and ".com" are not.</p>
1025N/A<hr/><h2><a name="CookieExpires">CookieExpires</a> <a name="cookieexpires">Directive</a></h2><table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><strong>Description: </strong></td><td/></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Syntax" class="help">Syntax:</a></td><td>CookieExpires <em>expiry-period</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Default" class="help">Default:</a></td><td><code/></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Context" class="help">Context:</a></td><td>server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Override" class="help">Override:</a></td><td/></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Status" class="help">Status:</a></td><td>Extension</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Module" class="help">Module:</a></td><td>mod_usertrack</td></tr><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><a href="directive-dict.html#Compatibility" class="help">Compatibility:</a></td><td>In 1.3.20 and earlier, not usable in directory and
1025N/A.htaccess</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>
1025N/A <p>When used, this directive sets an expiry time on the cookie
738N/A generated by the usertrack module. The <em>expiry-period</em>
738N/A can be given either as a number of seconds, or in the format
738N/A such as "2 weeks 3 days 7 hours". Valid denominations are:
738N/A years, months, weeks, hours, minutes and seconds. If the expiry
738N/A time is in any format other than one number indicating the
738N/A number of seconds, it must be enclosed by double quotes.</p>
738N/A
2859N/A <p>If this directive is not used, cookies last only for the
2859N/A current browser session.</p>
2859N/A<hr/><h2><a name="CookieName">CookieName</a> <a name="cookiename">Directive</a></h2><table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><strong>Description: </strong></td><td/></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Syntax" class="help">Syntax:</a></td><td>CookieName <em>token</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Default" class="help">Default:</a></td><td><code>Apache</code></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Context" class="help">Context:</a></td><td>server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Status" class="help">Status:</a></td><td>Extension</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Module" class="help">Module:</a></td><td>mod_usertrack</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>
2859N/A <p>This directive allows you to change the name of the cookie
2859N/A this module uses for its tracking purposes. By default the
1715N/A cookie is named "<code>Apache</code>".</p>
581N/A
581N/A <p>You must specify a valid cookie name; results are
1895N/A unpredictable if you use a name containing unusual characters.
1895N/A Valid characters include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, "_", and "-".</p>
1715N/A<hr/><h2><a name="CookieStyle">CookieStyle</a> <a name="cookiestyle">Directive</a></h2><table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><strong>Description: </strong></td><td>Controls the format of the cookie header field</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Syntax" class="help">Syntax:</a></td><td>CookieStyle
581N/A <em>Netscape|Cookie|Cookie2|RFC2109|RFC2965</em></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Default" class="help">Default:</a></td><td><code/></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Context" class="help">Context:</a></td><td>server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Status" class="help">Status:</a></td><td>Extension</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Module" class="help">Module:</a></td><td>mod_usertrack</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>
581N/A <p>This directive controls the format of the cookie header
581N/A field. The three formats allowed are:</p>
581N/A
581N/A <ul>
581N/A <li><strong>Netscape</strong>, which is the original but now deprecated
581N/A syntax. This is the default, and the syntax Apache has
581N/A historically used.</li>
581N/A
581N/A <li><strong>Cookie</strong> or <strong>RFC2109</strong>, which is the syntax that
581N/A superseded the Netscape syntax.</li>
581N/A
581N/A <li><strong>Cookie2</strong> or <strong>RFC2965</strong>, which is the most
581N/A current cookie syntax.</li>
581N/A </ul>
581N/A
581N/A <p>Not all clients can understand all of these formats. but you
581N/A should use the newest one that is generally acceptable to your
581N/A users' browsers.</p>
581N/A<hr/><h2><a name="CookieTracking">CookieTracking</a> <a name="cookietracking">Directive</a></h2><table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="0" bgcolor="#cccccc"><tr><td><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tr><td><strong>Description: </strong></td><td/></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Syntax" class="help">Syntax:</a></td><td>CookieTracking on|off</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Default" class="help">Default:</a></td><td><code/></td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Context" class="help">Context:</a></td><td>server config, virtual host, directory, .htaccess</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Override" class="help">Override:</a></td><td>FileInfo</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Status" class="help">Status:</a></td><td>Extension</td></tr><tr><td><a href="directive-dict.html#Module" class="help">Module:</a></td><td>mod_usertrack</td></tr></table></td></tr></table>
581N/A <p>When the user track module is compiled in, and
581N/A "CookieTracking on" is set, Apache will start sending a
581N/A user-tracking cookie for all new requests. This directive can
581N/A be used to turn this behavior on or off on a per-server or
581N/A per-directory basis. By default, compiling mod_usertrack will
581N/A not activate cookies. </p>
581N/A
581N/A<hr/></blockquote><h3 align="center">Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0</h3><a href="./"><img src="/images/index.gif" alt="Index"/></a><a href="../"><img src="/images/home.gif" alt="Home"/></a></body></html>