AOLserver URL Alias Module
Overview
AOLserver/GNNServer/NaviServer 2.0 shipped with a sample C module (with source) - alias - that allowed one to define URL aliases in the config file. In AOLserver 2.1, this functionality was built-in. In AOLserver 3.x/4.x, this was again removed, so we've ported the 2.0 sample to 3.0/4.0 with minor modifications. Among other things, the alias module allows you to also easily bring back the /NS/Asset URL alias used by AOLserver 2.x's administration pages.
Installation & Configuration
Installation is the same as for any other AOLserver module: place the complied alias.dll/alias.so into the bin directory and in the config file under ns_section "ns/server/$server/modules" add ns_param alias ${bindir}/alias${ext}Now add the desired aliases configuration parameters for this virtual server, i.e.:
ns_section "ns/server/$server/aliases" ns_param "NS/Asset" "d:/web/Asset"
You may also need to add an entry to your servers/$server/modules/nsperm/perms file:
allowgroup inherit GET /NS/Asset all
Next restart your AOLserver, check your Server Log - it should have an entry like this:
Notice: Ns_ModuleInit($server,alias): Mapping /NS/Asset to d:/web/Asset
Test access to /NS/Asset/somefile - it should serve d:/web/Asset/somefile. Also ns_url2file /NS/Asset/somefile should return d:/web/Asset/somefile.
Implementation
The original AOLserver 2.x documentation and source for the module can be seen here.
We made the following modifications to it:
Look for aliases in ns/server/$server/aliases rather than ns/server/$server/modules/alias. This maintains backwards compatibility with the built-in alias mechanism in 2.1.
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Added an Ns_GetUserHome procedure for Win32 as AOLserver 3.2 Win32 doesn't include that procedure in nsd.lib
