Apache HTTP Server Version 2.0
Apache's Handler Use
This document describes the use of Apache's Handlers.
What is a Handler
Related Modules mod_actions
mod_asis
mod_cgi
mod_imap
mod_info
mod_mime
mod_negotiation
mod_status
Related Directives Action
AddHandler
RemoveHandler
SetHandler
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.
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 and a handler to be associated with a file. (See also Files with Multiple Extensions.)
Handlers can either be built into the server or included in a module, or they can be added with the
Action
directive. The built-in handlers in the standard distribution are as follows:
- default-handler: Send the file using the
default_handler()
, which is the handler used by default to handle static content. (core)- send-as-is: Send file with HTTP headers as is. (
mod_asis
)- cgi-script: Treat the file as a CGI script. (
mod_cgi
)- imap-file: Parse as an imagemap rule file. (
mod_imap
)- server-info: Get the server's configuration information. (
mod_info
)- server-status: Get the server's status report. (
mod_status
)- type-map: Parse as a type map file for content negotiation. (
mod_negotiation
)Examples
Modifying static content using a CGI script
The following directives will cause requests for files with the
html
extension to trigger the launch of thefooter.pl
CGI script.
Action add-footer /cgi-bin/footer.pl
AddHandler add-footer .htmlThen the CGI script is responsible for sending the originally requested document (pointed to by the
PATH_TRANSLATED
environment variable) and making whatever modifications or additions are desired.Files with HTTP headers
The following directives will enable the
send-as-is
handler, which is used for files which contain their own HTTP headers. All files in the/web/htdocs/asis/
directory will be processed by thesend-as-is
handler, regardless of their filename extensions.
<Directory /web/htdocs/asis>
SetHandler send-as-is
</Directory>Programmer's Note
In order to implement the handler features, an addition has been made to the Apache API that you may wish to make use of. Specifically, a new record has been added to the
request_rec
structure:char *handlerIf you wish to have your module engage a handler, you need only to set
r->handler
to the name of the handler at any time prior to theinvoke_handler
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.