From apwww@hyperreal.org  Sun Aug 17 04:48:31 1997
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Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 04:48:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dean Gaudet <dgaudet@apache.org>
Reply-To: dgaudet@apache.org
To: apbugs@hyperreal.org
Subject: request_config field in request_rec is moderately bogus
X-Send-Pr-Version: 3.2

>Number:         1004
>Category:       apache-api
>Synopsis:       request_config field in request_rec is moderately bogus
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    apache
>State:          suspended
>Class:          change-request
>Submitter-Id:   apache
>Arrival-Date:   Sun Aug 17 04:50:01 1997
>Last-Modified:  Mon Feb 23 03:58:39 PST 1998
>Originator:     dgaudet@apache.org
>Organization:
>Release:        1.2,1.3
>Environment:
n/a
>Description:
For various reasons we have defined mechanisms for almost every field in
request_rec to be merged or passed down into subrequests, or promoted from
a subrequest into the parent request.  There is one very notable exception,
request_config.  This field (not used at all by stock modules) contains
arbitrary binary data, and the API does not define any semantics for
merging/promoting it.  Modules would have an extremely hard time using
this field because subrequests are ubiquitous.

A similar comment could be made about r->notes.  But that is just a table
and is easy to define merging semantics without api additions.
>How-To-Repeat:

>Fix:
I tend to lean towards removing request_config.  Unless someone can demonstrate
a use for it ... in which case we could define some merging functions in the
api
>Audit-Trail:
State-Changed-From-To: open-suspended
State-Changed-By: coar
State-Changed-When: Sat Dec  6 15:26:21 PST 1997
State-Changed-Why:
TBD
Class-Changed-From-To: sw-bug-change-request
Class-Changed-By: coar
Class-Changed-When: Sat Dec  6 15:26:21 PST 1997
Release-Changed-From-To: all through 1.3-1.2,1.3
Release-Changed-By: coar
Release-Changed-When: Thu Jan 22 08:43:15 PST 1998
Comment-Added-By: dgaudet
Comment-Added-When: Mon Feb 23 03:58:39 PST 1998
Comment-Added:
I actually found a use for request_config... a use which relies on
it not merging across subrequests.  See mod_mmap_static.

But in order to use it I still have to double-check that the
value I tucked into request_config is still useful later on
when I need it again.  i.e. request_config is still bogus, 
and is only useful for saving a binary search in this case.

>Unformatted: