/ 
Uttu-0.04
/ Uttu::Manual::Framework

NAME

Uttu::Manual::Framework - Description of frameworks.

DESCRIPTION

Uttu by itself is insufficient for any reasonably complex site. It does not provide authentication, session management, or page layout.

A framework defines how all the infrastructure -- authentication and session handling, for example -- works together. It provides a code context in which function sets (collections of pages, configuration modules, etc.) run.

When installing a site using Uttu, you will need all the prerequisites of Uttu, primarily Apache, mod_perl, a content handler such as HTML::Mason, and AppConfig, as well as a framework. The framework will determine which function sets are available (or the function sets you want to use will determine which framework you need).

A framework is a collection of Perl modules, content pages, and other files which together provide a coherent environment in which to develop an application, usually as a function set (or collection of them for fairly complex applications).

Basically, the Uttu module handles everything up to the point the request is handed over to the content handler. The framework provides any functionality after that point.

A framework should not itself provide any functionality that could be viewed as part of an application. It should limit itself to such general tasks as session management, authentication, and authorization.

WRITING A FRAMEWORK

A framework consists of a Perl module which Uttu uses to configure the framework, a collection of function sets that provide basic services such as session management or authentication, and miscellanous files, such as a root autohandler for HTML::Mason.

Directory Layout

The installed and distribution directory layouts are different. Which one you use for development is up to you, but it can be easier to work in the distribution layout and use symbolic links to map files to an installation directory for testing.

A typical mapping of distribution to installation directories:

l10n -> $uttu_prefix/framework/$framework/lib/Uttu/Framework/L10N/
sets -> $uttu_prefix/framework/$framework/sets/
lib  -> $uttu_prefix/framework/$framework/lib/
support -> $uttu_prefix/framework/$framework/

In addition to these directories, there are also the conf and t directories for particular configuration files and tests, respectively.

Example Framework

As an example, we will create the Simple framework.

% cd ~/cvs
% mkdir uttu-framework-simple
% cd uttu-framework-simple
% mkdir l10n support sets conf

In this directory, create the file Simple.pm with the following contents.

package Uttu::Framework::Simple;
 
use Uttu::Framework;
 
use vars qw(@ISA $VERSION);
 
@ISA = qw(Uttu::Framework);
 
$VERSION = '0.01';
 
1;

__END__

=head1 NAME

Uttu::Framework::Simple - a simple framework

This establishes the basic framework with default behaviors.

TODO: describe how everything works

Last, we will create the file Makefile.PL, which is used to install the framework. We are in the process of supporting Module::Build instead of ExtUtils::MakeMaker since the former is much easier to customize.

use Uttu::MakeMaker;
 
WriteMakefile(
  NAME         => q{Uttu::Framework::Simple},
  VERSION_FROM => 'Simple.pm',
  AUTHOR       => 'James Smith <jgsmith@cpan.org>',
  ABSTRACT_FROM => 'Simple.pm',
  PREREQ_PM    => {
                  Uttu => 0.01,
                  },
);

When run, this will create a Makefile that will put everything in the right place.

AUTHOR

James G. Smith <jsmith@cpan.org>

The descriptions of the Mason configuration variables are based on the Template documentation.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2002 Texas A&M University. All Rights Reserved.

This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.