mod_jserv/5522: ApJservAction is dependent on module loading order!

[Daniel Egnor <eg...@ofb.net>]

>Number:         5522
>Category:       mod_jserv
>Synopsis:       ApJservAction is dependent on module loading order!
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    jserv
>State:          open
>Class:          sw-bug
>Submitter-Id:   apache
>Arrival-Date:   Thu Dec 30 11:30:00 PST 1999
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     egnor-jserv@ofb.net
>Organization:
apache
>Release:        1.3.9 + 1.1b3
>Environment:
Linux RH6.0, 2.2.13, IBM JDK 1.1.8
>Description:
If you load mod_jserv *before* other Apache modules (such as mod_mime),
then ApJservAction doesn't work.  If you load it after those modules, then it
does.  This is because mod_jserv uses a handler for the MIME-type-setting phase
of Apache request handling, and if mod_mime is earlier in the module sequence,
it handles the request before it ever gets to that part of mod_jserv.

The JServ RPM I used (from modssl.org) inserted the module at the beginning of
the list.  Everything else worked fine except for ApJServAction, which caused
me no end of grief until I tracked this down.

I'm pretty sure that's not the correct phase to be doing what JServ is doing,
but I'm not sure what the right phase is.

This could well be the cause of e.g. bug 5163.
>How-To-Repeat:
Edit httpd.conf to load mod_jserv (both the .so and .c) before any other module.
Use the ApJServAction directive.
It won't work.
>Fix:
Any of:

1. Use a different phase of processing to trigger ApJServAction, so that it
   always gets invoked.
2. Make sure the module is always loaded after mod_mime etc., somehow.
   (Fix the RPM, update the documentation?)
3. Deprecate ApJServAction entirely, especially if native Apache functions
   (like AddHandler, Action, etc.) can take its place.  It seems like a hack.
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