mod_dir/393: The implementation of fancy directory indexing is irritating

[Artur Skawina <sk...@usa.net>]

>Number:         393
>Category:       mod_dir
>Synopsis:       The implementation of fancy directory indexing is irritating
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       medium
>Responsible:    apache (Apache HTTP Project)
>State:          open
>Class:          change-request
>Submitter-Id:   apache
>Arrival-Date:   Mon Apr 14 11:30:01 1997
>Originator:     skawina@usa.net
>Organization:
apache
>Release:        1.2b8
>Environment:
Linux 2.0.30
GCC 2.7.2
>Description:
When FancyIndexing is turned on, the server outputs an <IMG...> tag before
every directory item, but it doesn't specify the size of this icon.

This is very irritating if the requested directory contains many (100+)
different files and the fetching of one (or more) icon stalls.

The current behavior causes:
a) If the browser-server link is slow and/or the icon-fetch stalls
   the browser does not display the index, it waits for the icons to load.
b) If the user turns off the automatic loading of images in the browser,
   the directory index is displayed while it's loaded, but the browser's
   (builtin) default image is much bigger than necessary. This limits
   the number of files displayed on one page significantly.
>How-To-Repeat:
Browse any directory with many files and no 'index.html' (eg. a site which gives 
HTTP access to FTP space; like some sunsite mirrors).
The site's icons should NOT be in the browsers cache initially.
>Fix:
The following patch adds a new parameter to IndexOptions - IconsHaveSize.
When IconsHaveSize is set (eg. 'IndexOptions FancyIndexing IconsHaveSize')
the server outputs:

<IMG SRC="/icons/back.gif" ALT="[DIR]" WIDTH="20" HEIGHT="22"> <A HREF="/">Parent Directory</A>...

instead of:

<IMG SRC="/icons/back.gif" ALT="[DIR]"> <A HREF="/">Parent Directory</A>...

The width and size values are currently hardwired as determining them in
real time would be inefficient. However ICONSIZE could be a function, maybe
taking the values from a configuration file.

--- apache_1.2b8/src/mod_dir.c.dist     Mon Apr 14 18:08:54 1997
+++ apache_1.2b8/src/mod_dir.c  Mon Apr 14 18:19:42 1997
@@ -81,6 +81,9 @@
 #define SUPPRESS_LAST_MOD 8
 #define SUPPRESS_SIZE 16
 #define SUPPRESS_DESC 32
+#define ICONS_HAVE_SIZE 64
+
+#define ICONSIZE " WIDTH=\"20\" HEIGHT=\"22\""
 
 struct item {
     char *type;
@@ -203,6 +206,8 @@
             opts |= SUPPRESS_SIZE;
         else if(!strcasecmp(w,"SuppressDescription"))
             opts |= SUPPRESS_DESC;
+        else if(!strcasecmp(w,"IconsHaveSize"))
+            opts |= ICONS_HAVE_SIZE;
         else if(!strcasecmp(w,"None"))
             opts = 0;
        else
@@ -633,7 +638,12 @@
                       escape_html(scratch, ar[x]->icon ?
                                   ar[x]->icon : d->default_icon),
                       "\" ALT=\"[", (ar[x]->alt ? ar[x]->alt : "   "),
-                      "]\">", NULL);
+                      "]\"",
+                      ((dir_opts & ICONS_HAVE_SIZE) ?
+                          ICONSIZE
+                      :
+                          ""),
+                      ">", NULL);
             }
             if(dir_opts & ICONS_ARE_LINKS) 
                 rputs("</A>", r);
%0
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted: