[SPT/CWIS] URL overrides of SysConfig

Edward Almasy ealmasy at scout.wisc.edu
Mon May 5 16:42:15 CDT 2008


On Apr 30, 2008, at 9:38 AM, Kucera, Rich wrote:
> Is there an easy way to override some of the settings in $SysConfig  
> from
> values given in the URL?  Below is a patch to do that.

I would be very hesitant to incorporate code that allows all of the  
configuration values to be overridden via values included in the URL,  
as it will very likely open up your system to "injection" attacks, and  
at minimum takes control of many of the system configuration options  
out of your hands.


>  I needed to be able to change the UI/Theme
> without having to log in and without having to set the entire  
> default UI to
> the target UI. (Once control is passed to the target UI,  all links  
> can add
> the override, keeping the system returning to that UI without a  
> login).

You want the UI set on a per-user basis?  Or for it to change for all  
users at once?

As much as we've been trying to move to REST-style stateless  
operation, setting the UI on a per-user basis for users that aren't  
logged in strikes me as something that should be handled by storing  
something in the user environment (presumably directly or indirectly  
via a cookie);  appending a UI value to all internal links is probably  
going to be an ongoing headache to maintain.

Ed


---
    Edward Almasy                             ealmasy at scout.wisc.edu
    Co-Director                                 1210 W Dayton Street
    Internet Scout                                  Madison WI 53706
    Computer Sciences Department                608-262-6606 (voice)
    University of Wisconsin - Madison             608-265-9296 (fax)




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