stackforge/pecan
Code Issues Proposed changes

Improving security documentation.

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Jonathan LaCour
2011-09-02 11:10:09 -04:00
parent 0c91ca209d
commit 437454f2b0
1 changed files with 46 additions and 23 deletions
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69
docs/source/secure_controller.rst
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@@ -1,12 +1,14 @@
.. _secure_controller:
Security and Authentication
=============
Pecan provides no out-of-the-box support for authentication, but it does give you the
necessary tools to handle authentication and authorization as you see fit.
===========================
Pecan provides no out-of-the-box support for authentication, but it does give
you the necessary tools to handle authentication and authorization as you see
fit.
In Pecan, you can wrap entire controller subtrees *or* individual method calls with
function calls to determine access and secure portions of your application.
In Pecan, you can wrap entire controller subtrees *or* individual method calls
with function calls to determine access and secure portions of your
application.
Pecan's ``secure`` decorator secures a method or class depending on invocation.
@@ -57,9 +59,11 @@ To secure a class, invoke with two arguments::
highly_classified = secure(HighlyClassifiedController(), 'check_permissions')
unclassified = UnclassifiedController()
Alternatively, the same functionality can also be accomplished by subclassing Pecan's ``SecureController`` class.
Implementations of ``SecureController`` should extend the ``check_permissions`` classmethod to return a ``True``
or ``False`` value (depending on whether or not the user has permissions to the controller branch)::
Alternatively, the same functionality can also be accomplished by subclassing
Pecan's ``SecureController`` class. Implementations of ``SecureController``
should extend the ``check_permissions`` classmethod to return a ``True``
or ``False`` value (depending on whether or not the user has permissions to
the controller branch)::
from pecan import expose
from pecan.secure import SecureController, unlocked
@@ -99,23 +103,29 @@ or ``False`` value (depending on whether or not the user has permissions to the
unclassified = unlocked(UnclassifiedController())
Also note the use of the ``@unlocked`` decorator in the above example, which can be used similarly
to explicitly unlock a controller for public access without any security checks.
Also note the use of the ``@unlocked`` decorator in the above example, which
can be used similarly to explicitly unlock a controller for public access
without any security checks.
Writing Authentication/Authorization Methods
----------------
The ``check_permissions`` method should be used to determine user authentication and authorization. The
code you implement here could range from simple session assertions (the existing user is authenticated
as an administrator) to connecting to an LDAP service.
--------------------------------------------
The ``check_permissions`` method should be used to determine user
authentication and authorization. The code you implement here could range
from simple session assertions (the existing user is authenticated as an
administrator) to connecting to an LDAP service.
More on ``secure``
----------------
The ``secure`` method has several advanced uses that allow you to create robust security policies for your application.
------------------
The ``secure`` method has several advanced uses that allow you to create
robust security policies for your application.
First, you can pass via a string the name of either a classmethod or an instance method of the controller to use as the
``check_permission`` method. Instance methods are particularly useful if you wish to authorize access to attributes
of a particular model instance. Consider the following example of a basic virtual filesystem::
First, you can pass via a string the name of either a classmethod or an
instance method of the controller to use as the ``check_permission`` method.
Instance methods are particularly useful if you wish to authorize access to
attributes of a particular model instance. Consider the following example
of a basic virtual filesystem::
from pecan import expose
from pecan.secure import secure
@@ -149,7 +159,10 @@ of a particular model instance. Consider the following example of a basic virtu
return FileController(name), remainder
The ``secure`` method also accepts a function instead of a string. When passing a function, make sure that the function is imported from another file or defined in the same file before the class definition -- otherwise you will likely get error during module import. ::
The ``secure`` method also accepts a function instead of a string. When
passing a function, make sure that the function is imported from another
file or defined in the same file before the class definition -- otherwise
you will likely get error during module import. ::
from pecan import expose
from pecan.secure import secure
@@ -163,7 +176,11 @@ The ``secure`` method also accepts a function instead of a string. When passing
return 'Logged in'
You can also use the ``secure`` method to change the behavior of a SecureController. Decorating a method or wrapping a subcontroller tells Pecan to use another security function other than the default controller method. This is useful for situations where you want a different level or type of security.
You can also use the ``secure`` method to change the behavior of a
``SecureController``. Decorating a method or wrapping a subcontroller tells
Pecan to use another security function other than the default controller
method. This is useful for situations where you want a different level or
type of security.
::
@@ -190,12 +207,18 @@ You can also use the ``secure`` method to change the behavior of a SecureControl
api = secure(ApiController(), 'check_api_permissions')
In the example above, pecan will *only* call ``admin_user`` when a request is made for ``/api/``.
In the example above, pecan will *only* call ``admin_user`` when a request is
made for ``/api/``.
Multiple Secure Controllers
---------------------------
Pecan allows you to have nested secure controllers. In the example below, when a request is made for ``/admin/index/``, Pecan first calls ``check_permissions`` on the RootController and then calls ``check_permissions`` on the AdminController. The ability to nest ``SsecureController`` instances allows you to protect controllers with an increasing level of protection. ::
Pecan allows you to have nested secure controllers. In the example below, when
a request is made for ``/admin/index/``, Pecan first calls
``check_permissions`` on the RootController and then calls
``check_permissions`` on the AdminController. The ability to nest
``SecureController`` instances allows you to protect controllers with an
increasing level of protection. ::
from pecan import expose
from pecan.secure import SecureController