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By John Prevost and Rafael H. Schloming
-</authorblurb> - -Tcl in packages/acs-kernel
+ Tcl in The goal of the Permissions system is to provide generic means to both
programmers and site administrators to designate operations (methods) as
requiring permissions, and then to check, grant, or revoke permissions via a
consistent interface. For example, we might decide that the transaction that
@@ -30,75 +14,35 @@
that viewing a certain set of pages within the application is an operation to
be individually granted or revoked from a user. It's expected that the
Permissions system will be seeing a lot of use - almost every page will make
-at least one permissions API call, and some will make several. For programmers, the Permissions API provides a means to work with access
+at least one permissions API call, and some will make several. For programmers, the Permissions API provides a means to work with access
control in a consistent manner. If a programmer's OpenACS package defines new
methods for itself, the Permissions API must provide simple calls to
determine whether the current user is authorized to perform the given method.
In addition, using the Permissions API, queries should easily select only
-those package objects on which a user has certain permissions. For site administrators and other authorized users, the Permissions UI
+those package objects on which a user has certain permissions. For site administrators and other authorized users, the Permissions UI
provides a means to aggregate the primitive operations (methods) made
available by the programmer into logical privileges (like read, write, and
-admin) that can be granted and revoked. In earlier versions of the OpenACS, permissions and access control was handled
+admin) that can be granted and revoked. In earlier versions of the OpenACS, permissions and access control was handled
on a module-by-module basis, often even on a page-by-page basis. For example,
a typical module might allow any registered user to access its pages
read-only, but only allow members of a certain group to make changes. The way
this group was determined also varied greatly between modules. Some modules
used "roles", while others did not. Other modules did all access
control based simply on coded rules regarding who can act on a given database
-row based on the information in that row. Problems resulting from this piecemeal approach to permissions and access
+row based on the information in that row. Problems resulting from this piecemeal approach to permissions and access
control were many, the two major ones being inconsistency, and
repeated/redundant code. Thus the drive in OpenACS 4 to provide a unified,
-consistent permissions system that both programmers and administrators can
-readily use. The core of the permissions data model is quite simple. Unfortunately, the
+consistent permission system that both programmers and administrators can
+readily use. The core of the permissions data model is quite simple. Unfortunately, the
hierarchical nature of default permissions entails quite a number of tree
queries which could slow the system down. Since every page will have at least
one permissions check, a number of views and auxiliary tables
(de-normalizations of the data model) have been created to speed up access
queries. As a consequence, speed of updates are decreased and requirements
-for additional storage space increase. As described in section V., the core of the permissions data model is
+for additional storage space increase. As described in section V., the core of the permissions data model is
simple, though a number of views and auxiliary tables exist to ensure
-adequate performance. The core model consists of five tables: The set of all defined methods. The set of all defined privileges. There are also a number of views to make it easier to ask specific
+ There are also a number of views to make it easier to ask specific
questions about permissions. For example, a number of the above tables
describe "direct" or explicit permissions. Inheritance and default
values can, however, introduce permissions which are not directly specified.
(For example, read access on a forum allows read access on all the messages
-in the forum.) The following views provide flattened versions of inherited
+information: The following views provide flattened versions of inherited
-information: Map of privileges to the methods they contain either directly or because
of another privilege which is included (at any depth). Relation with every (object, party, method)
-tuple implied by the above trees. In general, only In general, only The data model also includes two simple PL/SQL procedures
+intermediate steps in building that query. The data model also includes two simple PL/SQL procedures
( To sum up, the PL/SQL procedures are meant to be used to grant or revoke
+specific privilege for a specific user on a specific object. To sum up, the PL/SQL procedures are meant to be used to grant or revoke
permissions. The five base tables represent the basic data model of the
system, with a set of views provided to convert them into a format suitable
for joining to answer specific questions. The exact means by which this
transformation takes place should not be depended on, since they may change
-for efficiency reasons. The transformations done create a set of default permissions, in
-which: parties get the privileges of any groups they are directly or indirectly
+for efficiency reasons. The transformations done create a set of default permissions, in
+which: parties get the privileges of any groups they are directly or indirectly
a member of privileges get associated with the methods of any other privileges they
have taken methods from (at any level) (see
objects get access control from direct grants, or inherit permissions
from their context (unless the "don't inherit" flag is
-set) There are three essential areas in which all transactions in the
+permission system fall: Modification of methods and privileges Modification of permissions Queries on permissions "Modification of methods and privileges." This
refers to actions that happen mainly at package installation time - a package
will create a number of methods for its own use, then associate them with the
system's standard privileges, or new privileges which the package has
created. The association step might also happen later, if the site-wide
-administrator chooses to change permissions policy. These steps involve directly manipulating the These steps involve directly manipulating the "Modification of permissions" - involves fairly
+administrators. "Modification of permissions" - involves fairly
common operations. Users are typically able to administer permissions for
objects they themselves create. The two basic operations here are
"grant" and "revoke". Granting permissions is done via
Web pages for making these changes are available to all users, so they
+ Web pages for making these changes are available to all users, so they
should not be in an admin area. In order to grant and revoke permissions on
an object, the user must have the "Queries on permissions" - by far the most
+permission on that object. "Queries on permissions" - by far the most
common operation is querying the permissions database. Several kinds of
questions are commonly asked: First, and most commonly, "Can this party
perform this method on this object?" Two Tcl functions are provided to
answer this - one which returns a boolean, the other of which results in an
error page. These Tcl functions directly access the
- The second most commonly asked question occurs when a list of objects is
+ The second most commonly asked question occurs when a list of objects is
being displayed, often in order to provide appropriate UI functionality:
"For this party, what methods are available on these objects?"
Here, the SQL query needs to filter based on whether the party/user can
perform some operation on the object. This is done via a join or sub-select
against Finally, when administering the permissions for an object, a web page
+for appropriate methods. Finally, when administering the permissions for an object, a web page
needs to know all permissions directly granted on that object. This is done
-by querying against The API to the permissions system consists of a few well-known tables,
-plus a pair of PL/SQL procedures and a pair of Tcl functions. Tables The API to the permission system consists of a few well-known tables,
+plus a pair of PL/SQL procedures and a pair of Tcl functions. Tables The main table for queries is The main table for queries is Also of interest for queries is Also of interest for queries is PL/SQL Procedures PL/SQL Procedures These procedures are defined in
- Tcl Procedures Two Tcl procedures provide a simple call for the query, "Can this
+ These procedures are defined in
+ Tcl Procedures Two Tcl procedures provide a simple call for the query, "Can this
user perform this method on this object?" One returns true or false, the
-other presents an error page. To receive a true or false value, Tcl code should call: To receive a true or false value, Tcl code should call: If the If the These procedures are defined in All users of the permissions system are the same at the user-interface
+ These procedures are defined in All users of the permission system are the same at the user-interface
level. If you have the The UI currently provides a list of all granted permissions on the object.
+object, then you may edit privileges for that object with the UI. The UI currently provides a list of all granted permissions on the object.
If the user wishes to revoke privileges, she may select a set of grants,
choose revoke, confirm their deletion, and be returned to the same page after
-those privileges have been revoked. Granting permissions currently (as of 10/2000) works by providing a list
+those privileges have been revoked. Granting permissions currently (as of 10/2000) works by providing a list
of all possible permissions and a list of all parties in the system. (For
large sites, some future search mechanism will be necessary.) After choosing
privileges to grant, the user is returned to the "edit privileges for
-one object" screen. If it makes sense, the system will also display a checkbox which the user
+one object" screen. If it makes sense, the system will also display a checkbox which the user
may select to toggle whether permissions are inherited from the object's
-context. There are a number of potential future enhancements for the permissions
-UI, outlined below. The most important future changes to the Permissions system are likely to
-be in the UI: There should be a page displaying a list of all objects for which the
+context. There are a number of potential future enhancements for the permissions
+UI, outlined below. The most important future changes to the Permissions system are likely to
+be in the UI: There should be a page displaying a list of all objects for which the
current user is allowed to administer privileges. Users should be able to view the permissions on any object, or perhaps on
objects which they have the "read_permissions" method. This would
allow them to see what grants are affecting their objects through
-inheritance. John Prevost
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-packages/acs-kernel
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-acs_methods
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-acs_methods
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acs_privileges
acs_privilege_method_rules
@@ -113,20 +57,14 @@
row for every privilege directly granted on any object in
the system - this is a denormalization of
acs_privilege_method_rules and
-acs_privilege_hierarchyacs_privilege_hierarchyacs_privilege_method_map
-
-
-acs_privilege_method_map
-
acs_object_grantee_priv_map
@@ -139,243 +77,109 @@
a party is a member of a group (at any depth).acs_object_party_method_map
acs_object_party_method_map
+tuple implied by the above trees.acs_object_party_method_map
should be used for queries from other modules. The other views are
-intermediate steps in building that query.acs_permission.grant_permission and
acs_permission.revoke_permission) for granting and revoking a
-specific privilege for a specific user on a specific object.
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-acs_privilege_hierarchy)
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-acs_methods,
+administrator chooses to change permissions policy.acs_methods,
acs_privileges, and acs_privilege_method_rules tables. A
web page for manipulating these features should be limited to site-wide
-administrators.acs_permissions.grant_permission, and revocation via
acs_permissions.revoke_permission. These directly manipulate the
-acs_permissions table.acs_permissions table.administer_privileges method
-permission on that object.acs_object_party_method_map.acs_object_party_method_map.acs_object_party_method_map, or by calling the Tcl functions
-for appropriate methods.acs_permissions.
-
-
-
-acs_methods, acs_privileges, and
+by querying against acs_permissions.
-
-acs_methods, acs_privileges, and
acs_privilege_method_rules manage the set of permissions in the
system. At installation time, a package will add to these three tables to
-introduce new permissions into the system.acs_object_party_method_map, which
+introduce new permissions into the system.acs_object_party_method_map, which
contains (object, party, method) triples for all
-allowed operations in the system.acs_permissions, which lists
+allowed operations in the system.acs_permissions, which lists
directly granted privileges. Neither acs_object_party_method_map
(which is a view) nor acs_permissions should be updated
-directly.acs_permissions.grant_permission introduces new permissions for
+directly.acs_permissions.grant_permission introduces new permissions for
an object. It should be given an (object, party,
privilege) triple, and will always succeed. If the permission is
already in the system, no change occurs. The interface for this procedure
-is:
+is:
procedure grant_permission (
object_id acs_permissions.object_id%TYPE,
grantee_id acs_permissions.grantee_id%TYPE,
privilege acs_permissions.privilege%TYPE
);
-
-
-acs_permissions.revoke_permission removes a permission entry
+acs_permissions.revoke_permission removes a permission entry
given a triple. It always succeeds--if a permission does not exist, nothing
-changes. The interface for this procedure is:
+changes. The interface for this procedure is:
procedure revoke_permission (
object_id acs_permissions.object_id%TYPE,
grantee_id acs_permissions.grantee_id%TYPE,
privilege acs_permissions.privilege%TYPE
);
-
-
-permissions-create.sqlpermissions-create.sql
+other presents an error page.
permission::permission_p -object_id $object_id -party_id $user_id -privilege $method
-
-
-user_id argument is left out, then the currently logged in
-user is checked. To create an error page, Tcl code should call:
+
user_id argument is left out, then the currently logged-in user is checked. To create an error page, Tcl code should call:
permission::require_permission -object_id $object_id -privilege $method
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-acs-permissions-procs.tcl.
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-acs-permissions-procs.tcl.
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-administer_privileges method permission on an
-object, then you may edit privileges for that object with the UI.
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+inheritance.
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John Prevost