internal package Foswiki::Users

See PublishedAPI for packages intended to be used by Plugin and Contrib authors, or browse all packages.
See also Developing plugins, Developer's Bible, Technical Overview

On this page:

internal package Foswiki::Users

This package provides services for the lookup and manipulation of login and wiki names of users, and their authentication.

It is a Facade that presents a common interface to the User Mapping and Password modules. The rest of the core should only use the methods of this package, and should never call the mapping or password managers directly.

Foswiki uses the concept of a login name which is used to authenticate a user. A login name maps to a wiki name that is used to identify the user for display. Each login name is unique to a single user, though several login names may map to the same wiki name.

Using this module (and the associated plug-in user mapper) Foswiki supports the concept of groups. Groups are sets of login names that are treated equally for the purposes of access control. Group names do not have to be wiki names, though it is helpful for display if they are.

Internally in the code Foswiki uses something referred to as a _canonical user id_ or just user id. The user id is also used externally to uniquely identify the user when (for example) recording topic histories. The user id is usually just the login name, but it doesn't need to be. It just has to be a unique 7-bit alphanumeric and underscore string that can be mapped to/from login and wiki names by the user mapper.

The canonical user id should never be seen by a user. On the other hand, core code should never use anything but a canonical user id to refer to a user.

Terminology
  • A login name is the name used to log in to Foswiki. Each login name is assumed to be unique to a human. The Password module is responsible for authenticating and manipulating login names.
  • A canonical user id is an internal Foswiki representation of a user. Each canonical user id maps 1:1 to a login name.
  • A wikiname is how a user is displayed. Many user ids may map to a single wikiname. The user mapping module is responsible for mapping the user id to a wikiname.
  • A group id represents a group of users and other groups. The user mapping module is responsible for mapping from a group id to a list of canonical user ids for the users in that group.
  • An email is an email address asscoiated with a login name. A single login name may have many emails.

NOTE:
  • wherever the code references $cUID, its a canonical_id
  • wherever the code references $group, its a group_name
  • $name may be a group or a cUID

ClassMethod new ($session)

Construct the user management object that is the facade to the BaseUserMapping and the user mapping chosen in the configuration.

ObjectMethod loadSession()

Setup the cgi session, from a cookie or the url. this may return the login, but even if it does, plugins will get the chance to override (in Foswiki.pm)

ObjectMethod finish()

Break circular references.

ObjectMethod loginTemplateName () → templateFile

allows UserMappings to come with customised login screens - that should preffereably only over-ride the UI function

ObjectMethod supportsRegistration () → boolean

#return 1 if the main UserMapper supports registration (ie can create new users)

ObjectMethod validateRegistrationField ( $field, $value ) → text

Return the registration formfield sanitized by the mapper, or oops thrown to block the registration.

ObjectMethod initialiseUser ($login) → $cUID

Given a login (which must have been authenticated) determine the cUID that corresponds to that user. This method is used from Foswiki.pm to map the $REMOTE_USER to a cUID.

randomPassword()

Static function that returns a random password. This function is not used in this module; it is provided as a service for other modules, such as custom mappers and registration modules.

ObjectMethod addUser($login, $wikiname, $password, $emails) → $cUID

  • $login - user login name. If undef, $wikiname will be used as the login name.
  • $wikiname - user wikiname. If undef, the user mapper will be asked to provide it.
  • $password - password. If undef, a password will be generated.

Add a new Foswiki user identity, returning the canonical user id for the new user. Used ONLY for user registration.

The user is added to the password system (if there is one, and if it accepts changes). If the user already exists in the password system, then the password is checked and an exception thrown if it doesn't match. If there is no existing user, and no password is given, a random password is generated.

$login can be undef; $wikiname must always have a value.

The return value is the canonical user id that is used by Foswiki to identify the user.

StaticMethod mapLogin2cUID( $login ) → $cUID

This function maps an arbitrary string into a valid cUID. The transformation is reversible, but the function is not idempotent (a cUID passed to this function will NOT be returned unchanged). The generated cUID will be unique for the given login name.

This static function is designed to be called from custom user mappers that support 1:1 login-to-cUID mappings.

ObjectMethod getCGISession()

Get the currect CGI session object

ObjectMethod getLoginManager() → $loginManager

Get the Foswiki::LoginManager object associated with this session, if there is one. May return undef.

ObjectMethod getCanonicalUserID( $identifier ) → $cUID

Works out the Foswiki canonical user identifier for the user who either (1) logs in with the login name $identifier or (2) has the wikiname $identifier.

The canonical user ID is an alphanumeric string that is unique to the login name, and can be mapped back to a login name and the corresponding wiki name using the methods of this class.

Note that if the login name to wiki name mapping is not 1:1, this method will map a wikiname to one of the login names that corresponds to the wiki name, but there is no guarantee which one.

Returns undef if the user does not exist.

ObjectMethod findUserByWikiName( $wn ) → \@users

  • $wn - wikiname to look up
Return a list of canonical user names for the users that have this wikiname. Since a single wikiname might be used by multiple login ids, we need a list.

If $wn is the name of a group, the group will not be expanded.

ObjectMethod findUserByEmail( $email ) → \@users

  • $email - email address to look up
Return a list of canonical user names for the users that have this email registered with the user mapping managers.

ObjectMethod getEmails($name) → @emailAddress

If $name is a cUID, return their email addresses. If it is a group, return the addresses of everyone in the group.

The password manager and user mapping manager are both consulted for emails for each user (where they are actually found is implementation defined).

Duplicates are removed from the list.

ObjectMethod setEmails($cUID, @emails)

Set the email address(es) for the given user. The password manager is tried first, and if it doesn't want to know the user mapping manager is tried.

ObjectMethod isAdmin( $cUID ) → $boolean

True if the user is an admin
  • is $Foswiki::cfg{SuperAdminGroup}
  • is a member of the $Foswiki::cfg{SuperAdminGroup}

ObjectMethod isInUserList( $cUID, \@list ) → $boolean

Return true if $cUID is in a list of user wikinames, logins and group ids.

The list may contain the conventional web specifiers (which are ignored).

ObjectMethod getLoginName($cUID) → $login

Get the login name of a user. Returns undef if the user is not known.

ObjectMethod getWikiName($cUID) → $wikiName

Get the wikiname to display for a canonical user identifier.

Can return undef if the user is not in the mapping system (or the special case from initialiseUser)

ObjectMethod webDotWikiName($cUID) → $webDotWiki

Return the fully qualified wikiname of the user

ObjectMethod userExists($cUID) → $boolean

Determine if the user already exists or not. A user exists if they are known to to the user mapper.

ObjectMethod eachUser() → Foswiki::Iterator of cUIDs

Get an iterator over the list of all the registered users not including groups.

list of canonical_ids ???

Use it as follows: 
    my $iterator = $umm->eachUser();
    while ($iterator->hasNext()) {
        my $user = $iterator->next();
        ...
    }

ObjectMethod eachGroup() → $iterator

Get an iterator over the list of all the group names.

ObjectMethod eachGroupMember($group) → $iterator

Return a iterator of user ids that are members of this group. Should only be called on groups.

Note that groups may be defined recursively, so a group may contain other groups. This method should only return users i.e. all contained groups should be fully expanded.

ObjectMethod isGroup($name) → boolean

Establish if a $name refers to a group or not. If $name is not a group name it will probably be a canonical user id, though that should not be assumed.

ObjectMethod isInGroup( $cUID, $group, $options) → $boolean

Test if the user identified by $cUID is in the given group. Options is a hash array of options effecting the search. Available options are:

  • expand => 1 0/1 - should nested groups be expanded when searching for the user. Default is 1, to expand nested groups.

ObjectMethod eachMembership($cUID) → $iterator

Return an iterator over the groups that $cUID is a member of.

ObjectMethod groupAllowsView($group) → boolean

returns 1 if the group is able to be modified by the current logged in user

ObjectMethod groupAllowsChange($group, $cuid) → boolean

returns 1 if the group is able to be modified by the current logged in user

ObjectMethod addToGroup( $cuid, $group, $create ) → $boolean

adds the user specified by the cuid to the group. If the group does not exist, it will return false and do nothing, unless the create flag is set.

ObjectMethod removeFromGroup( $cuid, $group ) → $boolean

ObjectMethod checkLogin( $login, $passwordU ) → $boolean

Finds if the password is valid for the given user. This method is called using the login name rather than the $cUID so that it can be called with a user who can be authenticated, but may not be mappable to a cUID (yet).

Returns 1 on success, undef on failure.

TODO: add special check for BaseMapping admin user's login, and if its there (and we're in sudo_context?) use that..

ObjectMethod setPassword( $cUID, $newPassU, $oldPassU ) → $boolean

If the $oldPassU matches matches the user's password, then it will replace it with $newPassU.

If $oldPassU is not correct and not 1, will return 0.

If $oldPassU is 1, will force the change irrespective of the existing password, adding the user if necessary.

Otherwise returns 1 on success, undef on failure.

ObjectMethod passwordError($cUID) → $string

Returns a string indicating the error that happened in the password handler The cUID is used to determine which mapper is handling the user. If called without a cUID, then the Base mapping is used.

TODO: these delayed error's should be replaced with Exceptions.

returns undef if no error

ObjectMethod removeUser( $cUID ) → $boolean

Delete the users entry. Removes the user from the password manager and user mapping manager. Does not remove their personal topics, which may still be linked.


Edit • Attach • Print version • History: r1 • Backlinks • View wiki text • More topic actions