Re: [MacPerl] Timeout script

[MEDLINB@UNCWIL.EDU]

On Wed, 8 Apr 1998, Brian L. Matthews wrote:

> Philippe de Rochambeau writes:
> |I am currently looking for a way to log off somebody from a restricted-access
> |server after a length of time lasting a few minutes. For instance, once the
> |user has typed in his user id and password, a Perl script should let him
> |browse through the website's pages for a total of 3 minutes, after which the
> |script would disconnect him.
> 
> I think in general, such a thing isn't possible. Web server's are stateless--
> there's no concept of "logging on, doing stuff, logging off" like there
> is for an ftp server, for instance. A web server just gets a request for
> a page, serves the page, and that's it. The requester of that page (which
> doesn't have to be a human) could sit and stare at the page for an hour
> and there's nothing you can do.
> 
> Brian
> 
It is possible to include a key, possibly made up of IP address, time, and
user id.  Then one could keep track of the key/cookie/etc to handle logout
times.  Pages can be set to automatically update (which could be annoying
if you are a slow reader) to solve leaving any sensative data in plain view.
Might be overkill, but might be worth it.

- Another Brian

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