.. index:: single: resources .. _resources_chapter: Resources ========= A :term:`resource` is any file contained within a Python :term:`package` which is *not* a Python source code file. For example, each of the following is a resource: - a :term:`Chameleon` template file contained within a Python package. - a GIF image file contained within a Python package. - a CSS file contained within a Python package. - a JavaScript source file contained within a Python package. - A directory within a package that does not have an ``__init__.py`` in it (if it possessed an ``__init__.py`` it would *be* a package). The use of resources is quite common in most web development projects. For example, when you create a :mod:`repoze.bfg` application using one of the available "paster" templates, as described in :ref:`creating_a_project`, the directory representing the application contains a Python :term:`package`. Within that Python package, there are directories full of files which are resources. For example, there is a ``templates`` directory which contains ``.pt`` files, and a ``static`` directory which contains ``.css``, ``.js``, and ``.gif`` files. .. _understanding_resources: Understanding Resources ----------------------- Let's imagine you've created a :mod:`repoze.bfg` application that uses a :term:`Chameleon` ZPT template via the :func:`repoze.bfg.chameleon_zpt.render_template_to_response` API. For example, the application might address the resource named ``templates/some_template.pt`` using that API within a ``views.py`` file inside a ``myapp`` package: .. ignore-next-block .. code-block:: python :linenos: from repoze.bfg.chameleon_zpt import render_template_to_response render_template_to_response('templates/some_template.pt') "Under the hood", when this API is called, :mod:`repoze.bfg` attempts to make sense out of the string ``templates/some_template.pt`` provided by the developer. To do so, it first finds the "current" package. The "current" package is the Python package in which the ``views.py`` module which contains this code lives. This would be the ``myapp`` package, according to our example so far. By resolving the current package, :mod:`repoze.bfg` has enough information to locate the actual template file. These are the elements it needs: - The *package name* (``myapp``) - The *resource name* (``templates/some_template.pt``) :mod:`repoze.bfg` uses the :term:`pkg_resources` API to resolve the package name and resource name to an absolute (operating-system-specific) file name. It eventually passes this resolved absolute filesystem path to the Chameleon templating engine, which then uses it to load, parse, and execute the template file. Package names often contain dots. For example, ``repoze.bfg`` is a package. Resource names usually look a lot like relative UNIX file paths. .. index:: single: overriding resources pair: overriding; resources .. _overriding_resources_section: Overriding Resources -------------------- It can often be useful to override specific resources "from outside" a given :mod:`repoze.bfg` application. For example, you may wish to reuse an existing :mod:`repoze.bfg` application more or less unchanged. However, some specific template file owned by the application might have inappropriate HTML, or some static resource (such as a logo file or some CSS file) might not appropriate. You *could* just fork the application entirely, but it's often more convenient to just override the resources that are inappropriate and reuse the application "as is". This is particularly true when you reuse some "core" application over and over again for some set of customers (such as a CMS application, or some bug tracking application), and you want to make arbitrary visual modifications to a particular application deployment without forking the underlying code. To this end, :mod:`repoze.bfg` contains a feature that makes it possible to "override" one resource with one or more other resources. In support of this feature, a :term:`ZCML` directive exists named ``resource``. The ``resource`` directive allows you to *override* the following kinds of resources defined in any Python package: - Individual :term:`Chameleon` templates. - A directory containing multiple Chameleon templates. - Individual static files served up by an instance of the ``repoze.bfg.view.static`` helper class. - A directory of static files served up by an instance of the ``repoze.bfg.view.static`` helper class. - Any other resource (or set of resources) addressed by code that uses the setuptools :term:`pkg_resources` API. Usually, overriding a resource in an existing application means performing the following steps: - Create a new Python package. The easiest way to do this is to create a new :mod:`repoze.bfg` application using the "paster" template mechanism. See :ref:`creating_a_project` for more information. - Install the new package into the same Python environment as the original application (e.g. ``python setup.py develop`` or ``python setup.py install``). - Change the ``configure.zcml`` in the new package to include one or more ``resource`` ZCML directives (see :ref:`resource_directive` below). The new package's ``configure.zcml`` should then include the original :mod:`repoze.bfg` application's ``configure.zcml`` via an include statement, e.g. ````. - Add override resources to the package as necessary. - Change the Paste ``.ini`` file that starts up the original application. Add a ``configure_zcml`` statement within the application's section in the file which points at your *new* package's ``configure.zcml`` file. See :ref:`environment_chapter` for more information about this setting. Note that overriding resources is not the only way to extend or modify the behavior of an existing :mod:`repoze.bfg` application. A "heavier hammer" way to do the same thing is explained in :ref:`extending_chapter`. The heavier hammer way allows you to replace a :term:`view` wholesale rather than resources that might be used by a view. .. index:: single: override_resource .. _override_resource: The ``override_resource`` API ----------------------------- An individual call to :meth:`repoze.bfg.configuration.Configurator.override_resource` can override a single resource. For example: .. ignore-next-block .. code-block:: python :linenos: config.override_resource( to_override='some.package:templates/mytemplate.pt', override_with='another.package:othertemplates/anothertemplate.pt') The string value passed to both ``to_override`` and ``override_with`` attached to a resource directive is called a "specification". The colon separator in a specification separates the *package name* from the *resource name*. The colon and the following resource name are optional. If they are not specified, the override attempts to resolve every lookup into a package from the directory of another package. For example: .. ignore-next-block .. code-block:: python :linenos: config.override_resource(to_override='some.package', override_with='another.package') Individual subdirectories within a package can also be overridden: .. ignore-next-block .. code-block:: python :linenos: config.override_resource(to_override='some.package:templates/', override_with='another.package:othertemplates/') If you wish to override a directory with another directory, you *must* make sure to attach the slash to the end of both the ``to_override`` specification and the ``override_with`` specification. If you fail to attach a slash to the end of a specification that points a directory, you will get unexpected results. You cannot override a directory specification with a file specification, and vice versa: a startup error will occur if you try. You cannot override a resource with itself: a startup error will occur if you try. Only individual *package* resources may be overridden. Overrides will not traverse through subpackages within an overridden package. This means that if you want to override resources for both ``some.package:templates``, and ``some.package.views:templates``, you will need to register two overrides. The package name in a specification may start with a dot, meaning that the package is relative to the package in which the configuration construction file resides (or the ``package`` argument to the :class:`repoze.bfg.configuration.Configurator` class construction). For example: .. ignore-next-block .. code-block:: python :linenos: config.override_resource(to_override='.subpackage:templates/', override_with='another.package:templates/') Multiple ``override_resource`` statements which name a shared ``to_override`` but a different ``override_with`` specification can be "stacked" to form a search path. The first resource that exists in the search path will be used; if no resource exists in the override path, the original resource is used. Resource overrides can actually override resources other than templates and static files. Any software which uses the :func:`pkg_resources.get_resource_filename`, :func:`pkg_resources.get_resource_stream` or :func:`pkg_resources.get_resource_string` APIs will obtain an overridden file when an override is used. .. index:: pair: ZCML directive; resource .. _resource_zcml_directive: The ``resource`` ZCML Directive ------------------------------- Instead of using :meth:`repoze.bfg.configuration.Configurator.override_resource` during :term:`imperative configuration`, an equivalent can be used to perform all the tasks described above within :term:`ZCML`. The ZCML ``resource`` tag is a frontend to using ``override_resource``. An individual :mod:`repoze.bfg` ``resource`` ZCML statement can override a single resource. For example: .. code-block:: xml :linenos: The string value passed to both ``to_override`` and ``override_with`` attached to a resource directive is called a "specification". The colon separator in a specification separates the *package name* from the *resource name*. The colon and the following resource name are optional. If they are not specified, the override attempts to resolve every lookup into a package from the directory of another package. For example: .. code-block:: xml :linenos: Individual subdirectories within a package can also be overridden: .. code-block:: xml :linenos: If you wish to override a directory with another directory, you *must* make sure to attach the slash to the end of both the ``to_override`` specification and the ``override_with`` specification. If you fail to attach a slash to the end of a specification that points a directory, you will get unexpected results. The package name in a specification may start with a dot, meaning that the package is relative to the package in which the ZCML file resides. For example: .. code-block:: xml :linenos: See also :ref:`resource_directive`.