SQLAlchemy PAS plugin

This package provides a Zope 2 PAS plugin implementation (Pluggable Authentication Service) based on the SQLAlchemy database abstraction layer.

It allows you to store and query users and groups using a SQL database.

This package replaces the SQLPASPlugin. product. It is technically a fork of that codebase. Some tests have been rewritten but most are preserved.

Although not currently provided in a stable release, it's used in production (tested against the pysqlite and PostgreSQL databases only).

Setup

To configure the plugin with a database, use z3c.saconfig. Define a named scoped session pas.plugins.sqlalchemy in your configure.zcml or in the zcml-additional parameter of the plone.recipe.zope2instance recipe in your buildout.

Example:

<configure xmlns="http://namespaces.zope.org/db">
  <include package="z3c.saconfig" file="meta.zcml"/>

  <engine name="pas" url="postgresql://localhost/pas" />
  <session name="pas.plugins.sqlalchemy" engine="pas" />

</configure>

If you are connecting to a new database and want to bootstrap a default tables structure you can let the configuration to run a provided setup simply changing the engine aboventry e as follow:

...
<engine name="pas"
        url="url="postgresql://localhost/pas""
        setup="pas.plugins.sqlalchemy.setup_db.prepare" />
...

Install the plugin using the included GenericSetup-profile. Note that tables will be created automatically on installation.

You can reinstall anytime to create non-existing tables. Note that tables are preserved on uninstallation.

Configuration from Plone

As an alternative to specifying the database connection information in zcml, you can use collective.saconnect to make your connections configurable on the plone control panel.

Install the package by adding it to your buildout, then install the add-on it in your plone site through Plone's control panel. You now have a new control panel that allows you to create and edit database connections.

To add connections with generic setup add a file saconnections.xml to the generic setup profile of your site setup package, with the following content:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<connections>
     <connection
          name="pas.plugins.sqlalchemy"
          string="postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@localhost/DATABASE"
     />
</connections>

For good performance, don't forget to enable caching within the ZMI.

More information is available in the package description.

Custom principal, user and group model

You can register your own SQLAlchemy-based model class for all three categories.

The required class interfaces (required methods and attributes) are described in the interfaces module. Note that you can simply subclass from the default models which implement the required interfaces.

The settings are accessible in the ZMI. You can also use a custom setup handler.

Example:

def setup_pas_plugin(self):
    pas = self.acl_users
    plugin = pas['sql']

    plugin.manage_changeProperties(
       user_model="my_package.model.User",
       principal_model="my_package.model.Principal",
       group_model="my_package.model.Group"
       )

You may need to make sure the plugins are prioritized higher than the default ones (typically ZODB-based).

Wishlist

These items are on the to-do list:

• Post-only security.
• Review of implemented interfaces - is the implementation complete?
• Handle groups title, description and email, to match newer versions of Plone.
• Tests for configuration of external model.

Credits

Authors

• Rocky Burt <rocky@serverzen.com> of ServerZen Software
• Nate Aune <natea@jazkarta.com> of Jazkarta
• Stefan Eletzhofer <stefan.eletzhofer@inquant.de> of InQuant
• Malthe Borch <mborch@gmail.com>

Contributors

• Ruda Porto Filgueiras <rudazz@gmail.com>
• Daniel Nouri <daniel.nouri@gmail.com>
• Dorneles Treméa <deo@jarn.com> of Jarn
• Wichert Akkerman <wichert@wiggy.net> of Simplon
• Riccardo Lemmi <riccardo@reflab.it> of Reflab Srl
• Derek Broughton <auspex@pointerstop.ca>
• Rigel Di Scala <zedr>
• Sune Broendum Woeller <woeller@headnet.dk> of Headnet Aps

Sponsors

• Thanks to ChemIndustry.com Inc. for financing the development of SQLPASPlugin
• Thanks to Statens Byggeforskninginstitut (http://www.sbi.dk) for sponsoring the caching support.
• Thanks to Gis & Web S.r.l. (http://www.gisweb.it) for sponsoring the groups management support.
• Thanks to the Ocean Tracking Network (http://oceantrackingnetwork.org/) for adding Group Capabilities and migration of existing users.

License

GNU GPL v2 (see LICENCE.txt for details)