Decode image path stored outside webroot?

[TheSmitchell]

I'm looking for some help on showing images.

I have images stored in a data folder external the the webroot for my application. I want to display these images but I don't know how to decode them using xbasic to get them to show up in a web page. (The built-in image stuff is NOT available - custom data source on a list control)

filename_decode gives me the absolute path on the server (eg, "C:/site/data/img.jpg") and not something that works for the src attribute for an image tag.

Is there a method available that will do this for me? Do I need to copy the images to the session folder?

[TheSmitchell]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

SO - I can use a5w_Decode_IFR.

I'm wondering if I've been going about this all the wrong way. Maybe I should be using a flat dataset instead of a Nested JSON array. My data is in the form:

[
    {
        "parent_id": "xxx1",
        "img1": "img1.jpg",
        "img2": "img2.jpg",
        "CHILDREN": [
            {
                "child_id": "yyy1",
                "img1": "img1.jpg",
                "img2": "img2.jpg"
            },
            {
                "child_id": "yyy2",
                "img1": "img1.jpg",
                "img2": "img2.jpg"
            }
        ]
    },
    {
        "parent_id": "xxx2",
        "img1": "img1.jpg",
        "img2": "img2.jpg",
        "CHILDREN": []
    },
    {
        "parent_id": "xxx3",
        "img1": "img1.jpg",
        "img2": "img2.jpg",
        "CHILDREN": [
            {
                "child_id": "yyy3",
                "img1": "img1.jpg",
                "img2": "img2.jpg"
            }
        ]
    }
]

This is the data source for my List. I'm trying to get the img1.jpg, img2.jpg etc to display. They reside in directories external to the webroot.

Unfortunately, because it contains arrays, it doesn't show any child fields in the list control - so I can't use the handy Image settings for image file reference fields for the children. :( Last I checked, Alpha knows about this issue but hasn't addressed it yet.

[RichCPT]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

I would like to know how to do this, too. But for me, I'm wanting to know how one would do this with other files besides images.

I run my application with a load balancer and four instances of Alpha. Each instance apparently has to have its own root folder. This creates quite a problem when there is data that comes from disk files and not SQL.

1) The first problem is with the disk files that Alpha uses for locking a user out of the system for failed login attempts. Alpha seems to store this in files and not SQL, even though everything else in the Web security is maintained in SQL, for my app!

When a person gets locked out, Alpha records that in a text file located underneath the running instance. That instance has no idea that it should also update other running instances of Alpha. That means if the user trys again and lands on one of the other instances they will get some extra tries. That probly isn't too bad, as I don't give them many tries in the first place. The real hassle, though, is when the application administrator logs in and tries to view/update the lockout status of various users. The system only shows the status correctly for users that were locked out of the same instance of Alpha that the administrator is running on. Really makes it difficult to correctly see and change the lockouts.

2) Another problem is that dynamically created .CSS files have to be duplicated across multiple instances. In my app, the application administrator creates a number of .CSS files that will be unique to their site. I'd really like to have these stored in a folder outside of the root, but I have not been able to get the LoadCSS command to work with absolute folder paths.

IIS has "virtual" directories. I would like to see Alpha Web Server have these too.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...(v=ws.10).aspx

I have not solved problem (1) yet. I'm going to have to completely discard the login component that alpha made from a template and then create my own from scratch and implement my own user lockout. But, for problem (2) I added a table to the SQL database that lists the physical paths to the 4 instances of the application servers. When I need to save a dynamically created .CSS file, I loop through that table and duplicate the css file to subfolders of the listed instances.

[kkfin]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

. Each instance apparently has to have its own root folder.

Is the problem url?
If not url so what is the problem with same root and different subfolders for instances?

[RichCPT]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

For me the problem is that I believe the "{grid.Object}.loadCSSFile(cssFileNm , true);" JavaScript command cannot instruct the application server to load a file that is located outside of its running instance. I think using absolute file paths and relative paths that try to going up one or more folder levels via "..\" are disallowed. Perhaps I am wrong about it having to be a relative path at or below the current instance path. I admit, I didn't spent a lot of time trying to workaround the issue because it is the same issue I had under a different web server environment. But, it makes sense to me that the server would prevent the client from requesting a file that is located outside of the running instance. But, as I think about this more I wonder if the server could process a Path Alias from the client in the loadCSSFile() function?

http://wiki.alphasoftware.com/~alpha...String+Aliases

[Davidk]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

I believe you're not allowed to load a local resource. You can define a [Path.Alias] to point to your local folder, but that's not going to help on the web side. You could define your List data at the server level and, using a [Path.Alias] (if needed) or just straight code your path, and then base64encode your images to pass back to the client. Not sure where you're getting your List data from.

[kkfin]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

You can load external css file outside root using Node.
In this example output is in .a5w page.
You can use Node also in UX.

File mycss.css is outside root in folder data in computer alpha in c drive

p{color : red;}

This code is for exports.handler function. The file name is staticcss.js

var attachments = null;
var fs = require('fs');
fs.readFile( packet.myfile,'utf-8', function(error, data) {
	if (error) {
		console.log('MUM!!!');
	}
	else {
		console.log(data);
	}
    response.result = 'Script ended';
    response.css = data;
    sendResponse(response, attachments);
 });

This is output page and xbasic code to run node service. The html is just for testing purpose.

<%a5 
newnode.myfile = "\\alpha\c$\data\mycss.css"
dim nodejson as c
nodejson = node_request("staticcss",newnode)
dim p2 as p
p2 = json_parse(nodejson)
%>

DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<style>
<%a5 
? p2.css
%>
</style>
<head>

<title>Static css</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Red</p>
</body></html>

The result is

Red

[TheSmitchell]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

Soooooooooo. I found a sort of round-a-bout way of doing things. I ended up using a5w_Decode_IFR, which takes a bunch of parameters and stuff. I wanted to avoid this function because it slowed generating my JSON. But then I found a different way to generate the JSON from the SQL query that was better than iterating through the sql::resultSet manually to make the JSON:

dim rsJSON as C = rs.toJSONObjectSyntax(-1,-1,.t.)
dim folderAlias as c = "[ImagesFldr]"
dim t as p	
if (variable_exists("request") == .t.) then
	t.request = request
	t.session = session 
	t.serversetting = serversetting
end if
dim fileName as c = ""
dim repFile as c = ""
for each json in rsJSON
	fileName = stritran(json_extract(json.value,"REC_IMG"),"\"","")
	if (FILE.exists(filename_decode(folderAlias+fileName))) then
		repFile = a5w_decode_ifr(t,fileName,folderAlias)
		json.value = stritran(json.value,fileName,repFile)
	end if
next

Load/response time is much better now. Though, not perfect. Always looking for a better way to do things.

Suggestions to make this better/faster? Does base64 encoding images improve load times at all? My "bottleneck" is the execution of code and not necessarily the size of the download.

[Clipper87]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

Can't you just copy the image(s) to be displayed over to session storage ?

[CharlesParker]

Re: Decode image path stored outside webroot?

I am going to offer a different route altogether. Put your files/images in an Amazon S3 storage bucket, then it will not matter what instance you're on or what the root is...if I am thinking right...lol <--beers!