*** cgi_buffer for Python


REQUIREMENTS
------------
cgi_buffer.py is a Python (http://www.python.org/) library, and has been
tested with Python 1.5.2, on Linux. There should be no great issues using it
with Windows platforms, but the author has little experience using CGI on
them, and CANNOT SUPPORT WINDOWS INSTALLATIONS.

ZLib needs to be compiled into Python in order to use gzip for content- and
transfer-encoding; if it is not present, these methods will not be used, and
the full benefit of the library will not be realized.


INSTALLATION
------------
After untarring the distribution, copy all *.py files somewhere onto your
PYTHONPATH (typically /usr/lib/python1.5/site-packages/). Or, copy them
directly into your CGI directory.


USE AS A LIBRARY
----------------
The easiest way to integrate cgi_buffer into your Python scripts is to
simply import it; at the beginning of your script, insert:

  import cgi_buffer
  
You can fine-tune cgi_buffer's behaviour by setting flags in the library; 
for example,

  import cgi_buffer
  cgi_buffer.generate_etag = 0
  
will turn off ETag generation in the library. See the source for a complete 
listing.


USE AS A WRAPPER
----------------
To use cgi_buffer with non-python CGI scripts, you can use it in wrapper mode.
Do this by moving the target script somewhere else and creating a wrapper 
script, using the run_program call;

  import cgi_buffer
  cgi_buffer.run_program('/some/cgi/script.cgi')
  
where the sole argument is the full filesystem path to the CGI script. Once
again, configuration flags may be set in the script.


QUESTIONS?
----------
If you have any problems, questions or comments, please check the Web page
first, and then try mailing me:
  http://www.mnot.net/cgi_buffer/
  mailto:mnot@pobox.com