GRUF - GroupUserFolder

GroupUserFolder is a kind of user folder that provides a special kind of user management. Some users are "flagged" as GROUP and then normal users will be able to belong to one or serveral groups.

Group and "normal" User management is distinct. Here's a typical GroupUserFolder hierarchy::

     - acl_users (GroupUserFolder)
     |
     |-- Users (GroupUserFolder-related class)
     | |
     | |-- acl_users (UserFolder or derived class)
     |
     |-- Groups (GroupUserFolder-related class)
     | |
     | |-- acl_users (UserFolder or derived class)
     . .
     . .
     . .
                

So, INSIDE the GroupUserFolder (or GRUF), there are 2 acl_users :

• The one in the 'Users' object manages real users
• The one in the 'Groups' object manages groups

The two acl_users are completely independants. They can even be of different kinds.
For example, a Zope UserFolder for Groups management and an LDAPUserFolder for Users management.

Inside the "Users" acl_users, groups are seen as ROLES (that's what we call "groles") so that roles can be assigned to users using the same storage as regular users. Groups are prefixed by "group_" so that they could be easily recognized within roles.

Then, on the top GroupUserFolder, groups and roles both are seen as users, and users have their normal behaviour (ie. "groles" are not shown), except that users affected to one or several groups have their roles extended with the roles affected to the groups they belong to.

Just for information : one user can belong to zero, one or more groups. One group can have zero, one or more users affected.

• CMF ? Yes.
• Plone ? Yes. There are even additional forms and tools for Zope to gain full benefit of group information. But these are completely optional and Plone can work without. GRUF will be integrated to Plone 1.1
• Zope standalone ? Yes (Zope >= 2.5) and it's a major requirement for us. GRUF will always work with existing Zope 2.x (> 2.5), without the need to add, patch, modify or do anything to make it work.
• My existing Zope application ? Yes, provided you do not use non-official security functions. GRUF is completely transparent.
• LDAPUserFolder ? Yes, with groups beeing stored in LDAP database or not. Users adding is not supported now because LDAPUF doesn't comply with standard Zope security API for this part. It is, however, possible to come around this, but it needs a little coding (some volounteers ? :-))
• ExUserFolder ? Yes, except for GRUF 1.3 version. GRUF 1.31 is reported to work again with XUF.
• SimpleUserFolder ? Yes.
• My coffee machine ? Not yet, but we're actively working on it !

Here comes a few screenshots of GRUF administration interface. Click an image to enlarge.

The way GRUF shows-up in the ZMI	The way GRUF shows-up in the ZMI (continued) You can now see users and groups defined within GRUF, and click them individually.
A quick overview page with many users	The groups management interface
The users management interface	Individual group edition
A security audit results page	The multiple sources view

• Can I nest some GRUFs ?
  Maybe... but what for ?
• Does GRUF support nested groups ?
  Nested groups in group-whithin-a-group feature.
  And, yes, GRUF supports it since 1.3 version.
• Does GRUF support multiple user sources ?
  Multiple user sources is a feature that would allow you to store users in several userfolders. For example, you could have your regular admin users in a standard User Folder, your intranet users in an LDAPUserFolder and your extranet users in an SQL-based user folder
  GRUF supports this from version 2.0Beta1.
• Can I use GRUF outside Plone ?
  Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. This is a major design consideration for us.
• Is GRUF stable ?
  It's used in a production environment for several major websites. Furthermore, it's qualified to be included in Plone 1.1. It's considered reliable enough - except for "Beta" versions, of course.
• Is GRUF maintained ?
  Yes, it is, actively. Features (especially regarding useablility) are often added to GRUF. Official releases are considered very stable.
• Can I help ?
  Yes, for sure !
  GRUF is an Open-Source project and we, at Ingeniweb, are always happy to help people getting involved with our products. Just contact us to submit your ideas, patches or insults ! :-)
  In any case, if you want to work on GRUF's CVS, please work in a branch, never on the HEAD!
  I want this to ensure the latest CVS HEAD is always very stable.