Patch method

Thanks :-)! I haven't had a chance yet to check out domain but will definitely do so.

The subdomain module rewrites the pathauto generated path alias (evaluated at common.inc line 1193). The patch you mentioned inserts its call to custom_url_rewrite_outbound before the call to drupal_get_path_alias, so that won't work for us in its current state.

I took a peak at the Drupal 6.0 URL() implementation of custom_url_rewrite_outbound and it looks like it executes after the path_alias call as well, passing both the pre-modified path ($original_path) and the aliased path ($path) to the custom_url function allowing it to manipulate both.

Could we do the same with this patch? The function structure between 5 & 6 is slightly different, so it's a bit tricky, but if we can do it, it'll make the custom_url_rewrite_outbound implementation a bit more consistent with Drupal 6.0 and we'd be able to replace our subdomain_url_rewrite() hack with it as well.

Attached is an adjusted patch. Take a peak and let me know if you think it would work.

The patched portion of the url() function:

  // Cache the clean_url variable to improve performance.
  if (!isset($clean_url)) {
    $clean_url = (bool)variable_get('clean_url', '0');
  }

  // Preserve the original path before aliasing.
  $original_path = $path;

  // The special path '<front>' links to the default front page.
  if ($path == '<front>') {
    $path = '';
  }
  elseif (!empty($path)) {
    $path = drupal_get_path_alias($path);
  }

  if (function_exists('custom_url_rewrite_outbound')) {
    // Modules may alter outbound links by reference.
    custom_url_rewrite_outbound($path, $query, $fragment, $absolute, $base_url, $original_path);
  }

  $base = ($absolute ? $base_url . '/' : base_path());

  if (!empty($path)) {
    $path = drupal_urlencode($path);
    if (!$clean_url) {

- Stein

Updating status to patch (code needs review)

Thanks for the pointer to custom_url_rewrite_inbound(). I didn't realize that Drupal 6 gave us the ability to modify the inbound path.

I could grab the subdomain from $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], get it into the path, and then i wouldn't need custom Apache URL rewriting; drupal would handle both ends.

If there are areas you think we can collaborate, definitely let me know. I'm swamped at work and haven't had a moment to install or try out Domain yet, but will hopefully be able to in the next couple of weeks.

I released subdomain b/c I wanted to get more involved with the community and give back something that we've found useful and some other people have been asking about. I ran across the domain project page right before releasing the module, but in my cursory reading, thought it had more to do with access controls and connecting separate Drupal sites on different domains than simple URL rewriting...

Re-reading through Domain's module page now, though, i think i may have misread it the first time. uff-da.

Basically, my vision for subdomain is to create a lightweight, easily-configurable subdomain URL rewriting plugin for Drupal... put another way, I want to subdomain-enabled pathauto. No changes to node access. In terms of future features, i was planning to enable a taxonomy vocabulary mode, so that people could select a taxonomy vocabulary whose terms (and content) would be placed on their own subdomains. And possibly adding some granularity to node author subdomains to allow placing users in specific roles on different subdomains:

Something like:

http://writers.example.com/mary
http://writers.example.com/betty
http://editors.example.com/jon
http://editors.example.com/madeline

Based on your understanding of Domain and Subdomain, what do you think would be best? Does Domain already provide all the above functionality? If so, would it be best to scratch this module to avoid confusion? If not, would it be best to integrate subdomain functionality into domain or maintain them separately and just ensure that subdomain's scope is specific and limited. I definitely don't mind integrating it into domain. If we end up keeping them separate, i would rewrite my module page description to make it much more concise and include a short description of functionality provided by the domain module and point people towards it.

e.g.
If you need [need goes here], subdomain will suffice.

But if you need [needs go here], domain is the way to go.

Let me know what you think would be best.

speaking of core patches, is subdomain-based-path-alias functionality something we should submit for inclusion into core.
i.e. so that inbound subdomain-based urls would translate to the correct drupal internal path and URL rewrites would incorporate the subdomain info when generating outbound urls. What do you think?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

- Stein

Cool, thanks!

I'd like to do the same on subdomain's homepage. Can you recommend a 1-2 sentence summary of the domain module i could use to point people towards it?

Subdomain would suit my needs more than Domain would, so I'm sure its the same for others. No need to trash it!! :) Great job!