Andrei, of course OpenACS needs the DB for permissions checking,
that's as it should be. But, if with the DB down, you want the
OpenACS request processor to allowing global permissions to certain
directories, then that's just a SMOP - a Simple Matter of Programming.
It could be done, it's probably not too hard either. Configuring
things so that an on/off switch in the AOLserver config file would
allow, say, access to documentation for all packages under the /doc/
URL is feasible, it just might need some thought to design a nice
solution rather than a quick hack. That sort of thing might be a nice
feature for times when, say, your database is down and you want to
read your online docs on how to fix your database...
But really, none of that solves any truly pressing problem. E.g., you
still have to be prepared to fix things when BOTH your database and
web server are down. And most of the more powerful and interesting
functionality needs the DB. So that's probably why you haven't seen
anybody else put in the time to make that happen.
