[development] authentication hooks - PLEASE HELP

[Sheryl (Permutations Software)]

I downloaded the Webserver Authentication module because it's very similar
to the module that I need to write for my own site. It's a simple module,
but I can't get it to work and I've hit a brick wall. Nothing works - Drupal
doesn't recognize when I'm logged into my other authentication system, let
alone create Drupal registrations on the fly. It doesn't even appear that
the hook_auth module is being called, but I can't trace through the
execution because Drupal doesn't use output buffers so inserting echo
statements causes errors.

I have tested my login and authentication functions in a separate test
program, so I know that they work. I don't know why my module doesn't work.
It's probably something simple, but there is virtually no documentation on
authentication modules, and I can't figure it out for myself because I can't
trace through execution with echo statements. I need information on these
basic questions:

- Which hook functions are called when (and not just from within the Drupal
code, but from what user action)? I thought that hook_auth() might be called
when the user logged in (that was a wild guess), but I can't get Drupal to
call this function no matter what I do.

- Exactly how the returns of each function are used - in what other parts of
Drupal. Without knowing this, I don't know what's required. In particular
for hook_auth, but also for hook_info. When/how are the hook_info functions
used? By what part of Drupal? What might call these, and why?

- What values are set in the database to control authentication, and what
does each value mean? In particular, what is the meaning of the different
values for "status" in the user table?

- How can I echo values while the script is executing to I can debug my
modules???????????????

Please, someone help. I've posted message after message, and no one helps.
Thanks in advance.

 

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