cgi authentication on apache
 

hi,

i have asked before about creating apache modules that authenticate via an nt domain then do a lookup within a mysql DB for extra data

well, i tried looking at an apache module works and i am stuck on how the module pulls out the config directives for example i looked at an ldap authentication module

something like ldapserver was one of the config options
then in the code i got lost, it just seemed to disappear into other things then something else poped up then i lost my way

because i am new to creating modules for apache and C in general, (although i can pick things up quick ) i have put that idea down for a while ( i will pick it up again a, when i have the time to spare and b, when i know more about C )

any way, i was wondering, can i cheat and pass authentication off to a shell script but still use a .htaccess file to protect the whole directory?

so when i drop my .htaccess file into my directory then access it via the web, apache then says; ah right pass the username and passwd i have been geven to a shell script, then ( if it can be done ) the shell script does its work and tells apache if the user is valid or not

can it be done?