--- loncom/Lond.pm	2012/04/26 19:51:40	1.2
+++ loncom/Lond.pm	2012/04/26 20:00:57	1.3
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # The LearningOnline Network
 #
-# $Id: Lond.pm,v 1.2 2012/04/26 19:51:40 droeschl Exp $
+# $Id: Lond.pm,v 1.3 2012/04/26 20:00:57 droeschl Exp $
 #
 # Copyright Michigan State University Board of Trustees
 #
@@ -300,6 +300,30 @@ sub useable_role {
 }
 
 
+sub get_courseinfo_hash {
+    my ($cnum,$cdom,$home) = @_;
+    my %info;
+    eval {
+        local($SIG{ALRM}) = sub { die "timeout\n"; };
+        local($SIG{__DIE__})='DEFAULT';
+        alarm(3);
+        %info = &Apache::lonnet::courseiddump($cdom,'.',1,'.','.',$cnum,1,[$home],'.');
+        alarm(0);
+    };
+    if ($@) {
+        if ($@ eq "timeout\n") {
+            &logthis("<font color='blue'>WARNING courseiddump for $cnum:$cdom from $home timedout</font>");
+        } else {
+            &logthis("<font color='yellow'>WARNING unexpected error during eval of call for courseiddump from $home</font>");
+        }
+    } else {
+        if (ref($info{$cdom.'_'.$cnum}) eq 'HASH') {
+            my $hashid = $cdom.':'.$cnum;
+            return &Apache::lonnet::do_cache_new('courseinfo',$hashid,$info{$cdom.'_'.$cnum},600);
+        }
+    }
+    return;
+}
 
 
 
@@ -408,6 +432,19 @@ the version available on the client serv
 is compatible, 1 will be returned.
 
 
+=item get_courseinfo_hash( $cnum, $cdom, $home )
+
+get_courseinfo_hash() is used to retrieve course information from the db
+file: nohist_courseids.db for a course for which the current server is *not*
+the home server.
+
+A hash of a hash will be retrieved. The outer hash contains a single key --
+courseID -- for the course for which the data are being requested.
+The contents of the inner hash, for that single item in the outer hash
+are returned (and cached in memcache for 10 minutes).
+
+
+
 =back
 
 =head1 BUGS