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<H1 ALIGN="CENTER">Apache Server Frequently Asked Questions</H1>
<P>
- $Revision: 1.3 $ ($Date: 1999/12/31 23:11:17 $)
+ $Revision: 1.4 $ ($Date: 2000/04/04 17:06:14 $)
</P>
<P>
The latest version of this FAQ is always available from the main
<OL>
<LI><A HREF="#what">What is Apache?</A>
</LI>
- <LI><A HREF="#why">Why was Apache created?</A>
- </LI>
- <LI><A HREF="#relate">How does The Apache Group's work relate to
- other servers?</A>
+ <LI><A HREF="#why">How and why was Apache created?</A>
</LI>
<LI><A HREF="#name">Why the name "Apache"?</A>
</LI>
<LI><A NAME="what">
<STRONG>What is Apache?</STRONG>
</A>
- <P>
- Apache was originally based on code and ideas found in the most
- popular HTTP server of the time.. NCSA httpd 1.3 (early 1995). It has
- since evolved into a far superior system which can rival (and probably
- surpass) almost any other UNIX based HTTP server in terms of functionality,
- efficiency and speed.
- </P>
- <P>
- Since it began, it has been completely rewritten, and includes many new
- features. Apache is, as of January 1997, the most popular WWW server on
- the Internet, according to the
- <A HREF="http://www.netcraft.com/Survey/">Netcraft Survey</A>.
- </P>
- <HR>
- </LI>
+ <P>The Apache httpd server
+<UL>
+ <LI>is a powerful, flexible, HTTP/1.1 compliant web server
+ <LI>implements the latest protocols, including HTTP/1.1 (RFC2616)
+ <LI>is highly configurable and extensible with third-party modules
+ <LI>can be customised by writing 'modules' using the Apache module API
+ <LI>provides full source code and comes with an unrestrictive license
+ <LI>runs on Windows NT/9x, Netware 5.x, OS/2, and most versions of Unix,
+ as well as several other operating systems
+ <LI>is actively being developed
+ <LI>encourages user feedback through new ideas, bug reports and patches
+ <LI>implements many frequently requested features, including:<BR><BR>
+ <DL>
+ <DT>DBM databases for authentication</DT>
+ <DD>allows you to easily set up password-protected pages with
+ enormous numbers of authorized users, without bogging down the server.
+ <DT>Customized responses to errors and problems</DT>
+ <DD>Allows you to set up files, or even CGI scripts, which are
+ returned by the server in response
+ to errors and problems, e.g. setup a script to intercept
+ <STRONG>500 Server Error</STRONG>s and perform on-the-fly diagnostics for
+ both users and yourself. </DD>
+ <DT> Multiple DirectoryIndex directives </DT>
+ <DD> Allows you to say <CODE>DirectoryIndex index.html
+ index.cgi</CODE>, which instructs the server to either send
+ back <CODE>index.html</CODE> or run <CODE>index.cgi</CODE>
+ when a directory URL is requested, whichever it finds in the
+ directory.
+ <DT> Unlimited flexible URL rewriting and aliasing </DT>
+ <DD> Apache has no fixed limit on the numbers of Aliases and
+ Redirects which may be declared in the config files. In addition,
+ a powerful rewriting engine can be used to solve most URL
+ manipulation problems.
+ <DT>Content negotiation</DT>
+ <DD>i.e. the ability to automatically serve clients of varying
+ sophistication and HTML level compliance, with documents which
+ offer the best representation of information that the client is
+ capable of accepting.</DD>
+ <DT>Virtual Hosts</DT>
+ <DD>A much requested feature, sometimes known as multi-homed servers.
+ This allows the server to distinguish between requests made to
+ different IP addresses or names (mapped to the same machine). Apache
+ also offers dynamically configurable mass-virtual hosting.
+ </DD>
+ <DT>Configurable Reliable Piped Logs</DT>
+ <DD>You can configure
+ Apache to generate logs in the format that you want. In addition, on
+ most Unix architectures, Apache can send log files to a pipe, allowing
+ for log rotation, hit filtering, real-time splitting of multiple vhosts
+ into separate logs, and asynchronous DNS resolving on the fly.
+ </DL>
+</UL>
- <LI><A NAME="why">
- <STRONG>Why was Apache created?</STRONG>
- </A>
- <P>
- To address the concerns of a group of WWW providers and part-time httpd
- programmers that httpd didn't behave as they wanted it to behave.
- Apache is an entirely volunteer effort, completely funded by its
- members, not by commercial sales.
</P>
<HR>
</LI>
- <LI><A NAME="relate">
- <STRONG>How does The Apache Group's work relate to other
- server efforts, such as NCSA's?</STRONG>
+ <LI><A NAME="why">
+ <STRONG>How and why was Apache created?</STRONG>
</A>
<P>
- We, of course, owe a great debt to NCSA and their programmers for
- making the server Apache was based on. We now, however, have our own
- server, and our project is mostly our own. The Apache Project is an
- entirely independent venture.
+ The <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/ABOUT_APACHE.html">About Apache</A>
+ document explains how the Apache project evolved from its beginnings
+ as an outgrowth of the NCSA httpd project to its current status as
+ one of the fastest, most efficient, and most functional web servers
+ in existence.
</P>
<HR>
</LI>
</P>
<P>
- For many developers it is also a reverant connotation to the Native
+ For many developers it is also a reverent connotation to the Native
American Indian tribe of Apache, <A
HREF="http://www.indians.org/welker/apache.htm">well-known for their
superior skills in warfare strategy and inexhaustible endurance</A>.
comparison chart.
</P>
<P>
- Apache has been shown to be substantially faster than many other
- free servers. Although certain commercial servers have claimed to
- surpass Apache's speed (it has not been demonstrated that any of these
- "benchmarks" are a good way of measuring WWW server speed at any
- rate), we feel that it is better to have a mostly-fast free server
- than an extremely-fast server that costs thousands of dollars. Apache
- is run on sites that get millions of hits per day, and they have
- experienced no performance difficulties.
+ Apache has been shown to be substantially faster, more stable, and
+ more feature-full than many other web servers. Although certain
+ commercial servers have claimed to surpass Apache's speed (it has
+ not been demonstrated that any of these "benchmarks" are a
+ good way of measuring WWW server speed at any rate), we feel that it
+ is better to have a mostly-fast free server than an extremely-fast
+ server that costs thousands of dollars. Apache is run on sites that
+ get millions of hits per day, and they have experienced no
+ performance difficulties.
</P>
<HR>
</LI>
<STRONG>How thoroughly tested is Apache?</STRONG>
</A>
<P>
- Apache is run on over 3 million Internet servers (as of June 1999). It has
- been tested thoroughly by both developers and users. The Apache Group
- maintains rigorous standards before releasing new versions of their
- server, and our server runs without a hitch on over one half of all
- WWW servers available on the Internet. When bugs do show up, we
- release patches and new versions as soon as they are available.
- </P>
- <P>
- The Apache project's web site includes a page with a partial list of
- <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/info/apache_users.html">sites running
- Apache</A>.
+ Apache is run on over 6 million Internet servers (as of February
+ 2000). It has been tested thoroughly by both developers and
+ users. The Apache Group maintains rigorous standards before
+ releasing new versions of their server, and our server runs without
+ a hitch on over one half of all WWW servers available on the
+ Internet. When bugs do show up, we release patches and new versions
+ as soon as they are available.
</P>
<HR>
</LI>
</A>
<P>
Indeed there is. See the main
- <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">Apache web site</A>.
+ <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/httpd">Apache web site</A>.
There is also a regular electronic publication called
<A HREF="http://www.apacheweek.com/" REL="Help"><CITE>Apache Week</CITE></A>
available. Links to relevant <CITE>Apache Week</CITE> articles are
<P>
You can find out how to download the source for Apache at the
project's
- <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/">main web page</A>.
+ <A HREF="http://www.apache.org/httpd">main web page</A>.
</P>
<HR>
</LI>
projects / thirdparty / apache / httpd.git / commitdiff
