In this issue

Apache Site: www.apache.org
Release: 1.3.3 (Released 9^th October 1998) (local download sites)
Beta: None

Apache 1.3.3 is the current stable release. Users of Apache 1.2.6 and earlier should look at upgrading to this version. Read Guide to 1.3.3 for information about changes between 1.2 and 1.3.3.

Most bugs listed below include a link to the entry in the Apache bug database where the problem is being tracked. These entries are called "PR"s (Problem Reports). Some bugs do not correspond to problem reports if they are found by developers.

These bugs have been found in 1.3.2 and are fixed in 1.3.3

Because of the major differences between Windows and Unix, these are separated into bugs which affect Windows systems only, and other bugs (which may affect Windows as well). Unix users can ignore the bugs listed in the Windows section.

Windows-specific Bugs

• On Unix, the file /dev/null can use used to signify a non-existing file, as in ResourceConfig /dev/null. On Windows, the file nul serves a similar purpose and can be referenced in any directory. However Apache would treat it like a real file, and since it does not actually exist, would log an error. In the next version it will be possible to use directives like ResourceConfig nul. PR#2708.

Other Bugs

• The proxy module could cause a segmentation fault if there is a problem sending a response which is non-cachable. A patch is available. PR#2950.
• If an ErrorDocument is set in a .htaccess file for 500 errors, and a 500 error occurs because of the contents of a .htaccess file in a subdirectory, the ErrorDocument will be ignored. PR#2409.
• Apache would not notice the syntax error if the closing > character was missing from a opening <Directory ...> section. PR#3279.

Patches for bugs in Apache 1.3.3 will be made available in the apply_to_1.3.3 subdirectory of the patches directory on the Apache site. Some new features and other unofficial patches are available in the 1.3 patches directory. For details of all previously reported bugs, see the Apache bug database and known bugs pages. Many common configuration questions are answered in the Apache FAQ.

For historic reasons, Apache uses three configuration files: httpd.conf, srm.conf and access.conf. In the NCSA server directives were only valid in one of these files. However in Apache all directives can be used in any file, so there is no need to maintain this three-file approach. Until now, all distributions have come with sample configuration files (with a conf-dist extension) for all three files. From the next release only httpd.conf will contain directives. The other two files will be empty.

The AddHandler directive lets you associate one or more extensions with an Apache "handler". A handler tells Apache how to treat the file. For example,

  AddHandler imap-file imap

causes the imagemap module to treat files with an .imap extension as being imagemap files. However at present there is no way to remove an association between an extension and a handler. For example, if the above directive appeared in the main server part of the configuration, it would apply in every directory (unless overridden by a different handler in a <Directory> section or a .htaccess file).

From the next release there will be a new directive, RemoveHandler, which will remove the association of a handler from an extension. For example

  RemoveHandler imap

removes the handler associated with .imap files.

Builder.com has a large feature on Apache, called Maximum Apache. This includes a selection of guides to things like rotating log files, supporting multiple languages, setting up CGI scripts, and so on.

Sun World Online reports that IBM beefs up Apache package, by releasing a version of Apache for its AS/400 server, and by plans to sell an SSL-enabled server based on Apache.

Inter@ctive Week Online looks at how the widespread acceptable of free software is altering the commercial software marketplace, in Microsoft Vs. DOJ: Open Code Frees Up The Net. This article highlights how Apache and Linux, for example, are being increasingly accepted amongst commercial software vendors and users.