"Do you learn best by example and experimentation? This book is ideal. Have your favorite editor and compiler ready–you'll encounter example code you'll want to try right away. You've picked the right book–this is sure to become the de facto standard guide to writing Apache modules."

–Rich Bowen, coauthor, Apache Administrators Handbook, Apache Cookbook, and The Definitive Guide to Apache mod_rewrite

"A first-rate guide to getting the most out of Apache as a modular application platform–sure to become a must-read for any Apache programmer, from beginner to experienced professional. It builds up carefully and meticulously from the absolute basics, while including chapters on everything from the popular Apache DBD Framework to best practices, security, and debugging."

–Noirin Plunkett, documentation committer to the Apache httpd project, and member of the ASF conference committee

The Only Comprehensive Guide to Developing Apache 2.x Modules and Applications

Apache is more than the world's most popular Web server–it's also an extraordinarily powerful and extensible development platform. Now, ApacheTutor.org's Nick Kew has written The Apache Modules Book, the first start-to-finish, example-rich guide for every developer who wants to make the most of Apache.

Kew begins with detailed, accessible introductions to Apache's architecture and API, then illuminates all the techniques you'll need, from request processing through code security. He brings together the best of both worlds: powerful C-based techniques for accomplishing tasks Perl or PHP can't handle, implemented with tools that deliver all the productivity you'd expect from higher-level languages. Utilizing realistic code samples, Kew introduces techniques documented in no other book-and, often, nowhere else at all.

Coverage includes

• Using Apache Portable Runtime (APR) to streamline C development and avoid its pitfalls

• Leveraging Apache DBD to build applications far more scalable than classic LAMP software

• Working with the latest Apache 2.x features: filter modules, XML support, and smart proxies

• Mastering best practices, from thread safety to multi-platform development

• Utilizing the Apache Authentication Framework

• Tracing and debugging problems in both Apache and your custom modules

Foreword
Preface 
Acknowledgments
About the Author 
Chapter 1 Applications Development with Apache
Chapter 2 The Apache Platform and Architecture
Chapter 3 The Apache Portable Runtime
Chapter 4 Programming Techniques and Caveats
Chapter 5 Writing a Content Generator
Chapter 6 Request Processing Cycle and Metadata Handlers
Chapter 7 AAA: Access, Authentication, and Authorization
Chapter 8 Filter Modules
Chapter 9 Configuration for Modules
Chapter 10 Extending the API
Chapter 11 The Apache Database Framework
Chapter 12 Module Debugging
Appendix A Apache License
Appendix B Contributor License Agreements
Appendix C Hypertext Transfer Protocol: HTTP/1.1
Index

About the Web Site

ApacheTutor.org contains code examples from the book, all designed for easy use and integration into existing applications.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 7 Ratings

Consistent, well-written, but a bit gap toothed - 2007-11-25
Reviewer Rating:
This book easily earns five stars despite a few glaring issues. Why? It's the best, most consitent, and approachable guide you'll find to writing Apache modules.

I spent two weeks scouring the net for APR examples and explanations. I started with the O'Reilly books only to find they are incredibly out of date. I moved on to Apache sanctioned module source code. I dissected source code for other modules only to find that the examples fluctuated on approach and, apparently, on the author's grasp of the entire APR libraries. Some folks wrote against previous APR version libraries and macros. Others used the updated APR. Still others rolled their own versions of functions that were already written, just not discovered. Tutorials varied in reliability with similar issues. And my desk quickly filled with highlighted and sticky-noted annotated examples.

This book replaced all those loose inconsistent notes with a solid example-centric nicely bound guide. Five stars. Just for that.

This book is not without problems though. First, it makes reference to programming paradigms which, frankly, I've never heard of before and which this book inadequately explains. Brigade buckets is an example. Bridage buckets are incrementally explained as a ring data store (eh?), a doubly linked list (okay, firm ground), and then a mechanism for passing data through layered IO (another eh?). I couldn't get much from the explanation. Googling "brigade bucket" led to IEEE DSP circuit design and a heated debate on using solid state delay effects for guitar pedals. Apparently brigade buckets don't quote share the same prolific status as, say, something more Knuth-ess.

The book explained thread safety in a similarly gap toothed summary. It offers this fatherly advice: avoid shared memory and make sure functions are reentrant. That wasn't much help for me. I'd prefer to have a detailed explanation of why the APR libraries have both reentrant and non-reentrant versions of the same functions. Wouldn't any reasonable programmer always use the reentrant version? If not, I'd like to know why... with some precision.

The final gripe: the book includes RFC 2616 in it's entirety. This needlessly adds 200 pages of non-original and otherwise easily (and FREEly) accessibe volume. Granted, the publisher formatted the RFC nicely. It's a bit easier to read than the fixed format of the real RFC. But why not add a few notes? The author could have taken the edge off of the RFC-legalese and made it a bit more approachable (think learning bible with more notes than text). At the risk of discouraging future books of this level, the RFC is a blatant copout and just a really disgusting way of bumping page numbers.

So, those are the issues I had. I'm still giving this a solid five as it outshines any other information I've found to date.

The definitive source for Apache module writers - 2007-08-27
Reviewer Rating:
I tried to write an Apache module using only the documentation and reference material available on the net, and failed. The documentation you can find on the net (even on Apache.org's own website) is either completely out of date or maddeningly vague. If you spend enough time in trial and error you might get your module to work. Then again, you might not.

If you're trying to write or maintain an Apache module, this book is an invaluable tutorial and resource. It saved me a great deal of time and frustration.

THE Reference for Writing Apache Modules in C - 2007-05-09
Reviewer Rating:
This book came recommended to me from a well-learned Apache module developer, and I can't laud it enough. It is simply impossible to find another reference text out there that covers this topic with this level of completeness. I'm not really sure why the HTTP RFC and the Apache Software License is tacked on to the end of the book, but the real content of the book make it well worth the relatively hefty price tag.

Perfect for any serious programmer's Apache reference collection. - 2007-05-08
Reviewer Rating:
Apache is more than a popular Web server; it's a versatile and complex platform covered well in THE APACHE MODULES BOOK, the first guide for developers who already work with Apache and want to make the most of its features. From code security and basic processing to C-based shortcuts and techniques, APACHE MODULES BOOK uses real-world code examples and techniques to provide an excellent manual of basics. Perfect for any serious programmer's Apache reference collection.

Required Resource for Writing Modules in C - 2008-05-01
Reviewer Rating:
This should be considered a required resource if you need to learn about writing apache modules. It is the best introduction available to writing modules for Apache 2, and holds up well as a reference.

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