Coming in 1.2

The next release of Apache will be version 1.2. The big new feature in 1.2 will be support for HTTP/1.1, the new version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Apache 1.2 will fully support this protocol as a Web server (except for the proxy module). HTTP/1.1 is now going through the final stages of approval as an Internet standard, and Apache 1.2 cannot be fully released until it is approved, since there might be changes.

However, HTTP/1.1 is not the only change in Apache 1.2. There will be quite a few other new features, new optional and core modules, and many bug fixes. In this feature, we list all the major changes coming in 1.2. Each change is accompanied by a link to the Apache Week issue where it is reported in more depth.

• Better Content Type Negotiation (Apache Week 16 August 1996)
  To overcome problems with some browsers, Apache's content negotiation algorithm has been updated to better guess what content type the browser wants.
• Conditional configuration directives (Apache Week 26 July 1996)
  Configuration directives can be ignored if the module they are defined in is not compiled in.
• Customising for Browsers (Apache Week 09 August 1996)
  It will be possible to set environment variables based on the browser's user-agent text. This will give CGI and SSI scripts a simple way of customising their output based on features available in the browser.
• Easier CGI script debugging (Apache Week 09 August 1996)
  It will be easier to debug CGI scripts, because Apache can now log the full input and output of the scripts.
• Faster persistent connections (Apache Week 02 August 1996)
  Various changes have been made to increase the speed of persistent connections.
• File, Directory and Limit can take regular expressions (Apache Week 02 August 1996)
  The files and URLs affected by each of these sections can be defined by regular expressions.
• Graceful Restarts (Apache Week 28 June 1996)
  Apache can re-read the config files and re-open log files without terminating transactions in progress.
• HTTP/1.1 support (Apache Week 16 August 1996)
  Apache will be 'unconditionally compliant' with the HTTP/1.1 specification (except for mod_proxy).
• Limit access on per-file basis (Apache Week 02 August 1996)
  A new section, <File>, can be used to restrict access on a file-by-file basis. It will now be possible to (for example) password protect a single file.
• More SSI Commands (Apache Week 09 August 1996)
  The 'extended SSI' module (XSSI) will replace the current server-side-includes module. This will give a number of powerful new features, such as the ability to set variables and use conditional statements.
• Multiple configurable log files (Apache Week 16 August 1996)
  More than one log file can use used, with the log format fully customisable. This reduces the need for addition log modules (mod_log_referer or mod_log_agent), and make it much easier to add customised log files and formats.
• PICs module (Apache Week 12 July 1996)
  An optional module will be included which can provide PICS labels.
• Resource limits for CGI scripts (eg max CPU time) (Apache Week 02 August 1996)
  To prevent runaway processes, the resources used by CGI scripts can be limited.
• Rewrite module (Apache Week 09 August 1996)
  The 'rewrite' module will be included with Apache for the first time. This module can be used to map incoming URLs onto other URLs, using regular expressions.
• Setuid CGI execution (Apache Week 09 August 1996)
  Apache will support the execution of CGI scripts as users other than the server user. A number of security checks will be built in to try and make this as safe as possible.
• Simplified configuration file format (Apache Week 09 August 1996)
  The process of configuring Apache for compilation has been simplified.
• User Tracking (cookie module) Updates (Apache Week 02 August 1996)
  It will be possible to disable the generation of cookies, even when the cookie module is compiled in. Also, an expiry time can be set of the cookies.

A number of bugs from 1.1 have been fixed. Some of the major ones are:

• KeepAlive connection problems on some browsers
• If ErrorDocument redirect fails, displays filename
• Negotiation module negotiates on proxy requests (eg proxy:") then fails
• Scoreboard out of date (shows PID of children that have died)
• Problem with ScriptAlias including path info data
• <Location> matches directory sections
• support HTTP continuation headers
• mod_dir truncates file size
• Updates for QNX, OS/2, A/UX, IRIX, AIX compile warnings or system-specific behaviour