In this issue

UK-based company Apache Services have announced details of their port of Apache for PalmOS, ApachePDA. Currently in the early alpha stages of development, ApachePDA runs on any Palm device running PalmOS 3.0 (or greater) with 2 megabytes of memory or more, and a Palm modem. With the availability of devices such as Palm Computing's internet-ready PalmVII, this new setup is ideal for low-volume web-casting where mobility is an issue.

ApachePDA is able to serve pages over the internet via a standard Palm modem or through the IR port with another suitable IR device, such as a laptop or IrDA capable mobile phone such as Ericsson's new T28.

Some performance and functionality has been compromised to ensure ApachePDA will fit in the smallest amount of Palm RAM. Therefore a number of modules and features have been removed. Lack of CGI support means no server-side processing is possible, although simple forms can be used to send email through the Palm's mail client. Integration with Palm applications such as Address Book and Date Book mean that the contents of the device (although not the items flagged as 'private') can be accessed and modified via a simple web interface.

ApachePDA makes extensive use of existing Palm applications to keep memory usage to a minimum. Web pages are stored in the Memo Pad which means they can be edited either on the device itself or in Palm Desktop. By default, ApachePDA expects to find an 'htdocs' category in the Memo Pad, and each memo should be an HTML file. The first line of the entry is considered to be the filename.

Server activity logging is kept to a minimum and by default, log files are removed from the device after two hours. This period is configurable provided there is enough space on the device and because log files are stored as Memo Pad entries, they are transferred from the device to the user's PC and deleted whenever a HotSync operation takes place.

Simple configuration and server management is possible on the device itself, but for those who shudder at the thought of using the stylus and Graffiti to edit httpd.conf files, more comprehensive configuration changes can be made on the PC and changes are implemented at the next HotSync.

The project is released under the Apache license and screenshots are available from the ApachePDA project site.

Apache Site: www.apache.org/httpd
Release: 1.3.12 (Released 25^th February 2000) (local download sites)
Beta: None
Alpha: 2.0a1 (Released 10^th March 2000) (local download sites)

Apache 1.3.12 is the current stable release. Users of Apache 1.3.11 and earlier on Unix and Windows systems should upgrade to this version. Read the Guide to 1.3.12, the Guide to 1.3.11 for information about changes between 1.3.9 and 1.3.11 and the Guide to 1.3.9 for information about changes between 1.3.6 and 1.3.9.

The next alpha release of Apache 2.0 is likely to be made available this week. This alpha has a number of additions and fixes since the first alpha released during ApacheCon 2000 but should still not be considered even beta-quality code.

Over the last few months LinuxPlanet has run a series of features about Apache. "Security and Apache: An Essential Primer" takes a comprehensive look at protecting your documents with access controls. "Using suexec with Apache on Linux" looks at the way CGI scripts can be run as other users using the bundled suexec program. Finally, the PHP scripting language is examined in "Adding PHP to Apache on Linux".

Each year the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) awards a number of projects for outstanding technical and professional achievements. The Apache web server has won the 1999 ACM Software System Award which carries a prize of US$10,000. This award is for developing a software system that has had a lasting influence. Previous award winners have included PostScript, The World-Wide Web, NCSA Mosaic, and Unix.

The Java Apache Project's JServ servlet engine was selected as the 1999 JavaWorld Readers' Choice Awards Best Free Product. According to the article, the most dramatic improvement for JServ during 1999 was speed, with an impressive 200 percent performance boost between versions 1.0 and 1.1.

You know you must be doing something right when cartoons start to mention you. Next stop, Dilbert.

This occasional section contains short announcements of jobs which require significant Apache experience. If you have a suitable job announcement, send the text (less than fifty words) to editors@apacheweek.com. We reserve the right to refuse or edit any announcement.

C2Net seeks an Apache expert with strong C and Unix skills to work on the Stronghold web server. Job responsibilities would include Apache development and some tech support escalations. More information is available.