In this issue

Poised to be the largest gathering of Apache Users in Europe to date, ApacheCon 2000 is being held in London, England in October. Registration at the ApacheCon web site is now available, and if you don't want to attend the full conference you can pre-register just for the exhibition for free. Hurry, as early-bird registration ends today.

ApacheCon Europe 2000 is the only Apache Conference and Expo being presented in Europe in 2000 and the only event to be fully supported by the Apache Software Foundation. ASF members have put together a program comprised of over 60 sessions, although this time are mostly technical in nature. The faculty is comprised of leading Apache gurus and industry experts. ApacheCon Europe 2000 will be a mix of educational training, an interactive exhibit floor and social events.

The technical program is already starting to take shape and the topics include:

• Apache Projects Overview
• Apache 2.0
• Developing Dynamic Web Sites with Java Server Pages
• Migration from Netscape Servers to Apache
• XML and Database Integration
• Using Apache Jetspeed to Build Dynamic, Content Driven Portals
• Apache in the Real World - Beating the In-house Bias
• Using Apache Alexandria for Creative Open Source/Java Code
• Introduction to Apache Server
• Comanche, a GUI Configuration Tool for Apache
• AxKit - an XML Delivery Toolkit for Apache
• Introduction to PHP
• Security Solutions with SSL
• Extending PHP 4
• Advanced PHP: Web Applications - Sessions and Authentication
• High Scalability for SSL and Apache
• The Backhand Project: Load-Balancing and Monitoring Apache
• mod_snake: Flexible Apache Modules in Python
• Configuring Apache and mod_perl Applications
• Advanced Tomcat Configuration and Performance Tuning
• Improving Scripts and Handlers Performance Under mod_perl
• Turbine: Building Model 2+1 Web Applications
• C++ and Apache using C++ Server
• Managing your Web site with Cocoon
• mod_websh: A Tcl-based Apache module for Rapid Application Development
• Java and XML Parsing Using Standard APIs
• Transparent Content Negotiation

Unlike ApacheCon 2000 in Orlando earlier in the year you won't need to go hungry as breakfast and lunch are included with full registrations. But you'll need to bring your own umbrella and warm clothing.

In July (Apacheweek issue 206) we reported on a story about the TUX in-kernel Linux web server. In particlular, comments had been made about integration of TUX into Apache 2.0 although this had not been discussed with the Apache group at the time.

The author of TUX cleared up the misunderstanding in a slashdot interview "Answers From Planet TUX: Ingo Molnar Responds". Ingo explains that there are no changes needed to be made to Apache, as the in-kernel server can simply feed connections to an unchanged Apache setup. However, having a custom module to aid the integration is a future goal.

In this section we highlight some of the articles on the web that are of interest to Apache users.

Martin C. Brown is back in Apache Today with his long awaited article on how to create parsed templates using Perl and Python. Meanwhile, in "The Perl You Need To Know, Part III", Stas Bekman unravels the mystery of symbols, symbol tables and lexical scoping you often encounter while programming for Perl. These few key facts are essential for every Perl developer.

Moving on, the Developer Shed wraps up its PHP 101 series with a detailed tutorial on using PHP's built-in file read/write functions to extract and format data. It also shows you how to define your own PHP functions as well.