Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition

Semimanual Build Method

Go to the top directory of the unpacked download — we used /usr/src/apache/apache1_3.26. Start off by reading README. This tells you how to compile Apache. The first thing it wants you to do is to go to the src subdirectory and read INSTALL. To go further, you must have an ANSI C-compliant compiler. Most Unices come with a suitable compiler; if not, GNU gcc works fine.

If you have downloaded a beta test version, you first have to copy .../src/ Configuration.tmpl to Configuration. We then have to edit Configuration to set things up properly. The whole file is in Appendix A of the installation kit. A script called Configure then uses Configuration and Makefile.tmpl to create your operational Makefile . (Don’t attack Makefile directly; any editing you do will be lost as soon as you run Configure again.)

It is usually only necessary to edit the Configuration file to select the permanent modules required (see the next section). Alternatively, you can specify them on the command line. The file will then automatically identify the version of Unix, the compiler to be used, the compiler flags, and so forth. It certainly all worked for us under FreeBSD without any trouble at all.

Configuration has five kinds of things in it:

• Comment lines starting with #

• Rules starting with the word Rule

• Commands to be inserted into Makefile , starting with nothing

• Module selection lines beginning with AddModule, which specify the modules you want compiled and enabled

• Optional module ...