Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition

Running Apache from the Command Line

If the conf subdirectory is not in the default location (and it usually isn’t), you need a flag that tells Apache where it is.

httpd -d /usr/www/APACHE3/site.for_instance -f...

apache -d c:/usr/www/APACHE3/site.for_instance

Notice that the executable names are different under Win32 and Unix. The Apache Group decided to make this change, despite the difficulties it causes for documentation, because “httpd” is not a particularly sensible name for a specific web server and, indeed, is used by other web servers. However, it was felt that the name change would cause too many backward-compatibility issues on Unix, and so the new name is implemented only on Win32.

Also note that the Win32 version still uses forward slashes rather than backslashes. This is because Apache internally uses forward slashes on all platforms; therefore, you should never use a backslash in an Apache Config file, regardless of the operating system.

Once you start the executable, Apache runs silently in the background, waiting for a client’s request to arrive on a port to which it is listening. When a request arrives, Apache either does its thing or fouls up and makes a note in the log file.

What we call “a site” here may appear to the outside world as hundred of sites, because ...