Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition

Tomcat

Tomcat, part of the Jakarta Project, is the modern version of JServ and is able to act as a server in its own right. But we feel that it will be a long time catching up with Apache and that it would not be a sensible choice as the standalone server for a serious web site.

The home URL for the Jakarta project is http://jakarta.apache.org/, where we are told:

The goal of the Jakarta Project is to provide commercial-quality server solutions based on the Java Platform that are developed in an open and cooperative fashion.

At the time of writing, Tomcat 4.0 was incompatible with Apache’s mod-cgi, and in any case requires Java 1.2, which is less widely available than Java 1.1, so we decided to concentrate on Tomcat 3.2.

In the authors’ experience, installing anything to do with Java is a very tiresome process, and this was no exception. The assumption seems to be that Java is so fascinating that proper explanations are unnecessary — devotees will immerse themselves in the holy stream and all will become clear after many days beneath the surface. This is probably because explanations are expensive and large commercial interests are involved. It contrasts strongly with the Apache site or the Perl CPAN network, both of which are maintained by unpaid enthusiasts and usually, in our experience, are easy to understand and work immaculately.