apex is a Perl-based web server that
is very easy to use
The Past
apex
is an experimental project which began as a simple socket program
written in
Perl. An interest in web server technology led me on a more ambitious
journey of attempting to create a fully functional web server that
would respond to HTTP commands. A more in-depth knowledge and
understanding of HTTP and the original web RFC's that have guided the
development of the Internet eventually enabled me to have this server
take on a more meaningful
purpose.
The Present
apex
attempts to provide the most basic, yet
the most useful, web server features. apex is geared towards
sysadmins because there is a need to have a prortable, lightweight,
easy to install, easy to use, easy to manage, web server. Currently,
only rudimentary functionality is provided, but in the 0.6 version CGI
scripting has become more robust. Programming efforts will
strive to
match RFC compliance as well as balance a useful feature set.
The Future
apex
has evolved into a web server that seems to be secure enough so admins
can run it without fear of exploits. apex needs to grow out of its
single-threaded model in order to be able to run CGI programs that
currently take down the server if they mis-behave.
apex
may grow into a toolkit that provides web sites with simple access to
information in a database. the goal would be to allow an apex
administrator to maintain a simple spreadsheet that feeds a database.
the spreadsheet information could then be published on a web site using
database-driven perl cgi scripts that are provided with apex. the "integrate by
example" methodology that apex endorses should allow scripts to
be easily tailored.
THINK
apex
web server -> perl cgi scripts
-> mySql <- your spreadsheet
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Copyright
(C) 2005 Joe Kohut