Reviews for Apache: The Definitive Guide, 3rd Edition

1. Good Reference

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, April 12th, 2003

   I have to maintain Apache Servers, and many times, I ask the
   question "Why the heck does it do that?" or "How can I do this?".
   99% of the time, the Web comes to the rescue, but for that 1% of the time, when the Web can't help, and the A-Team are off polishing their AK-47's, this book comes in damn handy. To cap it all off, I usually find that the stuff on the web is just an electronic copy of the pages from this book!

   Granted, the book is getting dated now (April 2003), a big chunk of it still applies, and is invaluable for the Apache administrator who doesn't like trawling the web.

2. This book served its purpose.

   Rated 4 out of 5 stars, October 12th, 2002

   Now you may think that there are better books out there. And there maybe. However this book is a "five star" book. I bought this book for a beginning apache class. We were able to follow the instructions and down load the Apache server from the Internet. The only problem we had was with the NIS system that was not anticipated in this book. It was a lot more important to use this book to read the flat files and see how they were related to each other. The section on Extra Modules (chapter 12) gave a way to improve the server and go outside the scope of this book. This book covered more details than I was looking for; this ways different people can use the book to target their particular needs. You can safely say:
   "This book has everything you need to set up an apache server."

3. Old fashioned. Ideal for the 'nostalgic geek' in you.

   Rated 3 out of 5 stars, September 12th, 2002

   I quite liked this book, but it's quite clear from reading it that it dates from a time way back before the flood. Maybe they should have put a Unicorn on the cover, to signify the somewhat mythical and extinct nature of the topics within?

   It was, however, interesting to read how difficult it once WAS to set up a webserver, back when this book was written. As a relative newcomer to the world of web development, I find that even my husband's Linux boxes seem to install their Apache servers in very much their default optimum configuration,. whilst my Macs are almost embarrasingy easy to set up.

   As a result, a good deal of the tortuous discusion about configurations and permissions is as archaic as some of the operating systems mentioned, but it is good to know what the early problems were and how they were fixed. A lot of that is still inherent in the way the web works today: the same vulnerabilities exist and the fixes used today are often no more than extensions to the fixes described in this book.

   It's a history book, if you like, but, I wouldn't buy it if I needed to get my job done or actually build a secure, modern Apache server.

4. Very Confusing Book !!!!

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, June 12th, 2002

   The book suggests that the reader should have atleast basic knowledge of how the web works before reading! However, what it fails to tell you is that all the examples have been developed on a Unix box connected to a windows machine running a browser and that the author(s) haven't actually tried most of the examples on any other setup.

   Starts off at a nice pace in the first two chapters but by chapter three becomes unusable for anybody other than those lucky few with a unix box at home! Also seems to have been written in a random style with sections of text referring to earlier text that simply doesnt exist. Very Confusing!!!

5. No help to me. I will have to buy another book.

   Rated 1 out of 5 stars, August 12th, 2001

   I am setting up a E-com site. Seemed like a good book to buy. Very disappointed. This book seems to jump from a really wordy intro to the parameters on each chapter.