Apache HTTP Server

Apache HTTP Server is a product of the ASF or Apache Software Foundation.

The Apache Software Foundation aims to support open-source software projects. That means that the users can get this software without paying anything. These projects are defined by a high quality in the products and a public character of all resources.

This Foundation is actually a non-profit corporation which was incorporated in 1999 in Delaware (USA). It grew from the group of volunteers who developed 1995 the Apache HTTP Server and there are also a lot of users who use now to collaborate with them by giving their ideas and suggestions.

1995 was developed the first HTTP server, by Rob McCool from the University in Illinois. But Rob McCool left this project and some other webmasters developed another HTTP servers, but they did it without working together to fix bugs and develop their extensions. After some moths, some of them do contact one each other to coordinate their changes, in form of patches, creating the Apache HTTP server. In the course of the years they developed different versions of it. And in 1999 members of the Apache group created the Apache Software Foundation, because the Apache HTTP server needed financial, legal and organizational support.

The origin of the name of this software could be derived from these "patches", which they used to use; it was "a patchy web server". Another theory says that the name "Apache" comes from the American Indian Tribe of the Apaches, which were very smart and had a big endurance in warfare.

With the Apache HTTP Server, the Apache Software Foundation aims to provide an open-source HTTP Server for all modern operating systems with the current HTTP standards, including UNIX and Windows NT.

We can ask ourselves why Apache Software is free. The Apache Software foundation wants to create a dialog and exchange platform, a robust platform for companies for building reliable systems upon it. This platform must be free and money must be earned by the big companies by constructing new software project based on the Apache HTTP server.

You can collaborate with the Apache Software Foundation by sending your suggestions to them. They have a special webpage for suggestions. You can also be subscribed to the announcements mailing list.

To become an Apache Software Foundation member you must contribute a lot in the projects. New members are nominated by an existing member and this nomination must be approved by a majority of the Apache members.

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