Re: win95/apache 1.3.14/and php 4.03

leffa Olausson wrote: > short question??? why "run apache as module ..." ?? > > I don't know too much about the diffrent installations you can have with php... PHP under Apache can run either as a CGI executable or as a server module. There are several differences between these two "modes" as I'll call them. Here's an overview: CGI vs. Module (seperated by --) 1 Execution) CGI runs as a standalone EXE that is loaded/run/unloaded everytime a php script is requested -- Module runs as a DLL loaded by the webserver, and remains in memory as long as the server is running, and when php scripts are requested they are run by this memory resident module - significantly speeding execution time. 2 Memory) Php scripts, under CGI, launch a single memory process for EVERY script run - with a large site with lots of *hits*, this can conceivably eat up all available memory -- Under Apache Module, memory is allocated and more tightly managed by the module, keeping runnings scripts in check, so to speak, better preventing loss of all available memory and crashing the server. Now, the bonuses (or perceived bonuses :)) of running as a server module also have a downside. The biggest is that, as a memory resident module, the script parser in module mode is more susceptible to memory corruption. If a script running under CGI mode fails (or does something BAD, like GPF or other illegal memory access), it will simply die in the current process, and the system can easily kill that process and have a good chance of recovery without fatal error. But, in module mode, this bad script/GPF/etc. not only can effect the current script process, but also ALL other processes running under the module, and the module DLL itself. When the CGI fails, the single process dies but subsequent scripts may still work... but when the module fails, it may take the web server down with it, and in any event subsequent scripts may not run until the web server is restarted (and the module reloaded). Another downside of running under module mode is simply lack of robust testing... Not to say that the module isn't being run and tested, simply a matter of statistics... When you have a programming environment (like PHP) which is developed primary for Unix systems, the Windows environment doesn't see as much action (less testing)... Add to that the fact that most users of Windows PHP run in CGI mode, as opposed to server api modules, either Apache module or ISAPI (IIS) or NSAPI (Netscape servers), and you see that the amount of people running in a server api (termed SAPI) module mode is a VERY SMALL percentage of the total PHP population (I say around 1-2% conservatively) Now, the more people run in SAPI mode on Windows systems, the more testing goes on, and the more stable the code becomes... just depends on your point of view. So I say, if you can run in SAPI mode on your server, please do! The more the merrier (since the stabler the code becomes, the happier we all will be). Hope that helps to give an overview (though long-winded) of what "running as a module" means. > I have a win95/apache 1.3.14/and php 4.03... that dosn't work. I changed it from a php > 4.02 version that worked, but not now any longer !!! First, just an advisory note... whenever upgrading either php OR apache from versions that work on your machine, to newer versions... it's recommended that you make copies of your configuration files for later reference... Personally, when I install a new version of PHP, I install to a new directory (named similar to "c:\php402" or "c:\php403" and the same for Apache) and then make the necessary modifications to fresh copies of my configuarion files (in this case php.ini and httpd.conf) to reference the new directories... that way I can easily back up to my previously installed environment if anything goes wrong. Now, to your problem, what specifically "doesn't work"? Are you getting NO response from the web server, or only from php scripts? Do your php scripts just sit there and not respond to the browser, or are you getting an Apache error message? When you switched to php4.0.3, what changes did you make to your httpd.conf (see below)? Were you sure to replace existing copies of php4ts.dll in your windows directory with the new php4ts.dll for php4.0.3? > what param. to add or change in apache 1.3.14 httpd.conf ? what param. to add or change in php > 4.03 php.ini ? I'm making the following 3 assumptions (you'll need to modify your files according to your own installation directories): 1. Apache installed in C:\Program Files\Apache (with conf, bin, and other directories below this main Apache root dir) 2. PHP (version 4.0.3 downloaded from www.php4win.de) installed in C:\php403 (with extensions, sapi, and other dirs below this directory) 3. Apache document root is C:\docroot (though the document root is not that important to this discussion). If running under Apache as CGI mode, you need the following 3 lines in your httpd.conf: ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php403/" Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe" AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .php3 .php4 If running under Apache module mode, you need these lines in your httpd.conf: ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php403/" LoadModule php4_module "/php/sapi/php4apache.dll" AddType application/x-httpd-php .php .php3 .php4 In your php.ini file, it's best to comment out ALL extensions before trying a new version of php... that way you can make sure Apache and PHP are communicating correctly without any extension issues getting in the way... once you have PHP and Apache running together, you can then re-add your extensions to see if/where problems are occurring. So, in your php.ini, the ONLY things you might need to change would be directory settings which reference the installed directory structure. Double-check any directory references (such as "extension_dir" to make sure they are pointing to the right locations). After you've check all that, what do you get? -- Andy Hoffman Web Developer Bristol-Myers Squibb email: andy.hoffman@bms.com