httpd lineage

[Paul Lussier]

Bill McGonigle <bill at bfccomputing.com> writes:

> In the process list or package name?  Paul was talking 'ps'.  I guess
> you could modify the apache build scripts to make a binary called
> apache'.

Either.  Though a quick comparison between a standard Debian box and a
standard RHES box both running apache shows this:

RH box:

# ps -ef |grep http
root      5134     1  0 Jan09 ?      00:00:02 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   13847  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:26 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   13860  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:26 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   13864  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:26 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   13869  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:24 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   13871  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:25 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   13872  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:24 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   14072  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:24 /usr/sbin/httpd
apache   24388  5134  0 08:06 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/httpd
root     24847 12791  0 09:03 pts/1  00:00:00 grep http

Debian box:
$ ps -ef|grep apache
root      4445     1  0 06:26 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start -DSSL
www-data  4448  4445  0 06:26 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start -DSSL
www-data  4449  4445  0 06:26 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start -DSSL
www-data  4450  4445  0 06:26 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start -DSSL
www-data  4451  4445  0 06:26 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start -DSSL
www-data  4452  4445  0 06:26 ?      00:00:00 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start -DSSL
pll      10956  4497  0 09:05 pts/13 00:00:00 grep apache

Additionally, Debian actually *calls* the package apache, vs RH, which
calls it httpd:

  # rpm -q apache
  package apache is not installed
  # rpm -q apache2
  package apache2 is not installed
  # rpm -q httpd
  httpd-2.0.46-32.ent

  $ dpkg -l \*apache\*| awk '/ii/ {print $3,$2}'
  2.0.53-5 apache2-common
  2.0.53-5 apache2-mpm-prefork
  2.0.53-5 apache2-utils

  $ dpkg -l \*httpd\*| awk '/ii/ {print $3,$2}'
  $ 

I'm a big fan of consistency. Call the package what the package is.
httpd is not the name of the software, that would be apache.  Name the
process which shows up in ps something similar to the name of the
package, which should show some resemblance to the actual name of the
software.  Ideally, the username under which that software is run
would be something similar, but should be at least intuitive.

Debian wins on the package/process naming front, while RH wins the
username category.  IMO, the username (for this particular example) is
fine as either apache or httpd.  But www-data?

The preferred ps output for me is something like

   apache  13847  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:26 /usr/sbin/apache2
or 
   httpd   13847  5134  0 Feb07 ?      00:00:26 /usr/sbin/apache2

and a package name which includes apache.

-- 
Seeya,
Paul
--
Key fingerprint = 1660 FECC 5D21 D286 F853  E808 BB07 9239 53F1 28EE

A: Yes.                                                               
> Q: Are you sure?                                                    
>> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.           
>>> Q: Why is top posting annoying in email?