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Counter example: Almost everyone uses the Apache webserver when they browse the web, but hardly anyone even knows what that is. We could easily compile a long

Counter example: Almost everyone uses the Apache webserver when they browse the web, but hardly anyone even knows what that is. We could easily compile a long list of similar crucial infrastructure software that virtually everyone is using and that doesn't have graphical user interfaces.

ycmbntrthrwaway 10y ago
Count sendmail in: > There is some sort of perverse pleasure in knowing that it's basically impossible to send a piece of hate mail through the Internet without its being touched by a gay program. That's kind of funny.
- nj923f 10y ago
  sendmail is dead at this point though.
  - ci5er 10y ago
    How so? As recently as 2015, sendmail, Microsoft Exchange Server, Postfix, and Exim together represented over 90% of SMTP service. Or is this one of those pre-emptive "called it first!" kind of comments?
    - yosamino 10y ago
      I think the point is that out of these 90% not so many ones are "sendmail" anymore.
- justinator 10y ago
  As a suggestion, let's keep the homophobia to a nonexistent level, please.
  - detaro 10y ago
    That's a quote by the (gay) developer of sendmail, I don't see how quoting that is homophobic?
pjmlp 10y ago
How much of Apache is pure POSIX and how much are #ifdef around OS specific APIs?
- mikekchar 10y ago
  Interestingly, I took a random tour through the source code and didn't find a single OS specific API. Which is not to say that the code was intrinsically POSIX specific. It is a surprisingly good example of multi-platform code. The #ifdefs that I saw were all to do with defining functionality from scratch if it didn't exist rather than the more usual massively indented list of platform specific hacks. Although I had fairly high expectations, I was fairly surprised at how nice the code was. I didn't spend all that much time, so I'm sure I missed a lot, but I recommend taking a look for yourself as it is quite interesting.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  Apache uses the Apache Portable Runtime: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Portable_Runtime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Portable_Runtime That's one of the competitors to POSIX for application portability. Unlike POSIX, it was totally open as well vs people telling me The Open Group will sell me a copy of full standard.
gm-conspiracy 10y ago
Almost everyone uses the Apache webserver when they browse the web No. https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-surve...
- tmalsburg2 10y ago
  Reading comprehension. I did not say that people only visit pages that are served by Apache. Even if Apache has just 20% market share there is a very high chance that you will hit some pages served by Apache. Plus, the same argument really applies to most alternatives to Apache.
- gkya 10y ago
  Nitpicking 101.
- yellowapple 10y ago
  To be fair, Apache not having an overwhelmingly-majority market share is (according to that site) a relatively recent trend.
johannes1234321 10y ago
Even if everybody is using Apache: Apache httpd doesn't use POSIX but APR (Apache Portable Runtime) which removes the POSIX-dependenc from the core of httpd.
Avshalom 10y ago
Apache almost certainly uses epoll/kqueue.

ycmbntrthrwaway 10y ago

Count sendmail in: > There is some sort of perverse pleasure in knowing that it's basically impossible to send a piece of hate mail through the Internet without its being touched by a gay program. That's kind of funny.

nj923f 10y ago
sendmail is dead at this point though.
- ci5er 10y ago
  How so? As recently as 2015, sendmail, Microsoft Exchange Server, Postfix, and Exim together represented over 90% of SMTP service. Or is this one of those pre-emptive "called it first!" kind of comments?
  - yosamino 10y ago
    I think the point is that out of these 90% not so many ones are "sendmail" anymore.
justinator 10y ago
As a suggestion, let's keep the homophobia to a nonexistent level, please.
- detaro 10y ago
  That's a quote by the (gay) developer of sendmail, I don't see how quoting that is homophobic?

pjmlp 10y ago

How much of Apache is pure POSIX and how much are #ifdef around OS specific APIs?

mikekchar 10y ago
Interestingly, I took a random tour through the source code and didn't find a single OS specific API. Which is not to say that the code was intrinsically POSIX specific. It is a surprisingly good example of multi-platform code. The #ifdefs that I saw were all to do with defining functionality from scratch if it didn't exist rather than the more usual massively indented list of platform specific hacks. Although I had fairly high expectations, I was fairly surprised at how nice the code was. I didn't spend all that much time, so I'm sure I missed a lot, but I recommend taking a look for yourself as it is quite interesting.
nickpsecurity 10y ago
Apache uses the Apache Portable Runtime: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Portable_Runtime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Portable_Runtime That's one of the competitors to POSIX for application portability. Unlike POSIX, it was totally open as well vs people telling me The Open Group will sell me a copy of full standard.

gm-conspiracy 10y ago

Almost everyone uses the Apache webserver when they browse the web No. https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-surve...

tmalsburg2 10y ago
Reading comprehension. I did not say that people only visit pages that are served by Apache. Even if Apache has just 20% market share there is a very high chance that you will hit some pages served by Apache. Plus, the same argument really applies to most alternatives to Apache.
gkya 10y ago
Nitpicking 101.
yellowapple 10y ago
To be fair, Apache not having an overwhelmingly-majority market share is (according to that site) a relatively recent trend.

johannes1234321 10y ago

Even if everybody is using Apache: Apache httpd doesn't use POSIX but APR (Apache Portable Runtime) which removes the POSIX-dependenc from the core of httpd.

Avshalom 10y ago

Apache almost certainly uses epoll/kqueue.