4 ms·

I disagree. Nginx brings a lot to the table in simplicity and ease-of-use. Just reading an nginx.conf and comparing it to an httpd.conf should be enough to con

by scott_w 15y ago

I disagree. Nginx brings a lot to the table in simplicity and ease-of-use. Just reading an nginx.conf and comparing it to an httpd.conf should be enough to convince you what nginx brings to the table.

bwarp 15y ago
I think it's about the same. One looks like XML but isn't. the other looks like C but isn't.
brianm 15y ago
A great deal of he complexity comes from OS vendors doing nigh-unspeakable things to httpd.conf. The default httpd.conf from Apache is a bit gnarly too, but compared to what redhat or ubuntu do... not cool. The mandatory configuration is actually pretty minimal, especially if you are using it as an app server. Take, for example, http://kasparov.skife.org/blog/src/wombat/httpd-conf-cool.html http://kasparov.skife.org/blog/src/wombat/httpd-conf-cool.ht... which sets up a bunch of mod_wombat (precurser to now-bundled mod_lua) stuff.
rickmb 15y ago
The thing is, for the average site run under Apache, adding 5 lines of config is all the configuration needed for the entire life cycle of the server. On the high end, provisioning is fully automated. Not to mention the fact that after > 15 years(!), amateur sysadmins like me can pretty much dream the config settings. Which leaves a relatively small target audience for whom a simpler config is even remotely relevant.
- LokiSnake 15y ago
  That's the wrong mindset to have, IMO. Just because the incumbent sysadmins have gotten used to the eccentricities of Apache doesn't mean having something easier to configure is not necessary. This is similar to what people said when the iPhone was announced.
  - quanticle 15y ago
    There's a big difference between your two scenarios. At the time the iPhone came out, only a very tiny fraction of people had ever owned (or even used) a smartphone. The iPhone's success came because it was able to grow the market, convincing feature-phone users to upgrade to a smartphone. I don't see the same thing happening with nginx. I don't see anyone saying, "Gee wiz, I didn't want to be a sysadmin, but now that I've seen nginx's easy config file syntax, I want to be a sysadmin now."
- sjwright 15y ago
  Yeah, but which five lines? And why should these five lines be buried in a 5000 line conf file?
  - rickmb 15y ago
    I don't know which distribution you're used to, but in many modern Apache setups, the config has been split up into multiple smaller config files each with their own purpose. The average user only ever has to access one small file with 10-15 lines.

by scott_w 15y ago

bwarp 15y ago

I think it's about the same. One looks like XML but isn't. the other looks like C but isn't.

brianm 15y ago

A great deal of he complexity comes from OS vendors doing nigh-unspeakable things to httpd.conf. The default httpd.conf from Apache is a bit gnarly too, but compared to what redhat or ubuntu do... not cool. The mandatory configuration is actually pretty minimal, especially if you are using it as an app server. Take, for example, http://kasparov.skife.org/blog/src/wombat/httpd-conf-cool.html http://kasparov.skife.org/blog/src/wombat/httpd-conf-cool.ht... which sets up a bunch of mod_wombat (precurser to now-bundled mod_lua) stuff.

rickmb 15y ago

The thing is, for the average site run under Apache, adding 5 lines of config is all the configuration needed for the entire life cycle of the server. On the high end, provisioning is fully automated. Not to mention the fact that after > 15 years(!), amateur sysadmins like me can pretty much dream the config settings. Which leaves a relatively small target audience for whom a simpler config is even remotely relevant.

LokiSnake 15y ago
That's the wrong mindset to have, IMO. Just because the incumbent sysadmins have gotten used to the eccentricities of Apache doesn't mean having something easier to configure is not necessary. This is similar to what people said when the iPhone was announced.
- quanticle 15y ago
  There's a big difference between your two scenarios. At the time the iPhone came out, only a very tiny fraction of people had ever owned (or even used) a smartphone. The iPhone's success came because it was able to grow the market, convincing feature-phone users to upgrade to a smartphone. I don't see the same thing happening with nginx. I don't see anyone saying, "Gee wiz, I didn't want to be a sysadmin, but now that I've seen nginx's easy config file syntax, I want to be a sysadmin now."
sjwright 15y ago
Yeah, but which five lines? And why should these five lines be buried in a 5000 line conf file?
- rickmb 15y ago
  I don't know which distribution you're used to, but in many modern Apache setups, the config has been split up into multiple smaller config files each with their own purpose. The average user only ever has to access one small file with 10-15 lines.