To add my 2 (or is it 10) cents worth... [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > | > | Please give your thoughts on "The Goal" as well as ways of meeting > | it. > > > - must be easy to use for idiots, while > powerful and timesaving for wizards.
Agree. The common comment/criticism when we've recommended Apache to customers is the lack of an admin interface for dummies This will become a critical acceptance factor for NT/95. > - must be extensible Agree. It should be possible to use the same UI framework to manage related services - e.g. page indexer, news feed, mail archiver, ... This, of course, would be up to the user - but it should be possible without a lot of hacking. > - must be _independent_ of the server itself Agree. Otherwise, how does one revive a dead server (e.g. one that has had its config files edited incorrectly by hand). However, the existing config files must be retained. > - should NOT use CGI Disagree. Java, etc. have their place, but not in a simple admin interface. I've yet to see a simple application done in Java that couldn't have been implemented just as effectively in HTML forms, JavaScript and CGI. CGI may be relatively slow, but I don't think we're talking about high-performance applications here. Something like the Netscape admin UI should be our initial target, leaving the more esoteric until later. > - should have a user interface layer that is separated from the > "engine". Agree. The hard part of defining the Apache Admin UI will be in the API to admin functions. The CGI/whatever code MUST NOT hack directly on the config files. > - should be written in a language that actually works Agree - C or Perl. In addition, SNMP capability would be useful. I'm running a project that will see 150+ Apache server installed in remote locations, with non-computer-literate users (assuming that the NT version comes together within the timescale). The project will not work unless there is a way of doing remote administration. Some time ago, I made a start on a HTML/CGI admin interface for Apache. But, as it wasn't a customer project, it got put on the back-burner in favour of something that paid money! -- Andy Rutter | tel: +44 1274 772277 GBdirect Ltd. | fax: +44 1274 499552 27 Park Drive, | e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] BRADFORD, BD9 4DS, England |
