APXS(8)                 OpenBSD System Manager's Manual                APXS(8)

NAME
     apxs - APache eXtenSion tool

SYNOPSIS
     apxs -c [-D variable[=value]] [-I incdir] [-L libdir] [-l libname]
             [-o dsofile] [-S variable=value] [-Wc,compiler-flags]
             [-Wl,linker-flags] file ...
     apxs -e [-Aa] [-n name] [-S variable=value] dsofile ...
     apxs -g [-S variable=value] -n name
     apxs -i [-Aa] [-n name] [-S variable=value] dsofile ...
     apxs -q [-S variable=value] query ...

DESCRIPTION
     apxs is a tool for building and installing extension modules for the
     Apache HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server, httpd(8).  This is
     achieved by building a Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) from one or more
     source or object files which can then be loaded into httpd at runtime via
     the LoadModule directive from mod_so.  To use this extension mechanism,
     your platform has to support the DSO feature and the httpd binary has to
     be built with the mod_so module.  The apxs tool automatically complains
     if this is not the case.  Check by manually running the following com-
     mand:

           $ httpd -l

     The module mod_so should be part of the displayed list.  If these re-
     quirements are fulfilled, httpd's functionality can be extended by in-
     stalling modules with the DSO mechanism, with the help of the apxs tool:

           # apxs -i -a -c mod_foo.c
           cc -O2 -pipe -DDEV_RANDOM=/dev/arandom -DMOD_SSL=208116 -DEAPI -DUSE_EXPAT -I../lib/expat-lite -DUSE_SETUSERCONTEXT -fPIC -DSHARED_MODULE -I/usr/lib/apache/include  -c mod_foo.c
           [activating module `foo' in /var/www/conf/httpd.conf]
           cp mod_foo.so /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so
           chmod 755 /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so
           cp /var/www/conf/httpd.conf /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.bak
           cp /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.new /var/www/conf/httpd.conf
           rm /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.new
           # apachectl restart
           /usr/sbin/apachectl restart: httpd not running, trying to start
           /usr/sbin/apachectl restart: httpd started

     The argument file can be any C source file (.c), an object file (.o), or
     even a library archive (.a).  The apxs tool automatically recognizes
     these extensions and automatically uses the C source files for compila-
     tion, whereas it just uses the object and archive files for the linking
     phase.  But when using such pre-compiled objects, make sure they are com-
     piled for Position Independent Code (PIC) to be able to use them for a
     DSO.  For instance, with cc(1) just use -fpic.  For other C compilers,
     please consult their manual pages or watch for the flags apxs uses to
     compile the object files.

     For more details about DSO support in Apache, first read the background
     information about DSO in htdocs/manual/dso.html, then read the documenta-
     tion of mod_so.

     The options are as follows:

     -A      Same as the -a option but the created LoadModule directive is
             prefixed with a hash sign (#), i.e. the module is just prepared
             for later activation but initially disabled.

     -a      This activates the module by automatically adding a corresponding
             LoadModule line to Apache's httpd.conf configuration file, or by
             enabling it if it already exists.

     -c      Compile.  This option first compiles the C source files (.c) of
             file ... into corresponding object files (.o) and then builds a
             DSO in dsofile by linking these object files plus the remaining
             object files (.o and .a) of file ...  If no -o option is speci-
             fied, the output file is guessed from the first filename in file
             ... and thus usually defaults to mod_name.so

     -D variable[=value]
             This option is directly passed through to the compilation com-
             mand(s).  Use this to add your own defines to the build process.

     -e      Edit.  This option can be used with the -a and -A options to edit
             the configuration file, /var/www/conf/httpd.conf, without at-
             tempting to install the module.

     -g      Template generation.  This option generates a subdirectory name
             (see the -n option) and two files: a sample module source file
             named mod_name.c, which can be used as a template for creating
             your own modules or as a quick start for playing with the apxs
             mechanism, and a corresponding Makefile for even easier building
             and installing of this module.

     -I incdir
             This option is directly passed through to the compilation com-
             mand(s).  Use this to add your own include directories to search
             to the build process.

     -i      Install.  This option installs one or more DSOs into the server's
             libexec directory.

     -L libdir
             This option is directly passed through to the linker command.
             Use this to add your own library directories to search to the
             build process.

     -l libname
             This option is directly passed through to the linker command.
             Use this to add your own libraries to search to the build pro-
             cess.

     -n name
             This explicitly sets the module name for the -i (install) and -g
             (template generation) option.  Use this to explicitly specify the
             module name.  For option -g this is required; for option -i, apxs
             tries to determine the name from the source or (as a fallback) at
             least by guessing it from the filename.

     -o dsofile
             Explicitly specifies the filename of the created DSO file.  If
             not specified and the name cannot be guessed from the file ...
             list, the fallback name mod_unknown.so is used.

     -q      Query.  This option performs a query for apxs's knowledge about
             certain settings.  The query parameters can be one or more of the
             following variable names:

                   CC              TARGET
                   CFLAGS          SBINDIR
                   CFLAGS_SHLIB    INCLUDEDIR
                   LD_SHLIB        LIBEXECDIR
                   LDFLAGS_SHLIB   SYSCONFDIR
                   LIBS_SHLIB      PREFIX

             Use this for manually determining settings.  For instance, use
             the following inside your own Makefiles if you need manual access
             to Apache's C header files:

                   INC=-I`apxs -q INCLUDEDIR`

     -S variable=value
             This option changes the apxs settings described above.

     -Wc,compiler-flags
             This option passes compiler-flags as additional flags to the com-
             piler command.  Use this to add local compiler-specific options.
             This option may be specified multiple times in order to pass mul-
             tiple flags.

     -Wl,linker-flags
             This option passes linker-flags as additional flags to the linker
             command.  Use this to add local linker-specific options.  This
             option may be specified multiple times in order to pass multiple
             flags.

EXAMPLES
     Assume you have a module named ``mod_foo.c'' available which should ex-
     tend httpd's functionality.  To accomplish this, first compile the C
     source into a DSO suitable for loading into httpd at runtime via the fol-
     lowing command:

           # apxs -c mod_foo.c
           cc -O2 -pipe -DDEV_RANDOM=/dev/arandom -DMOD_SSL=208116 -DEAPI -DUSE_EXPAT -I../lib/expat-lite -DUSE_SETUSERCONTEXT -fPIC -DSHARED_MODULE -I/usr/lib/apache/include  -c mod_foo.c
           cc -shared -fPIC -DSHARED_MODULE -o mod_foo.so mod_foo.o

     Then a LoadModule directive has to be added to httpd's configuration file
     to load the DSO.  To simplify this step, apxs provides an automatic way
     to install the DSO in the ``libexec'' directory and update the httpd.conf
     file accordingly.  This can be achieved by running the following:

           $ apxs -i -a mod_foo.so
           [activating module `foo' in /var/www/conf/httpd.conf]
           cp mod_foo.so /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so
           chmod 755 /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so
           cp /var/www/conf/httpd.conf /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.bak
           cp /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.new /var/www/conf/httpd.conf
           rm /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.new

     This way a line such as the following is added to the configuration file:

           LoadModule foo_module /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so

     If you want the module added to the configuration file without it being
     enabled, use the -A option instead:

           $ apxs -i -A mod_foo.so

     For a quick test of the apxs mechanism, create a sample module template
     plus a corresponding Makefile via:

           # apxs -g -n foo
           Creating [DIR]  foo
           Creating [FILE] foo/Makefile
           Creating [FILE] foo/mod_foo.c

     The sample module can then be immediately compiled into a DSO and loaded
     into the httpd server:

           $ cd foo
           $ make all reload
           apxs -c    mod_foo.c
           cc -O2 -pipe -DDEV_RANDOM=/dev/arandom -DMOD_SSL=208116 -DEAPI -DUSE_EXPAT -I../lib/expat-lite -DUSE_SETUSERCONTEXT -fPIC -DSHARED_MODULE -I/usr/lib/apache/include  -c mod_foo.c
           cc -shared -fPIC -DSHARED_MODULE -o mod_foo.so mod_foo.o
           apxs -i -a -n 'foo' mod_foo.so
           [activating module `foo' in /var/www/conf/httpd.conf]
           cp mod_foo.so /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so
           chmod 755 /usr/lib/apache/modules/mod_foo.so
           cp /var/www/conf/httpd.conf /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.bak
           cp /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.new /var/www/conf/httpd.conf
           rm /var/www/conf/httpd.conf.new
           apachectl restart
           /usr/sbin/apachectl restart: httpd not running, trying to start
           /usr/sbin/apachectl restart: httpd started

     apxs can even be used to compile complex modules outside the httpd source
     tree, like PHP3, because apxs automatically recognizes C source files and
     object files.

           $ cd php3
           $ ./configure --with-shared-apache=../apache-1.3
           $ apxs -c -o libphp3.so mod_php3.c libmodphp3-so.a
           gcc -fpic -DSHARED_MODULE -I/tmp/apache/include  -c mod_php3.c
           ld -Bshareable -o libphp3.so mod_php3.o libmodphp3-so.a

     Only C source files are compiled, while remaining object files are used
     for the linking phase.

SEE ALSO
     cc(1), apachectl(8), httpd(8)

OpenBSD 4.7                      May 31, 2007                                4
