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had been left to gather virtual dust when its primary programmer； University of
Illinois student Rob McCool； had been scooped up （along with Marc Andreessen and Lynx
author Eric Bina） by a little…known company in Silicon Valley named Netscape。
Meanwhile； the Web refused to stop growing…and
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kept creating new problems for Web servers to cope with。〃 So patches of one kind or
another proliferated like Band…Aids on bandwidth； plugging one hole here and
breaching another gap there。
Meanwhile； all these patches were slowly； in an ad hoc open…source manner； building
a new modern Web server。 But everyone had his or her own version； trading patches
here and there； because the NCSA lab couldn't keep up with it all。
〃I was just this near…dropout；〃 explained Behlendorf。 〃I was having a lot of fun
building this Web site for Wired and learning more than I was learning at Berkeley。
So a discussion started in our little working group that the NCSA people were not
answering our e…mails。 We were sending in patches for the system and they weren't
responding。 And we said； 'If NCSA would not respond to our patches； what's going to
happen in the future？' We were happy to continue improving this thing； yet we were
worried when we were not getting any feedback and seeing our patches integrated。 So
I started to contact the other people I knew trading patches。 。 。 Most of them were
on the standards working groups ＇the Internet Engineering Task Force＇ that were
setting the first standards for the interconnectivity between machines and
applications on the Internet。。。 And we said； 'Why don't we take our future into our
own hands and release our own ＇Web server＇ version that incorporated all our patches？'
〃We looked up the copyright for the NCSA code； and it basically just said give us
credit at Illinois for what we invented if you improve it…and don't blame us if it
breaks；〃 recalled Behlendorf。 〃So we started building our own version from all our
patches。 None of us had time to be a full…time Web server developer； but we thought
if we could combine our time and do it in a public way； we could create something
better than we could buy off the shelf…and nothing was available then； anyway。 This
was all before Netscape had shipped its first commercial Web server。 That was the
beginning of the Apache project。〃
By February 1999； they had completely rewritten the original NCSA program and
formalized their cooperation under the name 〃Apache。〃
〃I picked the name because I wanted it to have a positive connotation of being
assertive；〃 said Behlendorf。 〃The Apache tribe was the last tribe
to surrender to the oncoming U。S。 government； and at the time we worried that the
big companies would come in and 'civilize' the landscape that the early Internet
engineers built。 So 'Apache' made sense to me as a good code name； and others said
it also would make a good pun〃…as in the APAtCHy server； because they were patching
all these fixes together。
So in many ways； Bellendorf and his open…source colleagues…most of whom he had never
met but knew only by e…mail through their open…source chat room…had created a virtual；
online； bottom…up software factory； which no one owned and no one supervised。 〃We
had a software project； but the coordination and direction were an emergent behavior
based on whoever showed up and wanted to write code；〃 he said。
But how does it actually work？ I asked Behlendorf。 You can't just have a bunch of
people； unmonitored； throwing code together； can you？
〃Most software development involves a source code repository and is managed by tools
such as the Concurrent Versions System；〃 he explained。 〃So there is a CVS server out
there； and I have a CVS program on my computer。 It allows me to connect to the server
and pull down a copy of the code； so I can start working with it and making
modifications。 If I think my patch is something I want to share with others； I run
a program called Patch； which allows me to create a new file； a compact collection
of all the changes。 That is called a patch file； and I can give that file to someone
else； and they can apply it to their copy of the code to see what impact that patch
has。 If I have the right privileges to the server ＇which is restricted to a tightly
controlled oversight board＇； I can then take my patch and commit it to the repository
and it will become part of the source code。 The CVS server keeps track of everything
and who sent in what。。。 So you might have 'read access' to the repository but not
'commit access' to change things。 When someone makes a commit to the repository； that
patch file gets e…mailed out to all the other developers； and so you get this peer
review system after the fact； and if there is something wrong； you fix the bug。〃
So how does this community decide who are trusted members？
〃For Apache；〃 said Behlendorf； 〃we started with eight people who really trusted each
other； and as new people showed up at the discussion forum and offered patch files
posted to the discussion form； we would
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gain trust in others； and that eight grew to over one thousand。 We were the first
open…source project to get attention from the business community and get the backing
from IBM。〃
Because of Apache's proficiency at allowing a single…server machine to host thousands
of different virtual Web sites…music； data； text； pornography…it began to have 〃a
commanding share of the Internet Service Provider market；〃 noted Salon's Leonard。
IBM was trying to sell its own proprietary Web server； called GO； but it gained only
a tiny sliver of the market。 Apache proved to be both a better technology and free。
So IBM eventually decided that if it could not beat Apache； it should join Apache。
You have to stop here and imagine this。 The world's biggest computer company decided
that its engineers could not best the work of an ad hoc open…source collection of
geeks； so they threw out their own technology and decided to go with the geeks！
IBM 〃initiated contact with me； as I had a somewhat public speaker role for Apache；〃
said Behlendorf。 〃IBM said； 'We would like to figure out how we can use ＇Apache＇ and
not get flamed by the Internet community； ＇how we can＇ make it sustainable and not
just be ripping people off but contributing to the process。 。 。' IBM was saying that
this new model for software development was trustworthy and valuable； so let's invest
in it and get rid of the one that we are trying to make on our own； which isn't as
good。〃
John Swainson was the senior IBM executive who led the team that approached Apache
（he's now chairman of Computer Associates）。 He picked up the story： 〃There was a whole
debate going on at thetime about open…source； but it was all over the place。 We decided
we could deal with the Apache guys because they answered our questions。 We could hold
a meaningful conversation with these guys； and we were able to create the ＇nonprofit＇
Apache Software Foundation and work out all the issues。〃
At IBM's expense； its lawyers worked with the Apache group to create a legal framework
around it so that there would be no copyright or liability problems for companies；
like IBM； that wanted to build applications on top of Apache and charge money for
them。 IBM saw the value in having a standard vanilla Web server architecture…which
allowed
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heterogeneous computer systems and devices to talk to each other； displaying e…mail
and Web pages in a standard format…that was constantly being improved for free by
an open…source community。 The Apache collaborators did not set out to make free
software。 They set out to solve a common problem…Web serving…and found that
collaborating for free in this open…source manner was the best way to assemble the
best brains for the job they needed done。
〃When we started working with Apache； there was an apache。org Web site but no formal
legal structure； and businesses and informal structures don't coexist well；〃 said
Swainson。 〃You need to be able to vet the code； sign an agreement； and deal with
liability issues。 ＇Today＇ anybody can download the Apache code。 The only obligation
is that they acknowledge that it came from the site； and if they make any changes
that they share them back。〃 There is an Apache development process that manages the
traffic； and you earn your way into that process； added Swainson。 It is something
like a pure meritocracy。When IBM started using Apache； it became part of the community
and started making contributions。
Indeed； the one thing the Apache people demanded in return for their collaboration
with IBM was that IBM assign its best engineers to join the Apache open…source group
and contribute； like everyone else； for free。 〃The Apache people were not interested
in payment of cash；〃 said Swainson。 〃They wanted contribution to the base。 Our
engineers came to us and said； 'These guys who doApache are good andthey are insisting
that we contribute good people。' At first they rejected some of what we contributed。
They said it wasn't up to their standards！ The compensation that the community
expected was our best contribution。〃