Netcraft's April survey is out. It seems that Apache is still by far the most popular web server software, more than doubling nearest rival Microsoft's share.
It is interesting to note that Apache and Microsoft appear to mirror each other statistically. If you look at the graph, June - October 2002 for example displays a sharp increase in Apaches servers and an equally sharp decline in Microsoft servers.
While I have much to learn about servers and software, I can give two good reasons why the Apache Software Foundation is still holding their ground:
1. It's free (thus, web hosting is cheaper, and you can still work wonders in PHP, Perl and XML. Hey! That's the stuff Movable Type is made of!).
2. It's open source. Along with the likes of Linux, I'd say the open source movement is giving Micro$oft a run for its money.
2 Comments
Actually I believe more webservers are running Apache on the BSDs rather than Linux. While Linux has a larger consumer following, it is the BSDs that are more secure, stable and more cross platform compatible.
Just a thought.
I meant Apache and Linux in the general open source movement (not servers specifically) being a threat to Gates and Co.