Apache2Triad Help, Support and Development

[DeliriumServers]

Which is faster php through mod php5? or through cgi? Based on the default install I would guess mod php5 is faster, but I just wanted to make sure, thanks.

[Vlad Alexa Mancini]

thanks you for this question , i seldomly get to explain something on these forums that is not in a manual

Ok , apache has 2 mechanisms for providing access to a external compiler :
1 - Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) , a apache module for the compiler is loaded on apache startup
2 - Common Gateway Interface (CGI) , apache queries the compiler executable each time it is requested to

Unanimously DSO is the preferred way from two major considerations , performance and security.

First off , with CGI apache has to start a new instance of the compiler for each request , given some simultaneous requests the performance is highly impacted

Second off with CGI the compiler startup overhead is on a per-request basis , as opposed with only on apache startup in the case of DSO , which also impacts performance

Finally , CGI because of it's design has some major security implications especially on shared servers where scripts runned on the server do not come from a trusted source

[DeliriumServers]

thanks, I really appreciate getting a clear reply, especially from the devoloper of the app suite. Thanks! mod_php will continue to speed along on my server :D