Rating: 
Summary: My personal favorite reference
Review: _Writing Apache Modules_ (WAM) is a high quality work, even amongst other O'Reilly books. Few/no typos and articulate writing, very usable index and good content organization, accurate and complete information, top notch Perl code. Yes, only about 5% of the code are in C, but the C API reference is there. I write Perl and C modules and I can use this book for both (though for specific C techniques, you'll probably be better off by reading the Apache developers and apache-modules mailing lists).I haven't actually read the other mod_perl and developer-oriented Apache books out there but in my opinion this book is still indispensable if you plan to write Apache modules, either in Perl, C, or other languages. Especially if you write for mod_perl, this book is a great complement to the mod_perl guide. Stas' guide focuses on deployment and tuning issues (memory usage, speed, etc) while WAM focuses on the Apache API and how Apache can help you do the job by writing modules. Personally, _Writing Apache Modules_ is still the most useful reference book to date. It's one that spends the largest amount of time on my desk. And, oh yes, Amazon gives a good deal on this one ... . Can't wait for the Apache 2 counterpart.
Rating:
Summary: The essence of O'Reilly
Review: _Writing Apache Modules_ is quintessential O'Reilly. They have taken an arcane but potentially useful topic and produced a readable, entertaining, complete, and authoritative guide to it. The book's 700 pages are nearly 3/4 tutorial, which walks you through the writing of dozens of Apache modules, mostly in Perl. (C is covered in less detail, but it's all there.) You'll learn how to write modules for every Apache request stage. The Perl code is technically excellent and well-formatted, and they don't shy away from using useful CPAN modules. Database examples use the free and popular MySQL. No matter what kind of Apache module you're thinking about writing, this book will surely have an example that will get you started, and the reference section will keep you going. I have read literally dozens of O'Reilly books, and this is among the very best they've ever done.
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