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8 <title>Terms Used to Describe Directives - Apache HTTP Server</title>
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14 <p class="menu"><a href="../mod/">Modules</a> | <a href="../mod/directives.html">Directives</a> | <a href="../faq/">FAQ</a> | <a href="../glossary.html">Glossary</a> | <a href="../sitemap.html">Sitemap</a></p>
15 <p class="apache">Apache HTTP Server Version 2.1</p>
16 <img alt="" src="../images/feather.gif" /></div>
17 <div class="up"><a href="./"><img title="<-" alt="<-" src="../images/left.gif" /></a></div>
19 <a href="http://www.apache.org/">Apache</a> > <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/">HTTP Server</a> > <a href="http://httpd.apache.org/docs-project/">Documentation</a> > <a href="../">Version 2.1</a></div><div id="page-content"><div id="preamble"><h1>Terms Used to Describe Directives</h1>
21 <p><span>Available Languages: </span><a href="../en/mod/directive-dict.html" title="English"> en </a> |
22 <a href="../ja/mod/directive-dict.html" hreflang="ja" rel="alternate" title="Japanese"> ja </a> |
23 <a href="../ko/mod/directive-dict.html" hreflang="ko" rel="alternate" title="Korean"> ko </a></p>
26 <p>This document describes the terms that are used to describe
27 each Apache <a href="directives.html">configuration
30 <div id="quickview"><ul id="toc"><li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Description">Description</a></li>
31 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Syntax">Syntax</a></li>
32 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Default">Default</a></li>
33 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Context">Context</a></li>
34 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Override">Override</a></li>
35 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Status">Status</a></li>
36 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Module">Module</a></li>
37 <li><img alt="" src="../images/down.gif" /> <a href="#Compatibility">Compatibility</a></li>
38 </ul><h3>See also</h3><ul class="seealso"><li><a href="../configuring.html">Configuration files</a></li></ul></div>
39 <div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
41 <h2><a name="Description" id="Description">Description</a></h2>
43 <p>A brief description of the purpose of the directive.</p>
44 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
46 <h2><a name="Syntax" id="Syntax">Syntax</a></h2>
48 <p>This indicates the format of the directive as it would
49 appear in a configuration file. This syntax is extremely
50 directive-specific, and is described in detail in the
51 directive's definition. Generally, the directive name is
52 followed by a series of one or more space-separated arguments.
53 If an argument contains a space, the argument must be enclosed
54 in double quotes. Optional arguments are enclosed in square
55 brackets. Where an argument can take on more than one possible
56 value, the possible values are separated by vertical bars "|".
57 Literal text is presented in the default font, while
58 argument-types for which substitution is necessary are
59 <em>emphasized</em>. Directives which can take a variable
60 number of arguments will end in "..." indicating that the last
61 argument is repeated.</p>
63 <p>Directives use a great number of different argument types. A
64 few common ones are defined below.</p>
69 <dd>A complete Uniform Resource Locator including a scheme,
70 hostname, and optional pathname as in
71 <code>http://www.example.com/path/to/file.html</code></dd>
73 <dt><em>URL-path</em></dt>
75 <dd>The part of a <em>url</em> which follows the scheme and
76 hostname as in <code>/path/to/file.html</code>. The
77 <em>url-path</em> represents a web-view of a resource, as
78 opposed to a file-system view.</dd>
80 <dt><em>file-path</em></dt>
82 <dd>The path to a file in the local file-system beginning
83 with the root directory as in
84 <code>/usr/local/apache/htdocs/path/to/file.html</code>.
85 Unless otherwise specified, a <em>file-path</em> which does
86 not begin with a slash will be treated as relative to the <a href="core.html#serverroot">ServerRoot</a>.</dd>
88 <dt><em>directory-path</em></dt>
90 <dd>The path to a directory in the local file-system
91 beginning with the root directory as in
92 <code>/usr/local/apache/htdocs/path/to/</code>.</dd>
94 <dt><em>filename</em></dt>
96 <dd>The name of a file with no accompanying path information
97 as in <code>file.html</code>.</dd>
99 <dt><em>regex</em></dt>
101 <dd>A regular expression, which is a way of describing a
102 pattern to match in text. The directive definition will
103 specify what the <em>regex</em> is matching against.</dd>
105 <dt><em>extension</em></dt>
107 <dd>In general, this is the part of the <em>filename</em>
108 which follows the last dot. However, Apache recognizes
109 multiple filename extensions, so if a <em>filename</em>
110 contains more than one dot, each dot-separated part of the
111 filename following the first dot is an <em>extension</em>.
112 For example, the <em>filename</em> <code>file.html.en</code>
113 contains two extensions: <code>.html</code> and
114 <code>.en</code>. For Apache directives, you may specify
115 <em>extension</em>s with or without the leading dot. In
116 addition, <em>extension</em>s are not case sensitive.</dd>
118 <dt><em>MIME-type</em></dt>
120 <dd>A method of describing the format of a file which
121 consists of a major format type and a minor format type,
122 separated by a slash as in <code>text/html</code>.</dd>
124 <dt><em>env-variable</em></dt>
126 <dd>The name of an <a href="../env.html">environment
127 variable</a> defined in the Apache configuration process.
128 Note this is not necessarily the same as an operating system
129 environment variable. See the <a href="../env.html">environment variable documentation</a> for
132 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
133 <div class="section">
134 <h2><a name="Default" id="Default">Default</a></h2>
136 <p>If the directive has a default value (<em>i.e.</em>, if you
137 omit it from your configuration entirely, the Apache Web server
138 will behave as though you set it to a particular value), it is
139 described here. If there is no default value, this section
140 should say "<em>None</em>". Note that the default listed here
141 is not necessarily the same as the value the directive takes in
142 the default httpd.conf distributed with the server.</p>
143 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
144 <div class="section">
145 <h2><a name="Context" id="Context">Context</a></h2>
147 <p>This indicates where in the server's configuration files the
148 directive is legal. It's a comma-separated list of one or more
149 of the following values:</p>
152 <dt>server config</dt>
154 <dd>This means that the directive may be used in the server
155 configuration files (<em>e.g.</em>, <code>httpd.conf</code>), but
156 <strong>not</strong> within any
157 <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#virtualhost"><VirtualHost></a></code>
158 or <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a></code>
159 containers. It is not allowed in <code>.htaccess</code> files
162 <dt>virtual host</dt>
164 <dd>This context means that the directive may appear inside
165 <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#virtualhost"><VirtualHost></a></code>
166 containers in the server
167 configuration files.</dd>
171 <dd>A directive marked as being valid in this context may be
172 used inside <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a></code>, <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#location"><Location></a></code>, <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#files"><Files></a></code>, and <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/mod_proxy.html#proxy"><Proxy></a></code> containers
173 in the server configuration files, subject to the restrictions
174 outlined in <a href="../sections.html">Configuration
179 <dd>If a directive is valid in this context, it means that it
180 can appear inside <em>per</em>-directory
181 <code>.htaccess</code> files. It may not be processed, though
182 depending upon the <a href="#Override">overrides</a> currently active.</dd>
185 <p>The directive is <em>only</em> allowed within the designated
186 context; if you try to use it elsewhere, you'll get a
187 configuration error that will either prevent the server from
188 handling requests in that context correctly, or will keep the
189 server from operating at all -- <em>i.e.</em>, the server won't
192 <p>The valid locations for the directive are actually the
193 result of a Boolean OR of all of the listed contexts. In other
194 words, a directive that is marked as being valid in
195 "<code>server config, .htaccess</code>" can be used in the
196 <code>httpd.conf</code> file and in <code>.htaccess</code>
197 files, but not within any <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#directory"><Directory></a></code> or
198 <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#virtualhost"><VirtualHost></a></code>
200 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
201 <div class="section">
202 <h2><a name="Override" id="Override">Override</a></h2>
204 <p>This directive attribute indicates which configuration
205 override must be active in order for the directive to be
206 processed when it appears in a <code>.htaccess</code> file. If
207 the directive's <a href="#Context">context</a>
208 doesn't permit it to appear in <code>.htaccess</code> files,
209 then no context will be listed.</p>
211 <p>Overrides are activated by the <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#allowoverride">AllowOverride</a></code> directive, and apply
212 to a particular scope (such as a directory) and all
213 descendants, unless further modified by other
214 <code class="directive"><a href="../mod/core.html#allowoverride">AllowOverride</a></code> directives at
215 lower levels. The documentation for that directive also lists the
216 possible override names available.</p>
217 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
218 <div class="section">
219 <h2><a name="Status" id="Status">Status</a></h2>
221 <p>This indicates how tightly bound into the Apache Web server
222 the directive is; in other words, you may need to recompile the
223 server with an enhanced set of modules in order to gain access
224 to the directive and its functionality. Possible values for
225 this attribute are:</p>
230 <dd>If a directive is listed as having "Core" status, that
231 means it is part of the innermost portions of the Apache Web
232 server, and is always available.</dd>
236 <dd>A directive labeled as having "MPM" status is provided by
237 a <a href="../mpm.html">Multi-Processing Module</a>. This
238 type of directive will be available if and only if you are
239 using one of the MPMs listed on the <a href="#Module">Module</a> line of the directive
244 <dd>A directive labeled as having "Base" status is supported
245 by one of the standard Apache modules which is compiled into
246 the server by default, and is therefore normally available
247 unless you've taken steps to remove the module from your
252 <dd>A directive with "Extension" status is provided by one of
253 the modules included with the Apache server kit, but the
254 module isn't normally compiled into the server. To enable the
255 directive and its functionality, you will need to change the
256 server build configuration files and re-compile Apache.</dd>
258 <dt>Experimental</dt>
260 <dd>"Experimental" status indicates that the directive is
261 available as part of the Apache kit, but you're on your own
262 if you try to use it. The directive is being documented for
263 completeness, and is not necessarily supported. The module
264 which provides the directive may or may not be compiled in by
265 default; check the top of the page which describes the
266 directive and its module to see if it remarks on the
269 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
270 <div class="section">
271 <h2><a name="Module" id="Module">Module</a></h2>
273 <p>This quite simply lists the name of the source module which
274 defines the directive.</p>
275 </div><div class="top"><a href="#page-header"><img alt="top" src="../images/up.gif" /></a></div>
276 <div class="section">
277 <h2><a name="Compatibility" id="Compatibility">Compatibility</a></h2>
279 <p>If the directive wasn't part of the original Apache version
280 2 distribution, the version in which it was introduced should
281 be listed here. In addition, if the directive is available
282 only on certain platforms, it will be noted here.</p>
284 <div class="bottomlang">
285 <p><span>Available Languages: </span><a href="../en/mod/directive-dict.html" title="English"> en </a> |
286 <a href="../ja/mod/directive-dict.html" hreflang="ja" rel="alternate" title="Japanese"> ja </a> |
287 <a href="../ko/mod/directive-dict.html" hreflang="ko" rel="alternate" title="Korean"> ko </a></p>
288 </div><div id="footer">
289 <p class="apache">Copyright 1999-2004 The Apache Software Foundation</p>
290 <p class="menu"><a href="../mod/">Modules</a> | <a href="../mod/directives.html">Directives</a> | <a href="../faq/">FAQ</a> | <a href="../glossary.html">Glossary</a> | <a href="../sitemap.html">Sitemap</a></p></div>