Compile once, install to multiple places

>From what I can see, you pick a --prefix-dir when compiling Apache, and
(according
to documentation) must install to that directory in order for the
product to work.
This suggests that the path (and those derived from it) get embedded in
various
binaries, modules and configuration files.

This can be awkward, as the target directory may not be known at
compile time,
and/or, the product may be installed more than once on the same server
(and possibly patched and/or configured differently for different
customers).
Or, perhaps the binary is on shared storage, mounted at different
places by
different client machines.

IBM appear to addressed the issue in IBM HTTP Server (derived from
Apache).
You can install to a directory of your choosing, and multiple times
too, and it works.

Q1: How deep do the prefix directories get embedded within Apache at
compile time?
Q2: Why is this?
Doesn't seem defendable from a flexibility perspective.
Doesn't seem necessary (given IBM's example).
Q3: Is there any hope for this going away in future?
Q4: Has anyone worked around this already?
Perhaps by specifying a relative prefix-dir?

I ran strings on various binaries and modules and didn't find much in
the way
of prefix-dir related path information.

{{{ Andy

> Q4: Has anyone worked around this already?

Sure: Just use ServerRoot in your httpd.conf file to specify a
different folder for your apache setup. To use a httpd.conf file in an
arbitrary location just specify it with the -f option to httpd in your
apachectl script.

T.