OK I'm confused...what is diff between tomcat & apache?

I have tomcat 4.1.27 installed and I'm using it for a webserver (?).
I'm using a product called Documentum which requires a J2EE web server
and it works just fine with Tomcat. Another 3rd part product that
"plays" with Documentum called Brava! (from Informative Graphics)
states that it expects a webserver of Apache Web Server 2.0 and a
servlet engine of Apache Jakarta Tomcat 4,0.

But doesn't the fact that Tomcat will render html make it a web
server?

sign me confused as hell

Anon E Moose III wrote:
> I have tomcat 4.1.27 installed and I'm using it for a webserver (?).
> I'm using a product called Documentum which requires a J2EE web server
> and it works just fine with Tomcat. Another 3rd part product that
> "plays" with Documentum called Brava! (from Informative Graphics)
> states that it expects a webserver of Apache Web Server 2.0 and a
> servlet engine of Apache Jakarta Tomcat 4,0.
>
> But doesn't the fact that Tomcat will render html make it a web
> server?

Yes, Tomcat is a web server, but that's not its primary function. Tomcat
is a JSP container, and JSPs interact with other components through
HTTP, so a HTTP (Web) server has to be involved. For that reason, Tomcat
includes one, written in Java. However, it's designed to support JSP,
not as a general web server.

Tomcat may serve your needs if you just need basic web server
functionality, and the load isn't extreme. If you need a full-function
web server, though, e.g. to use the extensive add-on functionality
provided by Apache modules, or if you need the high performance that you
get from an optimized C language implementation, you'll likely find
Apache a better choice. It looks like Tomcat has some extensibility
mechanisms, e.g. CGI and, of course, JSP, but it doesn't have the
equivalent of the large library of modules that Apache offers. The two
can be linked together transparently, e.g. using mod_jk or by using an
Apache proxy configuration.

I haven't actually seen any performance comparisons of Tomcat and
Apache. I think Apache would win a direct comparison simply because it's
a compiled language program, whereas Tomcat is interpreted Java. JIT
techniques close the gap somewhat, but not enough I suspect. If anyone
knows of comparisons between the two, I would be interested in a
reference to them.

--
Jim Patterson
Ottawa, CANADA