The httpd-ex repository is a sample application designed to demonstrate how to build and deploy web applications using the Apache HTTP Server builder image within containerized environments, specifically OpenShift. Written primarily in HTML, this repository serves as a practical reference implementation for developers working with source-to-image (S2I) workflows and container-based deployment scenarios on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS Stream platforms.
The core purpose of httpd-ex is to provide a minimal but functional example of an Apache HTTP Server application that can be built and deployed using the s2i httpd builder image maintained in the sclorg project. The application itself is intentionally simple, serving a single static HTML page through httpd, making it an ideal starting point for understanding how to containerize web applications and deploy them to OpenShift clusters. This simplicity allows users to focus on the deployment and build process rather than application complexity.
The repository demonstrates two primary deployment methods for OpenShift users. The first approach uses the OpenShift command-line interface to create a new application directly from the repository source, automatically triggering the S2I build process with the CentOS-based httpd-24 builder image. The second method leverages an OpenShift template file stored in the openshift/templates directory, specifically the httpd.json template, which provides a declarative way to deploy the application with predefined configuration parameters.
From a technical classification perspective, httpd-ex bridges multiple domains relevant to enterprise Linux containerization and web server deployment. It demonstrates practical application of Software Collections (SCL), which allow multiple versions of software to coexist on RHEL and CentOS systems, and shows how these collections integrate with container image technology. The repository exemplifies configuration management practices for Apache httpd within containerized environments and serves as a testing and development resource for validating S2I builder images.
The repository's connection to other projects in the sclorg ecosystem, particularly the httpd-container repository that provides the actual builder image, highlights its role as part of a larger infrastructure for standardized container image development. GitGenius activity analysis reveals that httpd-ex shares contributors with projects like pinojs/pino and openscap/openscap, indicating participation from developers working across multiple open-source initiatives focused on containerization, security scanning, and application logging.
By providing a concrete example of how to structure an application for S2I builds, httpd-ex serves as documentation through code for the httpd builder image capabilities. It demonstrates proper repository layout, template configuration, and deployment patterns that users can replicate for their own Apache httpd-based applications. The inclusion of the OpenShift template file shows how to parameterize deployments, making the example extensible for different environments and use cases. For organizations standardizing on Red Hat technologies and container-based deployment workflows, this repository provides an essential reference for understanding the complete pipeline from source code to running containerized web application on OpenShift.
