Why is there "httpd" on OS X and "apache" on Ubuntu?

Question

Why is there a difference in the name for the same thing on different OSes?

On OS X I have httpd. On Linux, apache.

ps aux | grep httpd
ps aux | grep apache

Why is this?

Answer 1

apache is a legacy name.

While originally it was used for the web server, "Apache" is now a software foundation. From a historical perspective, the Apache group were the people involved with creating httpd. Since that was the first project, the HTTP server was often referred to as Apache.

These days there are dozens of projects under the Apache Software Foundation. Of course they are all named "Apache…", and the list of projects still includes the Apache HTTP Server.

See also: Fixing confusion of Apache vs httpd

Perhaps choosing the program's name to be the name of the foundation was a mistake, but the least we can do is to help adjust for the reality of the current structure and framework of our foundation.

And: About the Apache HTTP Server Project – The Apache HTTP Server Project