  Web applications are structured as multi-tier stacks of components. Each
component may be written in a different language and interoperate using a
variety of protocols. Such interoperation increases developer effort, can
introduce security vulnerabilities, may reduce performance and require
additional resources. A range of approaches have been explored to minimise web
stack interoperation.
  This paper explores a pragmatic approach to reducing web stack
interoperation, namely eliminating a tier/component. That is, we explore the
implications of eliminating the Apache web server in a JAPyL web stack: Jupyter
Notebook, Apache, Python, Linux, and replacing it with PHP libraries. We
conduct a systematic study to investigate the implications for web stack
performance, resource consumption, security, and programming effort.
