Apache handlers allow you to control what Apache will do with certain file types. When Apache sees a file, it has an action built in for that file type, and will perform that action. If you wish Apache to do a different action, you will need to make a handler to tell Apache to perform that action.

For example, if you use a file type that requires a special service to run it, such as a file with server side includes that is not named with a .shtml extension, you need to tell Apache to treat these files differently. More information on Apache's Handlers can be found at http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/handler.html.