my 2 cents. actaully - it's about 5 bucks worth here, but hey! if you don't
have time to read, skip the explanations...
i'm a novice user of apache and have managed to figure it out, at least how
to get it to do most of what i need it for, primarily from the docs it
ships with. although hours spent studying the very well commented .conf
file have been most helpful - and of course good old trial and error in the
end.
often i don't even know, what i don't know. althogh this is my first post
to any list about apache, i've been frustrated by the level of knowledge
assumed by the documentation. i feel that i've learned a whole new
language. the last time i set up a server system that was as challenging
was on my apple iie for a multi line chat system, programmed entirely in
call 151 assembly for my blazing fast 1200 baud hayes modem.
what i would like to have before i started:
1) it would be helpful to have an archive of this apache list.
before i started setting up apache, i was using (don't laugh) PWS on
WinME, there was no reason for me to subscribe to this list. it wasn't
until recently when i started having problems with apache, and after
repeatedly reaching a dead end, that i subscribed. now i am somewhat web
aware, and didn't just pop on the list and post my questions. however the
temptation is GREAT! i want instant solutions to impossible problems, and
don't even speak the apache language (in fact, i don't even speak unix,
which may be appalling to many of you.) and have no idea the history of
the list. I'm sure that within the past year, many many newbies have met
the same problems i have, so, like myself, subscribed to the list, seen not
too much about installing stuff, and suddenly gone question crazy. asking
questions just answered days or weeks ago.
2) a glossary of terms that also covers some of the more obscure "unix" terms.
usually reserved for servers, and serving related stuff. like "virtual
hosting", "NT service", "httpd" - has anyone looked at the man page for
that term??? it's entirely in greek!!
3) break the faq up into OS specific stuff.
often i have used the browser search to look for stuff, only to find it's
qualified as an OS specific problem. yeah yeah, i know how much work that
is, but it's possible, and really - we wouldn't want win2k diehards and
unix diehards in the same room, do we really want them bopping each other
on the head in these forums?
some things that would be great now that i'm at first base:
1) i'd love to see "optimization" information, or "the best way to..." stuff.
i have some stuff that works - but i really have no idea why. I have some
stuff that worked, then didn't work, now works again. and i still haven't
figured out what i did to change any of it. i have some stuff that doesn't
work at all, but i've got a work around or "second best solution" where i'm
sure there must be a better way but just don't have the patience to
continue trying to figure it out, when there are more important things to
consider like the web content that is supposed to be served..
2) i'd love to see a "deprecated" list
- or more clearly labeled stuff in the conf file, i spent HOURS and HOURS
trying to get coldfusion working after moving my server to a new hard
drive, only to find out that the mod's list had changed formats and the
loadmodule for coldfusion came before a command to remove all modules in
favour of a new way of adding modules - i still don't understand what that
is all about, but it's working now and if it ain't broke... don't fix. I
found the answer scouring the dregs of usenet posts and stumbled upon a
similar problem, and made the discovery that hey - there is this new
command, and the old stuff is all deprecated.
3) examples of working servers!
i've seen plenty of requests before, in other groups,
_post_some_examples!!!_ yeah, those... hey, i could post "bad examples that
work", i have managed to get multiple virtual hosts happening, but i still
can't figure out how to give them there own unique cgi bin, i can't get pdf
files to be served from a folder in the cgi-bin path, and i can't get my
default ip or www to serve without duplicating it in the virtual host
directory with this installation (it worked before). i lost my root log
files, till i forced them into a subfolder in my cgi-bin. i'm serving a lot
of perl using "activestate perl" and have heard a lot of talk about mod
perl, and am terrified to open that can of worms, lest a fish i'm not
prepared for, completely overwhelms me, and i end up serving from my apple
iie again.
final observations (wow, you got this far - cool, thanks) I found the move
from single ip hosting, where i pointed my name to my server was very
simple, but making the switch to Virtual hosting, was totally confusing. i
still don't think i've got things right, but they work, and i'm ok with
that. i use apache as a development server, not a production server, so
it's not critical that performance be optimized, BUT - the perfectionist in
my would like to see it go that way.
what i need as a novice user, and one not willing to spend $75 (canadian)
taking my chances with a book on configuring Apache, is a set of guidelines
in plain english, or linked to a clear glossary of terms, context and
keyword search of faq and doc's, and get the clear information onto the
index page of the apache.org site, we shouldn't have to go hunting for it.
(or from the online doc's included in the install).
Something that is more OS specific than the general docs.
and a decent archive of the questions that we newbies ask - faq's tend to
be too technical, and often i don't know where to look - until there is a
"my server failed to start, i've tried everything and i'm tired a
frustrated, and i'm dieing here... what do i do?" question in the faq, with
the correct answer...
hope this helps you guys help us get the help we need.
thanks.
ken easson
justken.net
justken@rogers.com
justken web programming and technical support.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The official User-To-User support forum of the Apache HTTP Server Project.
See <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/userslist.html> for more info.
To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscribe@httpd.apache.org
For additional commands, e-mail: users-help@httpd.apache.org
have time to read, skip the explanations...
i'm a novice user of apache and have managed to figure it out, at least how
to get it to do most of what i need it for, primarily from the docs it
ships with. although hours spent studying the very well commented .conf
file have been most helpful - and of course good old trial and error in the
end.
often i don't even know, what i don't know. althogh this is my first post
to any list about apache, i've been frustrated by the level of knowledge
assumed by the documentation. i feel that i've learned a whole new
language. the last time i set up a server system that was as challenging
was on my apple iie for a multi line chat system, programmed entirely in
call 151 assembly for my blazing fast 1200 baud hayes modem.
what i would like to have before i started:
1) it would be helpful to have an archive of this apache list.
before i started setting up apache, i was using (don't laugh) PWS on
WinME, there was no reason for me to subscribe to this list. it wasn't
until recently when i started having problems with apache, and after
repeatedly reaching a dead end, that i subscribed. now i am somewhat web
aware, and didn't just pop on the list and post my questions. however the
temptation is GREAT! i want instant solutions to impossible problems, and
don't even speak the apache language (in fact, i don't even speak unix,
which may be appalling to many of you.) and have no idea the history of
the list. I'm sure that within the past year, many many newbies have met
the same problems i have, so, like myself, subscribed to the list, seen not
too much about installing stuff, and suddenly gone question crazy. asking
questions just answered days or weeks ago.
2) a glossary of terms that also covers some of the more obscure "unix" terms.
usually reserved for servers, and serving related stuff. like "virtual
hosting", "NT service", "httpd" - has anyone looked at the man page for
that term??? it's entirely in greek!!
3) break the faq up into OS specific stuff.
often i have used the browser search to look for stuff, only to find it's
qualified as an OS specific problem. yeah yeah, i know how much work that
is, but it's possible, and really - we wouldn't want win2k diehards and
unix diehards in the same room, do we really want them bopping each other
on the head in these forums?
some things that would be great now that i'm at first base:
1) i'd love to see "optimization" information, or "the best way to..." stuff.
i have some stuff that works - but i really have no idea why. I have some
stuff that worked, then didn't work, now works again. and i still haven't
figured out what i did to change any of it. i have some stuff that doesn't
work at all, but i've got a work around or "second best solution" where i'm
sure there must be a better way but just don't have the patience to
continue trying to figure it out, when there are more important things to
consider like the web content that is supposed to be served..
2) i'd love to see a "deprecated" list
- or more clearly labeled stuff in the conf file, i spent HOURS and HOURS
trying to get coldfusion working after moving my server to a new hard
drive, only to find out that the mod's list had changed formats and the
loadmodule for coldfusion came before a command to remove all modules in
favour of a new way of adding modules - i still don't understand what that
is all about, but it's working now and if it ain't broke... don't fix. I
found the answer scouring the dregs of usenet posts and stumbled upon a
similar problem, and made the discovery that hey - there is this new
command, and the old stuff is all deprecated.
3) examples of working servers!
i've seen plenty of requests before, in other groups,
_post_some_examples!!!_ yeah, those... hey, i could post "bad examples that
work", i have managed to get multiple virtual hosts happening, but i still
can't figure out how to give them there own unique cgi bin, i can't get pdf
files to be served from a folder in the cgi-bin path, and i can't get my
default ip or www to serve without duplicating it in the virtual host
directory with this installation (it worked before). i lost my root log
files, till i forced them into a subfolder in my cgi-bin. i'm serving a lot
of perl using "activestate perl" and have heard a lot of talk about mod
perl, and am terrified to open that can of worms, lest a fish i'm not
prepared for, completely overwhelms me, and i end up serving from my apple
iie again.
final observations (wow, you got this far - cool, thanks) I found the move
from single ip hosting, where i pointed my name to my server was very
simple, but making the switch to Virtual hosting, was totally confusing. i
still don't think i've got things right, but they work, and i'm ok with
that. i use apache as a development server, not a production server, so
it's not critical that performance be optimized, BUT - the perfectionist in
my would like to see it go that way.
what i need as a novice user, and one not willing to spend $75 (canadian)
taking my chances with a book on configuring Apache, is a set of guidelines
in plain english, or linked to a clear glossary of terms, context and
keyword search of faq and doc's, and get the clear information onto the
index page of the apache.org site, we shouldn't have to go hunting for it.
(or from the online doc's included in the install).
Something that is more OS specific than the general docs.
and a decent archive of the questions that we newbies ask - faq's tend to
be too technical, and often i don't know where to look - until there is a
"my server failed to start, i've tried everything and i'm tired a
frustrated, and i'm dieing here... what do i do?" question in the faq, with
the correct answer...
hope this helps you guys help us get the help we need.
thanks.
ken easson
justken.net
justken@rogers.com
justken web programming and technical support.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The official User-To-User support forum of the Apache HTTP Server Project.
See <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/userslist.html> for more info.
To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscribe@httpd.apache.org
For additional commands, e-mail: users-help@httpd.apache.org