Apache on Linux

Apache is the most used web server in the net. And as so many other things that originated on the linux/unix environment, this one too is free.

By using a web server software you can exactly see how your site will display when you upload it to your server. And when you are using server-side scripting language, the existence of a web server becomes mandatory (for checking and debugging the program).

Most linux distributions come with apache bundled. Check your distribution CD. Otherwise you may download the same from http://www.apache.org/. Be sure to read the installation instruction before you install!

Once you install apache, it automatically runs as a system daemon. If not, issue this command:
#ntsysv
and select "http" from the list.

Apache Commands

For finding the status of apache(to check whether it is running or not):
#/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd status

To start apache:
#/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd start

To stop apache:
#/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd stop

To restart apache:
#/etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart

Using Apache

Once you know that apache is running, you can check it by pointing your browser to http://127.0.0.1/ or http://localhost/. If you have installed apache properly, then you will see the apache welcome page. The physical location of this welcome page is:
/home/httpd/html/ (in RedHat Linux6.2)
/var/www/html (in RedHat Linux7.1)
Within the httpd/www directory you will find the cgi-bin directory, where you have to store your Perl, Python etc. scripts. The contents of this directory can be accessed by http://localhost/cgi-bin/scriptname.ext.

Configuring Apache

Configuring apache is NOT a easy task! For configuring even the simplest of things you may need to open one or two configuration files, make changes/add new entry, restart apache for checking whether the new configuration works. The good news is that all these script files are thoroughly commented for easy understanding. In fact, even without going through the apache manual (available in the installation, point your browser to http://localhost/manual/) you may succeed in making some configuration changes.The configuration files are available in the folder:
/etc/httpd/conf/
From version 1.3.4, the various configuration files have been unified into one file: httpd.conf.