I've really screwed everything up

[cypher543]

I've been trying for the last week to get a simple web development server going on FC5. But, I've tried so many different methods, that my system is all bugged. First, I tried installing via YUM (httpd, mysql-server, php, etc). But, it didn't work for some reason that I cannot remember. So, I installed Apache, MySQL, and PHP from source, which also didn't work. The makefiles didn't have uninstall actions, so I had to manually search around and TRY to delete every trace of the files created. Then I tried installing XAMPP, which just gave me permission errors, no matter what I did. Plus, MySQL wouldn't work with it for some reason. So, I removed XAMPP and made sure I stopped the server, then I tried the YUM method again. This time, I go to 127.0.0.1, but it redirects me to 127.0.0.1/xampp and gives me a 404. But, I completely removed XAMPP and stopped it's servers. So, I ran "sudo netstat -nlp" which showed HTTPD running on port 80, which means it isn't XAMPP that's hogging the port. But, I still get redirected to the non-existant XAMPP folder.

Can anyone tell me what is going on? Should I just resintall Fedora so I can get a clean system to work with? Is there some self-contained package that I can use... something like XAMPP, but with PHP, MySQL, and Apache ONLY?

[PilotJLR]

I personally would start fresh and stick to yum installs for these common packages...

Also, since this is for development, you might want to just run a LAMP appliance in VMware on your workstation. This one is based on rPath, which is basically the same as RHEL / Fedora:
http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/465
As you can see, it's 178MB, so it's pretty lean.

[cypher543]

I've just finished reinstalling Fedora, and now I'm running yum update.

The VMware appliance sounds nice, since there's no risk of repeating the past problems I created for myself. But, I haven't seen very good comments about the rPath appliance you showed me. Also, can I mount a directory from the host operating system and serve it from the guest operating system? If I still have to FTP files back and forth, then there is no point in running a local development server.

[Firewing1]

Originally Posted by cypher543

I've just finished reinstalling Fedora, and now I'm running yum update.

The VMware appliance sounds nice, since there's no risk of repeating the past problems I created for myself. But, I haven't seen very good comments about the rPath appliance you showed me. Also, can I mount a directory from the host operating system and serve it from the guest operating system? If I still have to FTP files back and forth, then there is no point in running a local development server.

Chroots are always nice for testing
Firewing1

[cypher543]

Chroots are always nice for testing

I had to Google to find out what Chroots are. But, in the end, I still don't quite see how that would help me. Could you explain a little more, please?

EDIT: After more searching, I found a little article about running Apache in a chroot jail. But, it looks like a pain to get working. I'd really just like to make my development server as simple as possible. Which is why a VMware appliance sounds nice.

[Firewing1]

chroots are basically mini-installations, when you can use the command 'chroot' to get into them - But the little thing is when you chroot that directory becomes like /, so for example I've read about using them on the bzflag site - If someone hacks into your server, then can only access the / from the chroot, not the whole system because bzflag was running from the chroot.

Mock, the rpm tester, uses the same idea and creates it's own installtion to run the test RPMs in, useful for seeing if your 'requires' are correct, for example.

So, if you're ever worried about messing something up, you can use a chroot to test it first.

Firewing1