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New to web server implementation with questions


C_h_i_p

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First, I've read all that W3 has posted about potential web servers plus followed those links and as many peripheral ones until I found myself totally snowed under by technical references and nomenclature that means nothing to me. I have never run a web server and never plan to publicly. This is only for local use of MySQL and PHP. Perhaps there are some who can help point me in a more productive direction or assess the feasibility of my plan to develop a rather straight-forward and (hopefully) simple-to-implement prototype of web pages on my desktop.

 

Here is where I am:

 

The host service that I am considering (and experimenting with at this writing) is a free site that provides better functionality with an upgrade that seems worthwhile, at least at this point it does. It supports MySQL database & PHP, both which are alien to me but seem relatively easy to manipulate, script-wise. Seems a reasonable undertaking. I DL'd MySQL so that I could learn locally without the planned host's interface further complicating the learning curve. I've now gotten familiar enough to manage MySQL data structure that it is time to manage the input, query and reports with PHP/HTML. I am familiar with HTML for the most part as well as javascript but JS is not supported universally the way it used to be. Hence, the PHP route.

 

I find out that I must actually configure my machine to act as a web server to interface between MySQL and PHP. As stated before, this is the milestone where I am stuck. I have no clue which download is appropriate for my needs or how to determine that.

 

I have a stock version of Win 7 Pro that came installed with my HP 6305. Whatever architecture had been installed during the set-up is what it there, plus any of the updates that have been flying through. So my questions are:

 

Where/how do I check this Win 7 machine to decide which server is suitable for this rig?

 

SPECIFICALLY, what should I be concerned most with a potential server to perform functions that are not exotic... just simple input forms, database queries and reports? Bare bones but reliable is what I am seeking.

 

I already installed MySQL Server 5.7 and spent a few weeks running test operations. Do I need to remove it before I install the server and then reinstall? Is there a preferred sequence to install them?

 

I've found right off that MySQL uses command prompt interface, like deja vu of writing Unix shell scripts 25 years ago. That itself was a surprise to me in this world of GUIs. I noticed a Workbench utility that appears to be GUI but at the moment I am comfortable enough learning the syntax in DOS. But this is very very slow process and I see where simple tasks that rely on perfect keystrokes will become tedious. How much help is a MySQL GUI utility and are there any servers that operate seamlessly through that sort of interface?

 

Does the version of MySQL installed determine which web server will be compatible with it?

 

There are more questions, but these high-level, basic ones were chosen to give me a better overall grasp of the project scope.

 

Any objective recommendations would be gratefully received. Please provide links, if applicable.

 

TIA

Chip

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Identify if windows7 32 or 64 bit, control panel -> system, then google wamp, download wamp version for your windows version. Install wamp (Windows, Apache, Mysql, Php) which will install all these in one go, then good to go. but you should secure by changing permissions, passwords etc, and enable some features for example mod_rewrite which can be easily changed by clickking wamp icon and selecting required features.

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Identify if windows7 32 or 64 bit, control panel -> system, then google wamp, download wamp version for your windows version. Install wamp (Windows, Apache, Mysql, Php) which will install all these in one go, then good to go. but you should secure by changing permissions, passwords etc, and enable some features for example mod_rewrite which can be easily changed by clickking wamp icon and selecting required features.

 

So wamp will install the full package. Very good. Sounds relatively painless. TYVM for your quick response ;)

 

This is a 64-bit OS but must I run the server as a 64-bit app? I run most apps as 32-bit without any issues. 64-bit runs slightly faster but not so much that it makes much of a difference. I believe the host I intend to port my work to runs their server as 32-bit apps.

 

Sounds like I should uninstall my current version of MySQL to avoid any conflicts in the registry when wamp installs, no?

 

@davej: Thanks for the recommendations and links! Resolves the quandry of going ISS or Apache for me.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Happy Holidays to both of you! I will stay in touch as to my progress.

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Yeah! simpler, i mean why waste time in loading each php, apache, mysql individually making sure they are compatible with each other, and your current windows version you are using, having to look around for my.ini, php.ini, httpd.conf. to identify what is active and being able to adjust settings, modules, extensions, start, restart mysql services, link to all your current projects, phpmyadmin, localhost instantly by simply clicking on wamp icon at hand at bottom right corner. I mean you must be simple to want to go through all that right! :-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Setting up everything yourself at least once is the best way to understand how it all works together and what all of your options are with each piece of software. Even if you set it up in a package it would still be good for new users to go through each line of php.ini at a minimum and look up the options to see what they do and how they want to configure the server.

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