[gentoo-user] Getting started with a web server

[gentoo-user] Getting started with a web server

[Peter Humphrey]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1359 bytes --]

Hello list,

It seems to be time again to see if I can set up a local web server*. I want 
to build a site for myself, and one way is to work it up on my own machine, 
then transfer it to a hosting service when it's "ready".

The first problem I face is in choosing a server: Apache is huge and complex, 
and NGINX is foreign to me, so what should I do?

The Gentoo Apache wiki is unhelpful. It assumes that the reader is experienced 
in running web servers, and just points out the way things are done differently 
here. Then it occupies several pages with the entire configuration file calling 
chain, every line of every file being shown; what is the point of that? It only 
succeeds in sowing confusion. Well, it does in me, anyway; I'm no wiser at the 
end than the beginning.

It even trips up right at the start, showing what to set for each MPM, but 
without explaining why I should choose any particular one. The wiki seems to 
have been written by a programmer, not a user (this is a woefully common 
shortcoming in software documents).

In short, it's useless.

Is there a more accessible guide anywhere? Google hasn't found anything for 
me.

*  I've asked this here before, but never got anywhere with it. I did build a 
130-page site for the local choir years ago, in pure HTML and CSS, but that 
experience has evaporated.

-- 
Regards,
Peter.

[-- Attachment #2: tmvc-home-page.png --]
[-- Type: image/png, Size: 289817 bytes --]

Re: [gentoo-user] Getting started with a web server

[George Kettleborough]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2134 bytes --]

Hi Peter,

If you only want to build a static site (ie. just HTML, CSS, JS etc; no
server-side scripting) then you don't need to install and configure
something like Apache to test it out. You could just open the files you're
working on straight from the disk. Or if you want to test with server you
can use one of the super simple servers designed for testing. There is one
built in to Python. Simply run "python -m http.server" in your project
directory.

You could also consider using a static site builder like Hugo or Jekyll
which can build your site using templates. These have their own test
servers built in.


-- George



On Sat, 1 Jun 2024, 16:02 Peter Humphrey, <peter@prh.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

> Hello list,
>
> It seems to be time again to see if I can set up a local web server*. I
> want
> to build a site for myself, and one way is to work it up on my own
> machine,
> then transfer it to a hosting service when it's "ready".
>
> The first problem I face is in choosing a server: Apache is huge and
> complex,
> and NGINX is foreign to me, so what should I do?
>
> The Gentoo Apache wiki is unhelpful. It assumes that the reader is
> experienced
> in running web servers, and just points out the way things are done
> differently
> here. Then it occupies several pages with the entire configuration file
> calling
> chain, every line of every file being shown; what is the point of that? It
> only
> succeeds in sowing confusion. Well, it does in me, anyway; I'm no wiser at
> the
> end than the beginning.
>
> It even trips up right at the start, showing what to set for each MPM, but
> without explaining why I should choose any particular one. The wiki seems
> to
> have been written by a programmer, not a user (this is a woefully common
> shortcoming in software documents).
>
> In short, it's useless.
>
> Is there a more accessible guide anywhere? Google hasn't found anything
> for
> me.
>
> *  I've asked this here before, but never got anywhere with it. I did
> build a
> 130-page site for the local choir years ago, in pure HTML and CSS, but
> that
> experience has evaporated.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Peter.
>

[-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 2801 bytes --]

[gentoo-user] Re: Getting started with a web server

[Grant Edwards]

On 2024-06-01, George Kettleborough <kettleg@gmail.com> wrote:

> If you only want to build a static site (ie. just HTML, CSS, JS etc; no
> server-side scripting) then you don't need to install and configure
> something like Apache to test it out. You could just open the files you're
> working on straight from the disk. Or if you want to test with server you
> can use one of the super simple servers designed for testing. There is one
> built in to Python. Simply run "python -m http.server" in your project
> directory.

For old-school dynamic content, busybox has a trivial web server that
also supports cgi executables.  CGI helpers written in something like
Python is actually not a bad option for many dymanic things
(e.g. generating SVG data plots using matplotlib).

If you want to do PHP...  Don't. Just don't.  If you're looking at a
hosting service that only supports PHP as a backend language, then
pick another hosting service.

As has already been mentioned, the big-time frameworks (Flask, Django,
TurboGears, etc) all have their own test/developement server schemes.

If you want generic server that's simpler than apache, lighttpd is a
good option.

--
Grant

Re: [gentoo-user] Getting started with a web server

[Michael]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2793 bytes --]

On Saturday, 1 June 2024 16:01:26 BST Peter Humphrey wrote:
> Hello list,
> 
> It seems to be time again to see if I can set up a local web server*. I want
> to build a site for myself, and one way is to work it up on my own machine,
> then transfer it to a hosting service when it's "ready".
> 
> The first problem I face is in choosing a server: Apache is huge and
> complex, and NGINX is foreign to me, so what should I do?
> 
> The Gentoo Apache wiki is unhelpful. It assumes that the reader is
> experienced in running web servers, and just points out the way things are
> done differently here. Then it occupies several pages with the entire
> configuration file calling chain, every line of every file being shown;
> what is the point of that? It only succeeds in sowing confusion. Well, it
> does in me, anyway; I'm no wiser at the end than the beginning.
> 
> It even trips up right at the start, showing what to set for each MPM, but
> without explaining why I should choose any particular one. The wiki seems to
> have been written by a programmer, not a user (this is a woefully common
> shortcoming in software documents).
> 
> In short, it's useless.
> 
> Is there a more accessible guide anywhere? Google hasn't found anything for
> me.
> 
> *  I've asked this here before, but never got anywhere with it. I did build
> a 130-page site for the local choir years ago, in pure HTML and CSS, but
> that experience has evaporated.

I don't know if there are any more helpful guides for Apache, but Apache is a 
bit of a beast.  If you need to dive into the nuances of its configuration, 
then sooner or later you'll end up spending time reading the Apache 
documentation.

https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/en/

For MPM in particular take a look here:

https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/en/mpm.html#defaults

I suggest you do not specify an MPM.  Apache will choose its own module 
depending on the capability of your hardware, or for a home project with low 
number of requests just set it as 'prefork'.

However, unless setting up and managing a webserver is a sysadmin hobby you 
wish to get entangled in, I suggest you find a reliable hosting company and 
undertake both web hosting and development online.  Hosting a local website 
for development and testing was a necessity back in the dial-up Internet days 
and when data download was metered by your ISP, but domestic web hosting today 
will cause more of a hindrance than help.

You can use the CMS preferred and offered by your web hosting provider, 
instead of hacking HTML & CSS by hand, while trying to keep up with continuous 
changes in standards.  I have found Wordpress is easier to set up and look 
after for simple websites, as long as you keep the plugins to a minimum and 
stick to default themes.

HTH

[-- Attachment #2: This is a digitally signed message part. --]
[-- Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 833 bytes --]