Web development is a broad term for any activities related to developing a web site for the World Wide Web or an intranet. This can include e-commerce business development, web design, web content development, client-side/server-side coding, and web server configuration. However, among web professionals, “web development” usually refers only to the non-design aspects of building web sites, e.g. writing markup and coding. Web development can range from developing the simplest static single page of plain text to the most complex web-based internet applications, electronic businesses, or social network services.

For larger businesses and organizations, web development teams can consist of hundreds of people (web developers). Smaller organizations may only require a single permanent or contracting webmaster, or secondary assignment to related job positions such as a graphic designer and/or Information systems technician. Web development may be a collaborative effort between departments rather than the domain of a designated department.

Since the mid-1990s, web development has been one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In 1995 there were fewer than 1,000 web development companies in the United States alone, but by 2005 there were over 30,000 such companies.[1][citation needed] The web development industry is expected to grow over 20% by 2010. The growth of this industry is being pushed by large businesses wishing to sell products and services to their customers and to automate business workflow, as well as the growth of many small web design and development companies.

In addition, cost of Web site development and hosting has dropped dramatically during this time. Instead of costing tens of thousands of dollars, as was the case for early websites, one can now develop a simple web site for less than a thousand dollars, depending on the complexity and amount of content.[citation needed] Smaller Web site development companies are now able to make web design accessible to both smaller companies and individuals further fueling the growth of the web development industry. As far as web development tools and platforms are concerned, there are many systems available to the public free of charge to aid in development. A popular example is the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), which is usually distributed free of charge. This fact alone has manifested into many people around the globe setting up new Web sites daily and thus contributing to increase in web development popularity. Another contributing factor has been the rise of easy to use WYSIWYG web development software, most prominently Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft Expression Studio (formerly Microsoft Frontpage) . Using such software, virtually anyone can develop a Web page in a matter of minutes. Knowledge of HyperText Markup Language (HTML), or other programming languages is not required, but recommended for professional results.

The next generation of web development tools uses the strong growth in LAMP and Microsoft .NET technologies to provide the Web as a way to run applications online. Web developers now help to deliver applications as Web services which were traditionally only available as applications on a desk based computer.

Instead of running executable code on a local computer, users are interacting with online applications to create new content. This has created new methods in communication and allowed for many opportunities to decentralize information and media distribution. Users are now able to interact with applications from many locations, instead of being tied to a specific workstation for their application environment.

Examples of dramatic transformation in communication and commerce led by web development include e-commerce. Online auction sites such as eBay have changed the way consumers consume and purchase goods and services. Online resellers such as Amazon.com and Buy.com (among many, many others) have transformed the shopping and bargain hunting experience for many consumers. Another good example of transformative communication led by web development is the blog. Web applications such as WordPress and b2evolution have created easily implemented blog environments for individual Web sites. Open source content systems such as Typo3, Xoops, Joomla!, and Drupal have extended web development into new modes of interaction and communication.

www.imagination.vg

www.imagination.vg

Introduction on Web Hosting:

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies or indiviual that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

Service Scope:

The scopes of hosting services are very wide. Web page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. As the in the question of complex sites, this calls for a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms like PHP, Java, and ASP.NET that faciliates customers installint scripts for applications like forums and content management somewhat like e-commerce for which SSL is also required.

The web hosts may also provide a Web interface control panel (e.g. cPanel or Hosting Controller) for managing the Web server, installing scripts and other services like e-mail.

Obtaining Hosting:

Web hosting is often provided as part of a general Internet access plan; there are many free and paid providers offering these services. Such considerations include database server software, scripting software, and operating system. Most hosting providers provide Linux-based web hosting which offers a wide range of different software. A typical configuration for a Linux server is the LAMP platform: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.

Web Hosting in Pakistan:

Pakistan is also making its mark in the web hosting business, many companies and individuals host web sites of not only in its own country but also other Asian countries and other countries in American and European continents. The Pakistani web hosts also offer other services like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), email-marketing, web-site evaluation and banner evaluation and mini site development at different prices and rates depending on the web-site to be hosted.

Web Hosting Provider:

[Your business name] also provide web hosting services for personal web pages and complex company websites for free. We provide 20 MB space with 500 MB bandwidth which is a greatly considerable offer provided that the client should already be having its own domain, along with these We allow user at our host to create MySql database, Sub domain, perform unlimited email forwarders, Domain Parking and Web static’s to view the traffic flow. This offer package is beneficial personal and small business community interested to generate revenue through google adsense. We use most of the web hosting scripts from fantastico scripts which are like one click installation provided by the world famous developers, no programming experience required for that. For details and queries log on to web2host.biz

I’ve been learning Drupal on-and-off (as spare time allows) since last summer. Reading this latest Mercerian effort I’ve undoubtedly benefited from reading the Drupal 4.7 text. The 4.7 title definitely got me up and running as a Drupal novice, so this formula and style is familiar to me. There are some physical changes: the paper on this latest offering (my copy at least) has better contrast. I could not find the exact font details, but the print size is larger and so there are fewer words per line which naturally helps readability. Consequently, the 4.7 book’s 267 pages translates to 362 pages as measured to the last page of the index.

As a Drupal newbie myself I’ve struggled due to:

* The whole client-server set-up and creating a database driven community.

* Drupal’s likeness to an iceberg:

o what you can see – themes, modules, users, forums

o what you can’t see the MySQL, PHP, CSS, server, template and other files…

o Oh yes, and the things that are on the water-line – blocks, menus, ‘nodes and content’

* Drupal files and folder structure

o The location of core Drupal elements vs contributed elements (and your content)

* Security, access and permissions

o managing users

* Upgrading and configuration

o Drupal is very much a work-in-progress

* Customisation – themes, styles, being ‘original’ – extending Drupal.

The first fifty pages provide an introduction to Drupal, how it all started with its creator Dries Buytaert. Plus installing server software and Drupal itself. Several pictures of the Drupal website highlight this as a pivotal resource with its forums and great sense of community. Mercer had me wondering that you may not be pushing the envelope if you don’t need help at some stage.

On page 32 ‘The Drupal Environment’ a sentence states that readers ‘… might well prefer to dive straight in and make modifications to your Drupal site.’ This seems a bit premature to me, as six pages later we are concerned with obtaining and installing Drupal. As this is my first book review the adopted convention is a stolen sentence or two from Packt’s summary of the book, with my thoughts:

Chapter 1 introduces you to the world of Drupal and looks at where Drupal comes from, where it’s going, and what it can offer you. – The Drupal community is an invaluable resource and in addition to reading and struggling I’ve attended a user group, were everyone has something to offer and there is much enthusiasm and skills on tap. So Mercer highlights the web and forums as a source of support and might possibly have made more (even without specific details) of the number of local Drupal user groups and events. Nonetheless, this thorough introduction is capped off with an explanation about Drupal’s status as an open source project and the licence. This more than anything explains Drupal’s dynamic credentials. Guidance is provided here on building a website – including ‘phone a friend’ – and don’t forget paper and pencil for planning and developing ideas.

Chapter 2 deals with how to get everything you need up and running on a development machine and also briefly looks at how all the requisite technologies gel together to produce a working Drupal site. … – Going for a combined package, I tried ApacheTriad and XAMPP before settling on WAMP5 for the Apache server, MySQL and PHP5 software. The thing is don’t give up. I installed-scratched Drupal a couple of times; my excuse – I’d give it some time … and then leave it alone. … Like many things in life, you need to devote and invest time on which to build your knowledge and skills (even an occasional 10-15 minute session can help). This chapter is very informative whichever server approach you adopt. As the tip advises – keep that admin password safe! Mercer’s task here must be helped I believe by the Drupal 6 install process. Although not yet ‘automatic’ it has been greatly improved.

Chapter 3 sees us adding functionality to the newly created site. … – At this point David Mercer had me wondering: I’ve heard that a lot of people try Drupal and other CMSs and give up. If there were CMS exit questionnaires what would they reveal? A DHTML menu module is used as a module example and needing to find this again it is there in the comprehensive index. Blocks and menus take some getting used to, well for me anyway. It is not necessarily that they are very complex – they are just cussed on 1st, 2nd, even 3rd acquaintance. If you forget to activate a block, a menu will not show. There are graphic handles for drag-and-drop operations within menus, which helped me to finally grasp things. Mercer’s advice to check through the modules that are available for your version is well worth the effort. Yes, the number of modules can be overwhelming, but the diversity and scope provide a reason to forge on and there’s more to follow.

Chapter 4 looks at the most general settings that all Drupal administrators need to contend with. … – This chapter could be titled ‘chicken or egg’, since you need to understand the functionality of Drupal in order to commit to developing your site. There are a lot of options for site configuration and again it’s good advice to take the time and check out the available settings, displayed here in pictures with descriptions. Try to appreciate early on the role of clean urls (and path aliases p.325); using two browser windows can help too.

Chapter 5 concerns itself with the topic of access control. … – This chapter I will certainly be re-reading. It has prompted me to realise that for my new site a forum is vital. Although I’ve some static content to archive, this would be a waste of Drupal’s power. Here roles are covered, with emphasis on planning and creating an access policy p.116. Throughout the book you are reminded about only giving users the permissions they need to perform task x, y or z and NO more. Mercer points out that what roles you have and what your site can ‘deliver’ overall is also dependent on administration. Are you a one-admin band or will you have some help? It is always difficult to anticipate the future, hence the need to plan an access foundation upon which you can build.

Chapter 6 gets to the heart of the matter by beginning the book’s coverage on content. … – This chapter sheds light blog entries, book pages, forum topics and pages with these content types just the beginning. The learning here is not just the ‘what’, but ‘how’ to administer content, plus distinguishing (or not) between nodes and content. When you are working on your site and styles remember the ‘input format’ section of this chapter – again really useful. I wondered why my drop capitals and table effects were not showing. It was just that some HTML tags were not allowed through the filter.

Throughout the book the work flow approach helps instill confidence by hand-holding step-by-step and yet also encouraging you to experiment alone. Another insight for me here is the wider potential of Drupal’s RSS aggregator. You also realise how quick the publishing turn-around is these days, with the pictures of the feed aggregator are dated 02/05/2008. p.166. I have in mind a collaborative book on Hodges’ model, so the five pages devoted to the book content type proved essential reading. There are graphic handles for drag-and-drop operations within books, in addition to the menus as mentioned previously.

Chapter 7 gives you the edge when it comes to creating engaging and dynamic content. While this chapter doesn’t require you to be an expert in HTML, PHP, and CSS it does introduce you to the basics and shows how, with a little knowledge, extremely powerful and professional content can be created. … – There are some Drupal pearls here: taxonomy, the content construction kit (CCK) and HTML, PHP and content posting. There’s even a brief intro to HTML. Time also for considered reading with descriptions of terms, vocabularies, thesauri and related Drupal elements. With some awareness of clinical terminologies and having read this and other Drupal sources I wonder if I’m under estimating the power of Drupal?

The CCK section has me a little puzzled. My next task is to install CCK in Drupal 6.2 as Mercer suggests to see if it works. At the time of writing this review though the Drupal site states they are creating a preliminary, development version [of CCK] for D6 soon. As Mercer acknowledges the CCK is dependent on another module called Views, which is still not yet ready for version 6. In a way something like this is to be expected of a book that is first off the blocks. Mercer still sets the CCK up nicely though, as I’m tantalised by the possibilities, especially when combined with Views as I saw demonstrated at the NW England Drupal user group.

Chapter 8 gives you a run down of how attractive, functional interfaces are created in Drupal through the use of themes. … – Time to get the hands dirty; first though as with the modules I’ve followed Mercer’s advice and checked through the available themes. You could be excused for believing it is a waste of time poring over all the themes (although not that many are available for D6 as yet). On the other hand let physics work for you and (like me) you will gravitate towards a couple of themes. If bones are essential for structure, support and locomotion, then chapters 8 & 9 provide the meat of the book and Drupal.

Chapter 9 really adds the icing on the cake by looking at a host of more advanced topics. From dynamic and responsive content using JavaScript and native jQuery support to supporting opened and implementing actions and triggers, you learn to enhance your website and add that something special. … – I blame Mercer 4.7 (plus some exciting demos) for prompting me to invest in a specific jQuery book. (The user group directed me to another seminal Drupal book – the ‘Pro’ title.) jQuery accounts for a brief but very effective five pages, that I hope to incorporate into my test site efforts very soon. Drupal 6 has seen a major emphasis on internationalization and localisation. This is very welcome functionality for me, that Mercer serves over about 15 pages. My new website must be global in reach, Drupal can deliver and Mercer shows the way. Translation files are still in the future for this Drupal student, but for languages, cacheing, throttling and performance I know were to go for help. OPENID could be a real scoop for user uptake and is covered in just over four pages and begs further investigation. The book is peppered throughout with urls and tips for more resources and reading.

Chapter 10 takes a pragmatic look at the type of tasks in which you will need to be proficient in order to successfully run and maintain a Drupal site. … – Having backed up the database and run cron jobs manually, there is one major thing that I’ve still to do and that is the non-trivial task of upgrading. The single appendix deals with deployment.

I’ve a lot yet to prove in terms of learning Drupal and demonstrating proficiency (a deployed website would help!). I’m convinced though that Mr Mercer is helping me move forward with this latest very instructive Drupal book. Significantly there is quite a team behind this title. I wholly endorse this summary from the Packt site:

Written in the same style as the original Drupal title, this book is a pragmatic look at the steps necessary to get a website up and running. Drawing on years of writing experience, David Mercer utilizes a friendly, engaging style that is both clear and concise – perfect for the Drupal newbie.

For more information, please visit www.PacktPub.com/drupal-6-create-powerful-websites/book

If you’re just getting started in Internet Marketing or any Web-related activity, you probably have lots of questions about Website hosting. There are many options available and monthly fees range from a few dollars to a hundred dollars or more. And you definitely don’t want to make a choice and then realize shortly after that you should have gone with something different – moving sites can be a pain. So how does a newbie figure out what’s right for their needs? Read on…

Shared Hosting

The first type of hosting you’ll find is shared hosting. Shared hosting means that you are given a block of hard drive space on a server that houses other accounts as well. You are sharing the server’s resources with dozens or even hundreds of other customers. And if the shared hosting account allows you to host multiple Websites, this means that there can be thousands of Websites living on this one server.

Let’s look at the good things about shared hosting. It is the most inexpensive type of hosting, which is a major plus for those just starting out. It usually includes a control panel (most often cpanel or plesk) which makes it easier to configure things on your hosting account. You often get an assortment of script installers (Fantastico is one of the more popular ways of providing this) which allow you to add a blog, a shopping cart, a guestbook and other options to your Website.

On the negative side, using shared hosting means that your Website is, to some extent, at the mercy of other sites on the same server. If another site is running a script that uses a lot of the server’s memory or processing power, it can slow down or even interrupt access to the other sites on the box. A good hosting provider will usually catch this problem and resolve it with the owner of the offending site, but it can still cause unnecessary headaches. Another potential problem is with spamming. If someone else on your server is sending out a lot of spam e-mail, the server’s IP address (the unique address of the server on the Internet) can be blacklisted by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) meaning that email sent from your Website might not get through, even though you aren’t the one spamming people!

Shared hosting is a good way to start if your Websites will be just HTML pages without any major scripts running, or if you don’t plan to send out a lot of email through the mail server. The pricing can’t be beat, but you have to be aware of the limitations and potential pitfalls I’ve outlined above.

One shared hosting provider I’d recommend is:

Omnis Network

Virtual Private Server/Virtual Dedicated Server

A step up from shared hosting is the VPS or Virtual Private Server (also called Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS). VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting in that you share a physical server with others. The big difference is that the server is outfitted with something called virtualization (Virtuozzo is one of the most common solutions used). Virtualization basically splits up the server’s resources into defined and dedicated blocks. Whereas with shared hosting, another user’s site can hog the physical server’s resources and bring all the other sites to a crawl, with VPS you get a certain amount of RAM and a certain percentage of processor usage that is dedicated to your sites. Similarly, each virtual server, or “chunk” of the overall physical server usually has it’s own IP address, thus reducing the potential for your IP being blocked because of someone else’s spam.

On the negative side, the cost of a VPS solution is usually significantly higher than a shared hosting package. Expect to spend about $40 to $90 a month. Look for coupons or specials that will either reduce your monthly cost or increase the level of resources assigned to your account without increasing the cost. And speaking of resources, make sure that you get a minimum of 128 MB of RAM (256 MB is strongly recommended). You also want to look for “burstable” resources, meaning that you can “borrow” unused resources beyond your dedicated limit for short periods of time. Another thing to watch out for is that many of the cheaper VPS packages do not come with much, if any, management of your virtual server. This means that you are responsible for installing any scripts you need (including a control panel in some cases). Unless you are a major tech geek willing to learn a lot about server configuration, try to find a managed VPS service that includes an already installed control panel (again, cpanel and plesk are recommended). It will save you a lot of headaches. Also look for WHM (Web Host Manager), which allows you to create sub-accounts for all of the domains you want to host.

Recommended VPS/VDS providers:

EasyCGI VPS Hosting

midPhase VPS Hosting

Dedicated Server

Hosting your site or sites on a dedicated server means that you are the only customer of the hosting company on a given server. You have the entire server and all its resources to yourself. No one else to bog down the server with complex scripts, no one else to get the IP address blacklisted for spamming. Just you. It sounds great, but the cost ($100 per month and up) is often prohibitive for many folks, especially those who are new at Internet marketing. Additionally, while you can sometimes find good deals on a dedicated server, there is usually a catch. That catch is that you take full responsibility for the software that is running on the box. You are responsible for updating to the latest version of the Apache web server, the latest version of PHP, the latest version of mySQL, etc. You are also responsible for making sure that security holes are patched so that your server doesn’t get hacked. In short, you probably have a lot to learn before you are ready for this type of responsibility.

That said, there are managed dedicated servers available, where someone at the hosting company takes care of some or all of these responsibilities. Of course, this costs even more money.

I don’t recommend a dedicated server for anyone just starting out, unless you’re a network admin who just quit his or her job to pursue the work-from-home dream that Internet marketing promises. Otherwise, steer clear until you have made enough money to pay for the fully managed dedicated server or to hire your own server admin.

So what should you do if you’re just starting out? I’d recommend starting with a good and inexpensive shared hosting provider until you learn the ropes and get comfortable with Web hosting. Once you’ve got some experience, move to a VPS solution. A smart way to go is to look for a hosting company that provides both shared and VPS plans – they may be able to help you move your sites if and when you need to upgrade your plan. (Both EasyCGI Hosting and midPhase Hosting – see links above – offer shared and VPS plans – check them out.)

Finally, the best tip I can give you is to make sure you understand what you’re getting in your hosting plan. Check the list of features against what you plan to do with your sites. If you are planning to run an ASP script, don’t sign up for Linux hosting – you need Windows hosting for ASP, in most cases. If you are planning to run a PHP application, make sure the plan you sign up for supports PHP (most do, but the point is to be diligent in checking your requirements before you sign up).

A good hosting provider can be a valuable asset to your online business for years to come. A poor one can be a major obstacle to success. Follow the advice I’ve provided here and you should be in good shape.

Introduction on Web Hosting: A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to provide their own websites accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies or individual those provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

Service scope: The scopes of hosting services are very wide. Web page hosting is generally sufficient only for personal web pages. As the in the question of complex sites, this calls for a more comprehensive package that provides database support and application development platforms like PHP, Java, and ASP.NET that facilitates customers installing scripts for applications like forums and content management somewhat like e-commerce for which SSL is also required. For more details login on to www.googleadsense-empire.com. The web hosts may also provide a Web interface control panel (e.g. cPanel or Hosting Controller) for managing the Web server, installing scripts and other services like e-mail. Obtaining hosting, Web hosting is often provided as part of a general Internet access plan; there are many free and paid providers offering these services. Such considerations include database server software, scripting software, and operating system.

Most hosting providers provide Linux-based web hosting which offers a wide range of different software. A typical configuration for a Linux server is the LAMP platform: Linux, Apache, My SQL, and PHP. Web Hosting in Pakistan: Pakistan is also making its mark in the web hosting business, many companies and individuals host web sites of not only in its own country but also other Asian countries and other countries in American and European continents.

The Pakistani web hosts also offer other services like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), email-marketing, web-site evaluation and banner evaluation and mini site development at different prices and rates depending on the web-site to be hosted.

Web Hosting Provider: Your business name] also provide web hosting services for personal web pages and complex company websites for free. A typical configuration for a Linux server is the LAMP platform: Linux, Apache, My SQL, and PHP. Web Hosting in Pakistan: Pakistan is also making its mark in the web hosting business, many companies and individuals host web sites of not only in its own country but also other Asian countries and other countries in American and European continents. We provide 20 MB space with 500 MB bandwidth which is a greatly considerable offer provided that the client should already be having its own domain, along with these We allow user at our host to create My Sql database, Sub domain, perform unlimited email forwarders, Domain Parking and Web static’s to view the traffic flow. This offer package is beneficial personal and small business community interested to generate revenue through google adsense. We use most of the web hosting scripts from fantastic scripts which are like one click installation provided by the world famous developers, no programming experience required for that.

When you join Google’s Adsense program, Google will place Adsense ads on your site that are directly related to the topic that you are writing about. When a visitor clicks on one of the ads, you are paid for that click. The amount you are paid will depend on what the advertiser is paying for that ad and only Google knows that. The more traffic you get to your site, and the higher your click through rate (CTR), the more money you can earn.

I’ve always preferred to make money constantly even if the project is only half done or in progress. I find it gives me incentive to keep going

A properly configured and sufficiently powerful server installation can facilitate collaborative working, efficient communications and informed decision making. It does these by providing:

Interfaces for discussions, document sharing and presentations

Communication tools like emails, instant messaging, voice and video conferencing

Access to a knowledge base of an organizations accumulating experience in running the business.

Processing business transactions and keeping track of changes databases and email



A server installation can be a daunting task that must be done in a carefully planned manner. It involves both hardware and software know-how and familiarity.

What is a Server?

In the context of computing, a server is an application or computer that services client computers by accepting service requests and responding to them. Thus a Web server accepts requests for Web pages from numerous computers on the Internet and responds by retrieving and sending the requested pages.

In an organizational context, servers store applications and data that can be accessed by workstation computers connected to it. Practices like enterprise computing, where information generated anywhere can be accessed by any client workstation on the enterprise network, is made possible by the use of client-server computing.

Server computers run specific server applications such as file servers, Web servers and email servers. There are also appliance servers such as routers and print servers. There are several server applications in the market such as the traditional UNIX servers, Apache Web server, Linux-based servers, Microsoft IIS Server and so on. Each of these applications needs to be installed and configured in its own way.

Server computers are typically more powerful and reliable, using faster processors, more memory and disk storage, redundant power supplies and hard drives, modular design, and so on.

Server Installation

Server installation involves not only installing a compatible set of hardware components but also configuring the installation to meet the special requirements of the organization. It can be a local installation confined to a single premises or a global installation spanning offices all over the world.

The workload on the system also affects the configuration. One single computer can run all the server applications where the load on the servers is light. Where the workload is very heavy, a single server application might require several computers. The safest option is to use one server computer per server application.

There are several other issues that need be considered while configuring a server, such as security issues, the special features of the particular operating system, and so on.

Server installation is thus a task that requires specialized training with the particular server application and also considerable experience of likely problems that might arise with regard to disaster recovery and data recovery if the need should arise.

Conclusion

Servers are specialized applications that provide different kinds of services to the client computers connected to it. There are Web servers, file servers, email servers, etc looking at things from a functional viewpoint, and UNIX, Linux, Microsoft IIS, etc servers looking at specific products available in the market.

Server installation involves not only putting in place the hardware components of the network but also configuring the whole system to meet the requirements of the particular operating environment. It requires both specialized training in the particular operating system and a good deal of practical and technical experience in setting up networks.

There are times when you either don’t have a web host or you don’t want to mess up your live site but you need to play around with your website. We show you how to turn your PC into a fully functional web and database server – all in less than 5 minutes!

Any web server which is going to host dynamic, database driven websites needs three things – the web server itself, a scripting language and a database server.

For our web server we’re going to be using Apache – the web server that powers a huge percentage of the web.

Secondly for our scripting language we’re going to use PHP which drives millions of websites.

Lastly for our database server we’re going to be using the widely used MySQL database server.

Now installing and configuring Apache, MySQL and PHP doesn’t sound like fun but the great thing is we can download them all as one easy to install package and because we’re going to use Windows, Apache, MySQL and PHP the package has been named WAMP.

We first need to download WAMP from http://www.wampserver.com/en/index.php Once downloaded double-click the WAMP file to begin the installation.

Accept all the default installation options (choose whether to have WAMP start automatically with Windows or not and enter your email address when prompted) and then WAMP will launch leaving you with nothing more to see than the WAMP status icon in your system tray.

Now it’s not much to look at but you have just installed a webserver, scripting language, database server plus a PHP based database administration tool called phpMyAdmin which is some achievement even for an experienced Geek.

Left-click the WAMP status icon and put the server online and then click it again and select LOCALHOST and you’ll see the default web page showing you the thing is working. From here you can create as many websites as you like by creating subfolders in C:WAMPWWW and use phpMyAdmin to create databases so can install complex scripts such as the content management system Joomla or Ecommerce package OSCommerce – Anything is possible!

Now you could open up your PC to access from the Internet and become your own host but you can’t beat hosting your site with a proper hosting company for speed, reliability and security so I’d keep my WAMP server for testing and experimenting with developing your sites.

Tomcat three covers the Servlet 2.2 and JSP 1.1 revisions, while Tomcat 4 covers Servlet 2.3 and JSP 1.2. Tomcat is the Apache Foundation’s reference implementation of the JavaServer Pages and Servlet technologies. Tomcat itself is part of the Jakarta Project, which is a suite of Java development tools developed through the Apache foundation. It is a good idea to download the corresponding installer from the Tomcat pages at Apache, expand the files or run the installer, and then use the corresponding script to start up the Tomcat service. Tomcat has its own built-in HTTP service that handles and services requests from clients.

In order to integrate the Tomcat server processes with the Apache HTTP server we need the mod_jk module, which implements the interface between Tomcat and Apache, combined with some small steps to configure Apache and Tomcat to our needs. Tomcat is written in Java, while Apache and its modules are written in C, so how do the two work together? When Tomcat executes as well as creating an HTTP listener service, it also creates a number of worker processes that are responsible for executing JSPs/servlets. The mod_jk module is written in C, so it is incapable of interpreting Java classes directly. Instead, mod_jk communicates with the various worker processes created by Tomcat through a network connection.

The main benefit to this is flexibility. For example, if you wanted to run Apache on one physical server but the Tomcat service and the actual JSPs and servlets on another machine, you can. Some companies use this method to provide an additional level of security, with the Tomcat server behind another firewall only accessible from the Apache server. Stability is another advantage. If a significant failure within Tomcat caused it to fail completely, it would not render your entire Apache service unusable, just your servlets and JSP pages.

Tomcat is very easy to install, as the only prerequisite is Java. If you do not already have the Java SDK you can get a copy of Java for most platforms here. After you have installed Java, make sure you set your JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to your Java installation, as it’s needed not only by Tomcat but also by other tools we use in this article. You’ll probably also want to set your PATH variable to point to the bin directory within the Java directory so you have easy access to all the Java tools.

There is no installer under Unix/OS X, so once downloaded, extract the package and then copy the directory created to where you want to store your Tomcat installation. Once installed, you can startup and shutdown Tomcat using the provided scripts. These are in the bin directory and called startup (Windows) or startup.sh (Unix). By default, Tomcat runs on port 8080. To change this, edit the file conf/server.xml in the Tomcat directory and replace 8080 with the port number you want to use.

It is possible to test your installation by opening up a web browser and entering a suitable URL for your machine. In addition, shutdown scripts are provided in the bin directory if you want to shutdown your Tomcat installation.

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As we started the project of the electronic auction PoloMercantil.com, we knew that the proprietary software costs would be too high for our financial resources. Our only option then was to make use of Open Source Code softwares.

However, within the Open Source Code there are lots of softwares to choose from, and it´s up to the system analyst/programmer to pick the ones that best suit the project goals.

In our case, we picked Linux as our operating system. However we faced a big question: Which Linux distribution ? There are dozens of linux distributions, each one with specific advantages, sometimes with or without paid services.

We chose linux Slackware because we thought that it would suit better our needs, in terms of stability and reliability. Slackware is a conservative distribution, meaning that it only offers in its distribution package kernel versions and third party libraries, once it´s been proved to be stable and reliable. As a result, Slackware is one the most stable Linux operating system on the market. If the user wishes the most recent Linux kernel and libraries, we recommend to look for a different distribution.

Another reason for us picking Slackware, was because of its text interface, which at the beginning may become a bit difficult, in the long run however it offers a better understanding of the Linux environment. This way most of Slackware configurations are done thru text scripts.

Once it was set the operating system, we picked Apache as our web server. Apache is one of the most popular web server in the internet. For server programming language, we chose PHP. Also, a very popular programming language. Our experience with Apache/PHP proves that this setup is very reliable, working extremely well in our production environment. For workstation programming language, we chose javascript, which besides of having a simple syntax, it offers lots of resources.

Apache web server is really a complete web server. Also, it can become very complex with many configuration setups.

For our database, we picked Postgresql. This database has been made available to the public for more than 15 years, and besides of being well debugged, it offers so many resources that it has become one of the best database options from Open Source Code softwares. Extremely reliable, Postgresql has reported cases where there have been databases in production with over 4 terabytes. Besides all of that, Postresql is not the most popular Open Source Code database. A matter of marketing ? Probably.

As for the programming language PHP, we had to use an object oriented application structure. There are many PHP application structures being offered with Open Source Code license. Object oriented application is very important, because it makes programming very easy and scalable up to the point where the system may grow without many problems. Also, it helps to keep PHP code separated from HTML, with the help of some specific libraries, such as Smarty. We make use of Smarty library and we believe that it is a very important resource, which can even make web pages faster thru the use of its cache functions.

Also a very important set of libraries worth mentioning for PHP systems, is the PEAR libraries. In PEAR web site, among the many libraries being offered, there are the database interface DB and the MAIL_QUEUE, which sends emails thru the use of database.

As we came to the end of the project PoloMercantil, we had to use some sort of real time database replication. For that we chose the DRBD and Heartbeat libraries. The use of database replication is very important and should not be postponed. Just after 3 months our system got into production, our server hard disk became bad. Thru the use of DRBD/Heartbeat we were able to put the system back into production within seconds, without loosing any data. DRBD/Heartbeat replication is done thru the use of a lan network between the server and slave nodes.

Our project also makes use of ImageMagick (enlarge and reduce images), Iptables (firewall), Tsearch2(text search in portgresql) and Mon (linux monitoring tasks).

Also a very important library worth mentioning is the pseudo APC compiler for PHP. Speed is always a critical factor for internet sites.

PoloMercantil is already in production and based upon our experience we can say that the Open Source Code softwares we picked, proved to be extremely reliable and stable. Open Source Code softwares can certainly be an excellent option for developing web sites.

Roberto Sedycias

IT Consultant for PoloMercantil

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author´s name and all the URL´s (links) mentioned in the article & biography must be kept.

So you’ve decided to blog, but aren’t sure whether you should host the blog yourself or sign up for a free service like blogger.com. It’s a dilemma that many bloggers face. There are pros and cons to both, which makes the decision difficult for many. Neither is perfect, and neither is for everyone. Fortunately, you should be able to make the best decision for you if you are armed with adequate knowledge of both. In this newsletter, we’ll go over services like blogger.com, and others, plus software that allows you to host your own blog. We’ll also go over the pros and cons of each. After reading this, you will know which is best for you.

Who offers free blog hosting?

Many sites offer free blog hosting. Among them are Forumer, Blogger, BlogEasy, Aeonity, BlogThing, and Blogates. A quick search for free blog on Google reveals many possibilities.

What software can I use to host my own blog?

Like free blog hosting, there are many possibilities for software that makes hosting your own blog easy. Most of them are free to use. These include:

WordPress(the most popular software), Apache, Roller, Blosxom, Geeklog, Textpattern, LifeType.

There is also blog software which you can purchase for use on your site. These include:

Community, Server, Movable, Type, Radio, UserLand.

One negative about using software and hosting your own blog is that the process can often times be complicated. You have to download the software and install it to your server, which doesn’t always go easily. It’s particularly hard for those who don’t have a lot of experience installing things on servers.

Why should I remotely host my blog at a place like Blogger?

Places like Blogger allow you to host your blog there. It’s a good option for many people.

The Pros

It’s easy to set up and maintain a blog. You don’t have to go through the trouble of installing software and configuring it to work on your server. All you have to do is sign up for an account and start posting. It’s friendly for beginning bloggers. Sites that host blogs offer good tutorials on how to make your blog postings, so that even someone who is completely new to the concept of blogging can do it easily. Most blog hosting sites are completely free to use. There is no need to pay for things like a domain name and hosting. Monetizing your blog is easy. Rather than having to manually put HTML/Javascript codes on your blog to manually set up things like AdSense and Pay Per Click advertising, you can select an option on most blog hosting sites that does much of the work for you.

The Cons

You don’t have as many options to customize your blog. Remotely hosted blogs are admittedly somewhat limited in terms of what you can actually do on them. You have to stick with what is provided to you in terms of look and features. The URL you get is always yourname.BLOGSITE.com. You don’t get to have a custom domain name like YOURNAME.com. This can possibly hurt traffic to your blog. Blogs hosted on free blog sites don’t look as professional as self hosted blogs.

Why should I self-host my blog?

The Pros

You have more options and more flexibility. You are able to tweak the blog to your liking. Your URL is your address for your blog. Rather than having go to where your blog is hosted to read it, they can read it right from your site. The ability to make your blog look professional. Blogs that are hosted on sites of their own tend to look a lot better than those hosted on free sites. More space for your blog. Free blog sites usually place a restriction on how much space you have for things like photos and music. By hosting your own blog, you are able to use as much space as you need. The Cons

There are sometimes problems with setting up blog software to run on your site and server. If you aren’t experienced when it comes to working with mySQL, the process will be hard. Updates aren’t as easy to post. You have to manually set up programs to monetize your blog. However, if you are good with HTML/Javascript, this shouldn’t be too hard. You have to pay for your own hosting and domain

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both. Which should you choose? Well, it depends on who you are and what you intend to use your blog for. If you intend to use it for business, then a self-hosted blog is the best idea. If it’s a personal blog, then a free hosted blog will probably be fine for you.