A PaTCHy Server

The Apache project had its humble beginnings as a set of "patch" files applied to existing Web server software. But it hasn't looked back since then. With the sincere efforts of "The Apache Group," this "patchy" piece of software has now become the de-facto leader of all Web servers across the Internet and a torchbearer for all open source projects.

Consider this - as of December 2004, the popular Netcraft Web Server survey - accessible at http://news.netcraft.com/archives/web_server_survey.html - claims that there are more than 38 million websites that run on an Apache-powered Web server, giving it a mind-boggling market share of around 67 percent of the entire market. And if that does not convince you, try this - it's absolutely FREE!

Coming back to this article - the first in a three part series - today, I'll show you how to install Apache on your own machine. This includes compiling and building the software from scratch, followed by an explanation of the configuration "directives" that help run this Web server and finally, I'll show you how to configure the latest versions of PHP and Apache to work together - an exciting combination, though I must admit that there are many conflicting views on this topic.

Interested? Flip the page to get started.