I'd install the servers right off the bat. Linux Mandrake 8 is the best one to use, IMHO, because it installs Apache with PHP, MySQL, and Perl right off the bat. Other distro's may not. Usually you have to install those separately which takes between hours and days depending on your knowledge of GNU-Linux. Mandrake 8 automatically configures and sets up the base directory and loopback as well, meaning that immediately after installation of Mandrake, open a browser and type " http://localhost/ " and it serves up a web page on your server from /var/www/html/ To test PHP put a file in that same directory called info.php containing only the line: <? phpinfo(); ?> Call that up in a browser as " http://localhost/info.php ", it will tell you all sorts of information you may or may not be interested in. Darin on 5/13/01 10:32 AM, Ted Shaw at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > G'day - > > I'm just beginning the steep trek to using Linux so please forgive the naive > questions. I'd like to use Linux both as a workstation and as a server for > my home system. I'm especially keen to learn to use Apache/php/MySQL for web > page development. As an old windoze user I've got a lot to learn - I've > ordered several books but before ordering any software I thought I'd ask: > > 1. Is Mandrake-Linux the best distribution for use as a server? > 2. Would it be best to start off installing Mandrake-Linux as a workstation > and then later install the applications necessary to turn it into a server > or would it be better to install everything at the beginning? > > Having just recently subscribed to the list, I'm impressed with the quality > of the assistance and the manner in which its given. The discussion > regarding LM 7.2 vs LM 8.0 has been especially useful. > > Any advice greatly appreciated. > > Ted > > > > >
