PHP & MySQL® Web Development All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies®

4.2. Installing and Configuring Apache

All recent versions of Mac OS X come with Apache already installed. Most Linux distributions include Apache. However, you might want to install Apache yourself to install a newer version or to install with different options. Windows doesn't come with Apache installed. You must install it yourself.

To check whether Apache is already installed, type a URL, such as localhost, into a browser address window, as described in the section "Testing Your Web Server," earlier in this chapter. If Apache isn't already installed, an error message displays.

4.2.1. Obtaining Apache

Apache is an open source Web server that you can download for free.

4.2.1.1. Selecting a version of Apache

Apache is currently available in three versions: Apache 1.3, Apache 2.0, and Apache 2.2. All three versions are supported and upgraded. The PHP software runs with all three versions, but some other software related to PHP might have problems with Apache 2.0 or 2.2. On Windows, Apache 2.0 and 2.2 aren't supported on Windows 9x installations; they require Windows NT, 2000, XP, or Vista.

Apache 2.0 changed considerably from Apache 1.3; Apache 2.2 changed from Apache 2.0. Some third-party modules might not work correctly on all three versions. Third-party modules that run on 1.3 won't work correctly with Apache 2.0, and modules that work on Apache 2.0 might not work correctly with Apache 2.2. Therefore, only modules that have been modified for Apache 2.0 or 2.2 can run on Apache ...