LAMP, Linux Apache Mysql PHP

• Some people argue that PHP can be replaced with Python or Perl.

• .. and Apache can be replaced by lighttpd !

Installation

Before starting the installation, make sure your distribution is up to date (the '#' indicates that you should do this as root):

 # aptitude update && aptitude upgrade

mysql

Next install mysql using the following command:

 # aptitude install mysql-server mysql-client

Immediately after you have installed the mysql server, you should change its root password: * This step is unnecessary for Lenny since you will be asked to input mysql root user's password during installation

 # /usr/bin/mysqladmin -u root password 'enter-your-good-new-password-here'

You must never use your root account and password when running databases. The root account is a privileged account which should only be used for admin procedures. You will need to create a separate user account to connect to your MySQL databases from a PHP script. You can add users to a MySQL database by using a control panel like phpMyAdmin to easily create or assign database permissions for users.

apache2

The web server can be installed as follows:

 # aptitude install apache2 apache2-doc

Configuring user directories for Apache Web Server

Enable module

# a2enmod userdir

Configure Apache module userdir in /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/userdir.conf as follows:

<IfModule mod_userdir.c>
        UserDir public_html
        UserDir disabled root

        <Directory /home/*/public_html>
                AllowOverride All
                Options MultiViews Indexes SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
                <Limit GET POST OPTIONS>
                        Order allow,deny
                        Allow from all
                </Limit>
                <LimitExcept GET POST OPTIONS>
                        Order deny,allow
                        Deny from all
                </LimitExcept>
        </Directory>
</IfModule>

Create directory as user (not as root):

$mkdir /home/$USER/public_html

Change group as root (substitute your username) and restart web server:

# chgrp www-data /home/<username>/public_html
# service apache2 restart

If you get a Forbidden error when accessing home folder through apache check /home/username has permissions drwxr-xr-x. If the permissions are wrong correct them as such:

# chmod 755 /home/<username>

To be able to serve PHP (PHP needs to be installed as per instructions) check /etc/apache2/mods-available/php5.conf is correct:

<IfModule mod_php5.c>
    <FilesMatch "\.ph(p3?|tml)$">
        SetHandler application/x-httpd-php
    </FilesMatch>
    <FilesMatch "\.phps$">
        SetHandler application/x-httpd-php-source
    </FilesMatch>
    # To re-enable php in user directories comment the following lines
    # (from <IfModule ...> to </IfModule>.) Do NOT set it to On as it
    # prevents .htaccess files from disabling it.
    #<IfModule mod_userdir.c>
    #    <Directory /home/*/public_html>
    #        php_admin_value engine Off
    #    </Directory>
    #</IfModule>
</IfModule>