katiwhompas - 10:32 pm on Feb 28, 2009 (gmt 0)

Greetings to everyone... I have spent several days at LinuxQuestions.org. I am getting nowhere. But, in the cafateria that is the "server" LinuxQuestions is a snack, and WebmasterWorld a meal...

How was that for kissing up?

Well enough sillyness... My question, without being too verbose at the biginning, with longer description at the end is as follows:

I am in need of a LAMP with SSL so I may use it to test the e-commerce package Zen Cart. I can do light programming, I am/was a graphic designer (like the world needs more of them) with a lot of experience with print and web design, networking issues, windows, mac and linux user... but not with setting up servers, or more importantly Apache 2.2, or any apache for that matter... I did get drunk with a Navajo a few years back...

My 1st hurdle: Apache 2.2, I had a little grip on earlier Apache 1.*. But Apache 2.2 is clearly not implemented as it was in my older Debian Etch distro attempt at doing this a few weeks ago.

I am using a older Apple with 900 mhz G4 ppc. I have cleaned out Debian etch and started over with Debian Len, (5.o.*) On the Etch distro set-up I saw that /etc/apache/httpd.conf had the directives for server:192,168.0.100 but in lenny it is an empty file. I get the idea from apache.org I am to use the /etc/apache2.conf to do the directives?

My problem in truth is that I have issues... serious emotional issues. Among which is about doing a thing without a reasonable understanding of what, why or why not, and all that. Bugs me to no end to be poking away until it works... and not really knowing why it worked.

My bigger problem... I need this done yesterday. I am disabled... (big deal, many people are)and I want out of the social security/medicare box. To do this I want to find a way to make some bucks with a e-commerce site... I may get backers, etc. But, I need to test the store "in-house" (or in my case "in-closet"... just kidding) and to demonstrate how it works, so to say, before uploading it a a working whole instead of the other way. The Other Way: If I can not resolve my mental block, I am going to be developing this thing online. Yikes, makes my spleen break out in a rash just to consider it.

So...How do I set up Apache2.conf to respond to my other machine to an address like 192.168.0.100? Just like if it was the internet? I have looked at Bruce Timberlane's LAMP sites that explain how to do this, but I am using a mac, etc. It just is not the same... I think... or at least I still am not getting it to work on my set-up.

Perhaps I should use a IBM w/ an Intel P3 instead? Should I use either one (IBM or MAC) with a different flavor or with a *BSD? I really need a clear path at the start and then a learning path so I come to understand what and why... Perhaps I should use a different server set-up? Cherokee for example?

Thank you for your time and patience.

Thanks again... I am going to peruse this site for what answers I can dig up... I will check back in a bit
:)

[edited by: mack at 11:11 pm (utc) on Feb. 28, 2009]
[edit reason] email address removed [/edit]