domainname.com and my server

[Zeek2]

As you can probably tell by the subject title, I'm a real newbie at this. I have writen my complicated programs, but servers are a new thing for me. I have Apache/2.0.55(Win32) installed and appears to be working.

I have just registered a domain name a couple of days ago, lets say it's example.com.

The question I have is how do I tell my server to accept requests from this URL keeping in mind I what to do the easiest configuration possible?

Do I:
1) change my server name in the httpd.conf (actually right
now it is set to example.com)
and if I do this do I have to do a forward domain with
my domain service provider. (forward it to [_____)...]
2) set up a reverse proxy on my server?
3) mod rewrite?

I what to learn as much as I can and as fast as I can about web servers and probably the best way to learn is just to do it.

[edited by: jdMorgan at 8:48 pm (utc) on Feb. 18, 2006]
[edit reason] Example.com [/edit]

[jdMorgan]

Zeek2,

Welcome to WebmasterWorld!

First things first: Where is your DNS server, and have you configured it to point your domain name to the IP address of your Web server?

If you haven't arranged otherwise, your domain registrar has probably defined your DNS server as one of their own. You can find out by viewing your domain registration record using an appropriate WHOIS lookup (such as Network Solutions' for .com top-level domains).

Jim

[Hitman3266]

if your server has a dynamic ip it would be easier to do this method, actually it would be more convenient either way.

go to your domain, point the nameservers to:
ns1.afraid.org
ns2.afraid.org
ns3.afraid.org
ns4.afraid.org

now go to [freedns.afraid.org...] and register an account there, click on my domains and put your domain in there, now you can easily do a mass modify and add your IP which your server is running on, or you can download an auto update client [freedns.afraid.org...] and the client will work as a service updating your ip to the domain automatically (if the ip is dynamic)