[plug] apache readiness

[Cameron Patrick]

On Wed, Dec 10, 2003 at 02:53:57PM +0800, smclevie wrote:

| If one were to install apache / postgreSQL on a Debian machine what would one
| need to have installed prior to doing so?

Everything that the apache and postgresql .debs Depend: on.  If you
install using dselect, apt-get or aptitude, these packages will be
installed for you automatically, so you shouldn't really have to worry
about that.  apt-get and dselect are both installed by default, and have
been for a couple of Debian releases, so as others have already said,
the simplest way to install apache would be:

	# apt-get install apache

aptitude provides a nice full-screen interface which allows you to
browse through packages, install and remove them, etc, and is probably
at least worth looking at.  If it isn't already installed, "apt-get
install aptitude" will install it.

| My concerns relate to any kernel options and other software ...

The chances are that if your machine can access the network fine, it'll
be able to run apache and postgresql - although I'm sure if you tried
hard enough you could configure the kernel so that this wasn't the case
:-)

| Should one install most apps from .debs??  Or can one install from source quite
| safely??

Installing from .debs is a lot easier.  Try that first, and only attempt
to compile the source if you find a good reason to do so.

If you're the person who I think you are (from the PLUG workshops),
you're running woody, right?  So the most likely reason that you'd want
to install from source is if you really need a newer version of apache
or postgresql.  Woody's apache should be okay; at least, it's been fine
for everything I've used it for.  I've never really used postgresql so
can't say how outdated that is.

Cameron.