Time for action — installing the Apache web server
In this exercise, you'll go to the Apache HTTP server site to download the latest stable version and install it on your Windows PC.
- Open your web browser and go to http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi. Scroll down through the web page until you locate the Apache HTTP Server 2.2.x section. In this section, there are several links to choose from. Click on the link for the Win32 Binary without crypto (no mod_ssl) (MSI Installer) file, as shown in the following screenshot:
- Next, your web browser will ask if you want to download and save the file. Click on the Save File button to download the file. When finished, double-click on the downloaded file in the Downloads dialog box, and then click on the OK button to start installing the Apache Web server.
- Click on the Run button in the Open File - Security Warning dialog:
- Click on the Next button in the Welcome to the Installation Wizard for Apache HTTP Server dialog. Then, click on the I accept the terms in the license agreement radio button from the Installation Wizard dialog, and click on Next to continue.
- The next dialog will show information about the Apache HTTP server. Read it if you like, and then click on Next.
- The Server Information dialog box will appear. This is where you need to enter some information about your server. Type
localhostin the Network Domain and Server Name fields, and type a valid e-mail address in the Administrator's Email Address field. Leave the next option as it is (for All Users) and click on Next to continue:
- On the Setup Type dialog, make sure the Typical option is selected and click on Next to continue. In the Destination Folder dialog, leave the default option and click on Next. Now the wizard will be ready to start the installation. Click on the Install button to continue.
- After a few seconds (or minutes, depending on your PC's hardware) the Installation Wizard Completed dialog will appear. Click on the Finish button to close the Apache installation wizard.
- To test if your installation was successful, open your web browser and type
http://localhoston the address bar. You should see a web page with the It works! message, as shown in the following screenshot:
What just happened?
Well, now you have the Apache web server installed and running on your Windows PC! The installation process was pretty simple—you just needed to provide the wizard with some basic information and click on a few buttons. In step 9, to test your Apache installation, you used http://localhost as the URL address for the Apache web server installed in your PC. Localhost is the standard hostname used when you're accessing a web server installed on the same machine where you use a web browser.
Although Windows is not as secure as Linux, when using a regular home PC as a web server, you can definitely run an Apache Roller blog server to publish your own blogs from there. However, you should take several security measures to prevent hackers from wrecking your precious information. A good antivirus is also a requirement, along with an equally good firewall. However, don't worry because when you finish reading this book, you'll be ready to show your blog to the Internet world and, you will use a real Internet URL like everybody else. For now, let's focus on Roller's installation.
The Java SE Development Kit
The next step in our Apache Roller installation path is the Java Development Kit (JDK). However, have no fear; we're not going to see any Java programming in here. It's just that the Tomcat servlet engine (or Java Application server) needs a JDK to run. That's one of the greatest things about Java—you can use the same application on different operating systems, without any additional modifications to the code! Take Tomcat for example, you can download the same files both on Windows and Linux, and because of the JDK, they run seamlessly on both operating systems! That's enough techie-talk for now. Let's get to work before you fall asleep with all that boring theory!