Web Sharing starting up....

Question

Hi all
I'm a newbie that would like to learn the basics of PHP and web applications.
I've followed instructions and upgraded the current php on my system. I used the terminal and followed step by step instructions as i have no idea what i'm doing with that application, and coding. I tried to test a simple php file (that tells you the current date/time) in dreamweaver (soon after) and it didn't work. =(
Well, After following more and more instructions i find my machine with a new oracle user, some sw folder with an application called fink inside it, and all sorts of little files and stuffed folders that seemed to do nothing positive for my current goal.
I found out shortly after that i probably, simply didn't have apache up and running so once again i've folowed instruction but i've got the following issue: I'm trying to get the apache to start up by clicking the Personal Web Sharing 'start' button in the Sharing area in the System Preferences. The button works, it all goes grey which tells me that it's doing something... but unfortuantely nothing seems to be happenning. I've been through the forums and followed many terminal instructions that have been given to people with the same issues but nothing seems to be working.
I've gone to work with all the most recent instructions and simply by using the terminal to get rid of a few #'s to get its native php kick started, and pressing that start up web sharing button in the preferences, seems to have worked fine. I haven't tested that .php file to test if its worked or not, but the Web Sharing started with no issues.
I guess i'm a little worried that with all this tweaking and upgrading of my system that i may have i killed my chances at getting this php working on my imac, and probably injured it in other ways too.
Can anyone give me any hints as to what i've managed to do to my machine and how i may be able to fix anything that i may have broken.
If my novice terminology isn't helping much, i do apologise and if anyone out there is willing to help me out i'll do my best to make this all make sense.
Nev
imac   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

Answer 1

Hi Rick
right.. I've been on php.net
Gone into the intro section... copied the script from http://uk3.php.net/manual/en/introduction.php into a blank dreamweaver file. saved it as index.php and previewed the file in my safari window staright from dreamweaver (which has a root of file:///Users/.......htm)
I get a blank screen (so i guess that means its not reading the php)
I tried testing it locally from my works ftp area... same deal (root was like www...../test/Index.php)
I've also tried just typing in http://192/168/0/19/~Byron/ and that isn't even showing the normal file that used to show up as standard (from the sites folder)
which is why i'm thinking i've done something bad...
My firewall's off =)
It's not starting up the Personal Web Sharing (and i reckon thats the problem)
When im just doing normal html static sites in DW its fine.. no problems with viewing locally at all. Its as soon as i introduce server technology (php) that it becomes un-viewable. (well it loads the file... it just doesn't read anything thats on it).
Yeah its just in the Local area. I'm just trying to view pages locally, on the machine that created the files. Then upload them to the ftp server later on, once i've got it all running properly.
Php wouldn't have NEEDED upgrading, it was just one of the things that php.net said would have been a good idea for me to do. (so i followed the advice from their site) Now i think about it, i actually upgraded php (from that site) before i found out how to unlock the native php from the system.
Would that effect anything?
imac   Mac OS X (10.4.7)