1388806 - Getting an Apache server running is not beginner friendly

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Developer Documentation Graveyard :: Learning Area, defect, P5)

Description

[David Bruant]

:: Developer Documentation Request

      Request Type: Correction
     Gecko Version: unspecified
 Technical Contact: 

:: Details

Yesterday, i taught HTML+CSS to a friend and used http://pages.github.com/ for hosting
Initially, my friend started with file:// protocol, but things get tricky with differences in relative link behavior between file:// and the hosted version.

I found https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/Set_up_a_basic_working_environment#Getting_your_server_up_and_running_Mac_OS_X but i don't find this idea satisfying because this solution requires to use the command line to find the httpd.conf file (cannot be found from Finder) and chmod to edit it and sudo apached restart to restart.
That's too much unix for someone who wants to start with HTML+CSS imho.

I don't have the answer yet, but maybe something like serve [1] could be a simpler start. It's cross-platform (Node) and doesn't require any configuration. Unfortunately it requires to install Node.js (clicks, yay!), but at least a `npm install -g serve && cd project && serve` commandline to serve the project.


[1] https://www.npmjs.com/package/serve

Comment 1

[David Bruant]

From https://twitter.com/jwhitlock/status/895330679302389761

> Need a little command line, but "python -m SimpleHTTPServer" will serve local directory at http://localhost:8000, comes w/ OSX.

Comment 2

[David Bruant]

From https://twitter.com/pascalchevrel/status/895333085629235200

http://www.easyphp.org/documentation/devserver/getting-started.php

Comment 3

[David Bruant]

From https://twitter.com/supersole/status/895341681826041857
https://twitter.com/dehy/status/895512593246367744

MAMP https://www.mamp.info/en/

From https://twitter.com/nhoizey/status/895386585021263872

Chrome extension that plays the role of a webserver. Chrome-only, but super cool idea anyway (mentioned here for inspiration)
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/web-server-for-chrome/ofhbbkphhbklhfoeikjpcbhemlocgigb?hl=en

Comment 4

[Chris Mills [:cmills]]

Argh, that page you found is too complex for beginners ;-)

I wrote this page a while ago:

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/set_up_a_local_testing_server

Is this more like what you are after?

Maybe I should just redirect that other page to this one.

Comment 5

[David Bruant]

(In reply to Chris Mills (Mozilla, MDN editor) [:cmills] from comment #4)
> Argh, that page you found is too complex for beginners ;-)

It's the one i found from a google search

> I wrote this page a while ago:
> 
> https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/Common_questions/
> set_up_a_local_testing_server
> 
> Is this more like what you are after?

Indeed. I'll try it out with my friend and tell you how he felt about it.

 
> Maybe I should just redirect that other page to this one.

That's a good idea imho. What's the intended difference between the 2 pages?

Comment 6

[Chris Mills [:cmills]]

(In reply to David Bruant from comment #5)
> (In reply to Chris Mills (Mozilla, MDN editor) [:cmills] from comment #4)
> > Is this more like what you are after?
> 
> Indeed. I'll try it out with my friend and tell you how he felt about it.

Cool, let me know if that turns out better.
 
> > Maybe I should just redirect that other page to this one.
> 
> That's a good idea imho. What's the intended difference between the 2 pages?

I wrote my page before I realized that the other one existed; the other one was written in the early days of the Learning Area, before I took over managing it. I've redirected it.

Comment 7

[BMO Automation]

MDN Web Docs' bug reporting has now moved to GitHub. From now on, please file content bugs at https://github.com/mdn/sprints/issues/ and platform bugs at https://github.com/mdn/kuma/issues/.