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Getting Started

Assuming that you want to build a site on your PC (with Windows), I suggest a visit to DeveloperSide.net to download their package. Hey - there's no need to re-invent the wheel!

This package has already integrated the following things:

  • Apache 2.2 HTTP Server
  • MySQL 5.0 Database
  • PHP 5.2 and Perl 5.8 Scripting Languages
  • GUI WAMP-stack Controller
  • Dynamic DNS Client
  • Tomcat Servlet/JSP Container
  • mod_aspdotnet ASP.NET Host Interface
  • OpenSSL Cryptography Toolkit
  • mod_security Web Application Firewall
  • phpMyAdmin MySQL Administration
  • Joomla
  • Drupal
  • WordPress
  • MediaWiki
  • phpBB

Don't ask me what all of those mean, because I have no idea. Did I need them all? I doubt it. But disk space is cheap, and the key thing I looked at was that it had Drupal 5.0 (the latest release) integrated.

I followed their instructions, which built me a working system! Yay! I don't remember if it was automatic or not, but you will find it useful to have the "Web-Developer Controller" icon on your desk top.

The only "fly in the ointment" was that when I went to the Drupal web site to start pulling my modules and themes, there was a big announcement on the front page saying that 5.1 had been released and was highly recommended.

What's a girl to do? Do I stick with 5.0 any way, or try to update it to 5.1?

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. I downloaded 5.1. I then unzipped it (using WinZip).

Of course, that created a directory called "Drupal-5.1," but the other software I had installed was looking for a directory called "Drupal." Well, by getting Apache and its services shut down, I managed to rename the two directories so that 5.1 was now called "Drupal." It worked! I now had a running 5.1 system!

And it was all fairly painless and straight-forward. [Well, you know the plot will thicken, don't you?] But at least I'm not as afraid to install a new release of Drupal any more.