Datasheet

After reading this book, you will be able to create a well-designed, dynamic Web site using tools avail-
able for free. Although this book is not intended to be a detailed analysis of Apache, PHP, and MySQL, it
points you in the right direction to explore further issues you may wish to delve into.
Brief Intro to PHP, Apache,
MySQL, and Open Source
PHP, Apache, and MySQL are all part of the open source group of software programs. The open source
movement is a collaboration of some of the finest minds in computer programming. By allowing the
open exchange of information, programmers from all over the world contribute to make a truly power-
ful and efficient piece of software available to everyone. Through the contributions of many people to
the publicly available source code, bugs get fixed, improvements are made, and a good software pro-
gram becomes a great one over time.
A Brief History of Open Source Initiatives
The term open source was coined in 1998 after Netscape decided to publish the source code for its popu-
lar Navigator browser. This announcement prompted a small group of software developers who had
been long-time supporters of the soon-to-be open source ideology to formally develop the Open Source
Initiatives (OSI) and the Open Source Definition.
Although the OSI ideology was initially promoted in the hacker community, upon Netscape’s release of
Navigator’s source code, programmers from all walks of life began to offer suggestions and fixes to
improve the browser’s performance. The OSI mission was off and running, as the mainstream comput-
ing world began to embrace the idea.
Linux became the first operating system that could be considered open source (although BSD was a
close runner-up, distributed from Berkeley in 1989), and many programs followed soon thereafter. Large
software corporations, such as Corel, began to offer versions of their programs that worked on Linux
machines.
Although there are now numerous classifications of OSI open source licenses, any software that bears the
OSI Certification seal can be considered open source because it has passed the Open Source Definition test.
These programs are available from a multitude of Web sites; the most popular is
www.sourceforge.net,
which houses more than 83,000 open source projects.
Why Open Source Rocks
Open source programs are very cool because:
❑ They are free. The greatest thing about open source software is that it is free and available to the
general public. Software developers and programmers volunteer their time to improve existing
software and create new programs. Open source software cannot, by definition, require any sort
of licensing or sales fees.
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