[olug] linux web server management ?

[Jacobs, Robert A.]

>-----Original Message-----
>From: William E. Kempf [mailto:wekempf at cox.net]
>
>> and sometimes, hacking the Registry is the only way to make certain
>> configuration
>> changes, optimizations, etc.
>
>Rarely, and when this is the case it's because the programmer didn't
>intend for you to use the configuration.  The same thing can be said in
>many applications using the "Linux" approach, where they don't document
>the settings.

Hmmm.  I think you've got that point...but I would say that there are fewer
"undocumented" configuration parameters in Linux than there are in Windows
apps, for two reasons:

	1.  I or the community always has the source code which means these
	    things come more quickly to light.

	2.  While the parameters are not documented, it has been my
experience
	    that most have shown up in the configuration files.  In other
words,
	    the documentation may not tell me how to use them, but I can see
that
	    they are there and probably uncover what they are for.  Not
necessarily
	    easy but better than hacking blindly or waiting for the Windows
developer
	    to document his "undocumented" features.  :). 

>>  When I install
>> application foo into
>> /usr/local/foo and later delete the foo directory, foo and all of its
>> files go with it.
>
>Uh huh.  I've got a lot of config files scattered around my 
>Linux box from
>uninstalled packages to prove you wrong on this one.

Okay.  My fault for not being specific enough.  Typically, when I install to
/usr/local/ I am not using a package manager -- I'm just using the tar ball
that I downloaded from somewhere -- typically, if I want to stay current
with a
particular app, I use the tar balls.  

I agree with you, however, that some PACKAGE MANAGERS put files all over the

place...but that is because of the lack of standards for the package format.