best setup for apache for learning w/out network or isp?

[cllew]

I have apache 1.3.6 installed (linux) and it works fine with localhost.&nbsp;&nbsp;I want to learn apache, perl, php, etc., but do not have a domain name (no isp)and am not part of a network. What is the best set up to simulate a web site on a single box - the O'Reilly book discourages one from using localhost and uses an intranet as an example.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>Thanks in advance.

 

[AndyBo]

I've recently set something similar up (laptop with cheap PC-Card NIC that isn't recognised by Linux).&nbsp;&nbsp;The first thing I had to do was get DNS running, and add a &quot;CNAME&quot; entry pointing &quot;my.madeupname.com&quot; at &quot;localhost&quot;.<br><br>Then Apache refused to start because it couldn't resolve it's own FQDN.&nbsp;&nbsp;Adding &quot;ServerName my.madeupname.com&quot; to the <FONT FACE=monospace>httpd.conf</font> file solved this, and I can connect to the server as &quot;<A HREF="

http://my.madeupname.com&quot"

TARGET="_new">

http://my.madeupname.com&quot</A>;

or &quot;<A HREF="

http://localhost&quot"

TARGET="_new">

http://localhost&quot</A>;.<br><br>However,

having done all that there's no really compelling reason to do this if you just want to learn Apache/Perl/PHP.&nbsp;&nbsp;Using &quot;localhost&quot; should be fine.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had to do the things above because I was also installing, configuring, and generally looking at qmail, which needs DNS to be running.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Apache set up came about the next time I rebooted and Apache stopped working...<br><br>Probably best if you stick to &quot;localhost&quot; for now.