Overview

Secrets in This Chapter

• Understanding HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

• Learning Mozilla's User Interface

• Installing the Apache Web Server

• Configuring Apache for Server-Side Includes (SSI)

• Supporting CGI Programs in Apache

• Installing the Java 2 Software Development Kit

• Creating a Secure Server with SSL

• Generating Digital Certificates

Chapter 13 shows you how to connect your Red Hat Linux PC to the Internet through an Internet service provider (ISP). This chapter addresses one of the reasons the Internet has become so popular in recent years: the World Wide Web (or simply the Web), which provides an easy graphical way to browse and retrieve information from the Internet.

As a host on the Internet, all your Red Hat Linux system needs is a Web browser-an application that 'knows' how to download and display Web documents-so that you can enjoy the benefits of the Web. You also can make information available to other users through Web pages-the common term for Web documents.

This chapter explains what the Web is and describes the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)-the information exchange protocol that makes the Web work. Then, it provides a brief introduction to the Mozilla Web browser, which comes with Red Hat Linux on this book's companion CD-ROMs.

Next, the chapter addresses the use of the Web as a popular way to publish information on the Internet. Red Hat Linux includes the Apache HTTP server (HTTP server being the technical term for a Web server), which you can use simply by placing your HTML files in the appropriate directory. This chapter shows you where various files should go and how to configure the Apache Web server.