Trying to get the hamster to run
Every time you send a request to a web server, and you get an answer, be thankful. On the whole, this Internet thing is stable and functional.
On a case-by case basis, it isn’t always evident. I’ve been “running” a web server, for personal amusement, for years. Once the whole “hamster in a big wheel” is running, you can sit back and admire the practicality. But why, oh why, is it so mind numbingly difficult to get the wheel to start. Here’s the thing: real servers don’t run on personal versions of Windows. There’s a hierarchy that has to be respected.
Every time I change the version of Windows; XP to Vista t0 W7 I have to spin my wheels for too long. Waiting for the mud to dry up, etc. This last time, I moved from 32-bit to 64-bit (no reason). And now I’m back to interpreting error messages with the help of Google and the combined knowledge of those who have tred this slippery path.
I’ve thought about installing XAMPP (which works), but that would be defeating the reason for this exercise in futility. I want to make my little WAMP system into a tool for development; my Wiki, my photo database, my backup blog. None of that is possible when PHP keeps going off into the wilderness to hunt for dingleberries.
Maybe tomorrow. Or the day after that. When I’m rested. When I haven’t spent the day taking care of business. After all, this isn’t a mission critical task. And before I go to sleep, I’ll raise my thumb to the server admins that deal with this stuff for real, and make it work.
