Change Apache localhost Options

[wacssabe]

Hi, i've just found this section of htmlhelp :-). I started my thread at web-functionality but i think my question belongs to this place. This is a copy&paste of my actual problem(s) now. Hope you can help me as much as in the other side of the forum

Many thanks Fred. That's where they worked for me, but i'd like to change the localhost directory. That' why i edited the httpd.conf DocumentRoot to "~" and the main directory to <Directory "~">, so when i place my index.php + files at my home folder and turn on the web sharing (i'm concerned about rebooting web sharing each time i edit apache config), they should work. But they don't. Searching on the web, i found this link which shows where should things be in each OS and apache version. Even rendering all settings to default by copying the backup copy of httpd.conf at /private/etc/apache2/original, the only way it works is by putting my web at the folder you say. But i want them to be in my desktop. I dont know why DocuementRoot "~" and <Directory "~"> won't work, even using "/Users/myuser" or "/Users/home". While reading the comments at httpd.conf i saw

Configuration and logfile names: If the filenames you specify for many
# of the server's control files begin with "/" (or "drive:/" for Win32), the
# server will use that explicit path. If the filenames do *not* begin
# with "/", the value of ServerRoot is prepended -- so "/private/var/log/apache2/foo_log"
# with ServerRoot set to "/usr" will be interpreted by the
# server as "/usr//private/var/log/apache2/foo_log".

.

This confuses me too, because /us//private... shouldn't work because of the double slash, but in http: we actually put them, and also i've read somewhere nfs or smb:/// (three slashes!). There should be /usr/private... and as the comments say, /private/var... has the leading slash, so the absolute route shouldn't have to add the extra bar to /usr, but conversely to what the comments say ("if the filenames you specify ... begin with / the server will use that explicit path"). So i'm really confused.

And in addition, i'm too confused with user www and group www, what are them meant to be? I've read so many pages, the apache help and many others but no one is of help for me :-/.

About XAMP i read about a simmilar tool (mamp). Maybe when i know how to make it this way i get it, but for now i want to learn, more than making it work. But thanks. About sql, i'll take a time before going on with databases. I first must learn languages like python, java, and more things i got in mind .

Thanks