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Web Hosting FAQs - UNIX Web Hosting |
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| Q: What
is the difference between Unix and Linux? |
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| A: The Unix operating system was developed
in the early seventies and rewritten in the programming language 'C'
which gave it the ability to outlive the hardware it lived on which
was a very significant development. Then many years later a man named
Linus Torvalds developed the operating system kernel for the FSF's
project to develop a free version of Unix which Linus then named Linux.
There are many versions or flavors of Unix and Linux which have different
strengths and weaknesses regarding speed, security and features, etc.
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| Q: If
I use a web host that runs Unix will Windows users be able to see
my website? |
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| A: Yes. Because the website will send
out information using standard languages (HTML, XML) that a browser
like Internet Explorer or FireFox can read it's no problem for someone
using Windows to see a website running on a Unix server and vice versa.
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| Q: What
are the advantages of using Unix? |
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| A: In terms of web hosting, Unix supporters
will tell you that Unix offers a lower cost of development than Windows
because most Unix hosting plans are cheaper than Windows hosting plans.
Why? Because most web hosts use a free version of Unix (like Linux
or FreeBSD) so they don't have to pay thousands of dollars to buy
the operating system and associated tools to run the server or pay
to upgrade their licenses every few years. Microsoft will tell you
that the reverse is true however with the time and energy you spend
supporting yourself offsetting any cost gains in the free OS.
Unix is an open source operating system so anyone
who wants to look at the code and change it is free to do so. This
means that when a problem is found such as a security flaw, anyone
with the skills can fix it and send out the patch. With Microsoft,
you have to wait for the company to fix it and you can't be sure
just exactly what they've done to fix the problem since they don't
let you look under the hood. The ability to have total control over
what you are doing and its reputation for stability and security
are a large part of what makes Unix such a popular choice. Unix
is also features a command-line interface which doesn't waste a
lot of system resources. Thus, with 32 or 64 MB of RAM a Unix machine
can still run multiple programs with perfect stability.
The Unix/Linux community is very supportive. Think
about your favorite sport and then imagine the team with the most
rabid, loyal fans. Linux users are pretty similar except that if
you show up at the game cheering for Microsoft 'flame' you (post
nasty messages on their forums about you) instead of beating you
up in the parking lot. On the flip side, if you are new to Unix
you will generally be cheered on and encouraged as a new member
of the family. Just make sure you read the instructions or try to
find easily accessible information you need yourself before asking.
This is a big point of etiquette among the open source folk.
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| Q: What
are the disadvantages of Unix? |
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| A: There is no clicking "Next, Next,
OK, Finish" in Unix. Windows became popular by creating a graphical
user interface that is easy to use. It is very much orientated towards
ease of use. While a Linux fan will tell you this is a Unix advantage
because the Microsoft way allows you to do a lot of things when you
may not know the consequences of your actions, it can be intimidating
staring at a blinking cursor on the command line not knowing what
to do next. i.e. you will have to educate yourself a bit to use Unix.
Unix is less popular and there is less software
available. While Unix tools and applications are often free, there
are less of them out there. Microsoft is a giant corporation with
thousands of developers constantly working on creating new products
or improving different aspects of the Redmond software empire while
Unix enjoys less prolific software production.
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| Q: What is the difference between CGI and CGI-BIN? |
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| A: CGI stands for Common Gateway Interface. CGI is not a programming language, it defines how data is passed between software and databases to the web page. CGI programs can be written using a variety of languages, such as Perl, C, PHP and others.
CGI-Bin is the directory where executable files are located.
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| Q: What is PHP? |
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| A: It's like ASP but for Unix. i.e., PHP is a server-side scripting language (runs on the server instead of the user's computer) that is used primarily on Unix Web servers to create dynamic Web pages. PHP script is written into HTML web pages and when the server reads the page it runs the script which is often used to generate content and then sends it on to the end user. Web pages that include PHP script are usually given a file suffix of ".php" ".php3," or ".phtml". You can learn more about it at http://www.php.net. |
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| Q: How do I upload and download files in UNIX? |
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| A: Typically, you can upload and download files in UNIX via FTP. |
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| Q: How can I use Unix? What are some of the basic commands? |
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| A: Unix uses the command line or a simple cursor.
man - man will bring up information about the command or the instruction manual. "man cd" will bring up instructions on using the cd or change directories command.
cd - Move to the directory.
mkdir - Creates a new directory named
rmdir - Removes the directory
mv - Moves the file to the directory .
mv - Renames a directory.
pico - Pico is a text editor like notepad.
ls - This command will list the directory that you are in.
pwd - pwd prints the path of the directory that you are currently in.
You can easily find many Unix command references on the internet or you can go to this site for a list of commands and definitions.
http://www.computerhope.com/unix.htm
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