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Re: [LUG] Programs which start on login

 

On Sun, 13 May 2007 09:13:35 +0100
Neil Winchurst <neil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> > Usually Apache and MySQL start at boot, not at login.
> Perhaps it would be better for me to simply stop the programs in a
> terminal screen. I know how shutdown mysql. Apache is the problem.
> Until yesterday I didn't even know it was running all the time.
>
> How do I stop apache please, that is the equivalent of mysqladmin
> shutdown?

Why? What is the problem with apache? Normally, GNU/Linux processes
take up very few resources as daemons. Without apache, http://localhost
won't work. It seems more than a little pointless to stop apache at
each login - if you really only want apache running when you are
testing website code, you should simply remove the apache symlink from
the /etc/rc$foo.d/ runlevel and start apache when you need it with:

$ sudo apache2ctl start
(assuming apache2)

Intuitively, replacing "start" with "stop" will do what it says on the
tin. :-)

If you only stop apache at login without doing anything about /etc/rc
$foo.d/, it will be started automatically at boot (when presumably you
aren't using the computer) and stopped at login (when you are) which
seems perverse.

Apache normally remains running because if you want to view files from
another machine on your home network, it is trivially easy to view
http://192.168.0.1 etc. from anywhere else on the network, using any OS
and any browser.

Don't forget, you may also need to start mysql at such times too if the
website code itself needs a database. This is why mysql and apache are
usually both left running automatically on all machines where they are
installed. I'd recommend that if you use mysql and apache at all, leave
them running automatically from boot to shutdown. If you don't use
them, remove the packages entirely. (use apt-get remove --purge).

Take a look at the dwww package - it makes full use of http://localhost
to serve up documentation (including manpages) for any -doc packages
you have installed as well as any other package that includes
documentation of some sort. It makes it much easier to work out what
all these GNU/Linux packages and commands actually do and gives you a
very good reason to run apache at all times, just like nearly everyone
else who has apache installed.

Apache (and mysql) are actually (IMHO) next to useless if they are not
left to run in the background at all times from boot to shutdown.

--


Neil Williams
=============
http://www.data-freedom.org/
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/

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