hansBKK <aww01.100.hansbkk RemoveThis @spamgourmet.com> wrote:
>OK I'll try this a different way - do please let me know if there's a
>more appropriate group (re website hosting) to post this to!
AWW is a probably as good, and as bad, as any other group for this
kind of discussion.
>I'm just starting to learn PHP, but probably will be using 90% pre-coded
>applications - CMS, forums, mailing management.
Bummer. Well, once people tell you what to use, you should consider
testing the living hell out of every component both individually and
in concert with every other component. Or not, whatever you choose.
> I'm looking for a good
>hosting company; I've got my "shortlist" list down to a dozen or so good
>ones with excellent reputations for reliability and support.
Newbies are forced to rely on reputations the first time, after that
at least you have some level of pain-learning to help you through the
maze. Maybe you're not a newbie, but you sound like one; that's not a
bad thing, it's just my perception. Andy made some negative comments
about PHP as a language in his post; granted he's very definite in his
opinion of PHP, but he has some good points (if he runs out, I can
probably supply a few more things not to like about PHP). But the
thing is, it's what you've chosen, and regardless of what
PHP-naysayers may say, you can grit your teeth and eventually manage
somehow to get the job done with PHP. Anyway, since you're just
starting to learn PHP and you're trying to figure out how to choose a
web hosting company, I'm jumping to the conclusion that you're a
newbie. Everybody here was a newbie at one time or another.
>I want to identify which hosts will give me the most flexibility; as a
>user I don't want to find there are popular/important scripts out there
>I can't use with my account. But I still want decent security - am I
>dreaming or is that possible?
At your current level you're probably dreaming, you want flexibility
but you haven't yet experienced the pain that will tell you how not to
use it. But any other expectation would probably be an even worse
albatross, so what the heck.
>So (finally) the question: what configuration/style of running PHP
>should I be looking for in a hoster?
You should not, in my opinion; that is not how I think a hosting
service should be chosen. In my opinion your primary consideration
should be reliability and speed, and for those you probably do need to
rely on the opinions of others; the alternative is to find websites
that seem snappy and always available and dig around to figure out who
does their hosting (and most of the best ones are doing their own
hosting). Your second consideration should be support -- can you
actually reach a human being who knows enough to be worth talking to
in less than half a lifespan? Can you ask support a question in your
own terminology and get an answer that makes sense? Cost should only
come into play after those essential needs are met.
>Please forgive if my questions reveal my ignorance, and I'd be ever so
>grateful if you could help explain things to me.
>
>Safe mode should be OFF, correct?
No, not really, it really depends. Safe mode is a kludge to work
around shortcomings in the operating environment. There are times
when it's better on than off, and vice versa.
You're going to find that there are basically three different types of
server that hosting services offer. The cheapest and most common is
the shared server. With a shared server, you're probably better off
running safe mode on, but you'll run into problems like being able to
write to files from your PHP scripts (surmountable but no less
annoying). The next most costly type of server is a virtual dedicated
server, it gives the illusion of having your own server even though
you don't really. Then if you pay enough you can have a dedicated
server which means the hardware is yours alone.
Figuring out what you need is nontrivial. You need to take into
account the time-value of money. Some approaches are cheaper than
others, but price and time trade off. It's a matter of how much your
time is worth.
>Should PHP be running as a module or CGI? If CGI, please rank these from
>best to worst: SUhosin, suExec, suphp, phpsuexec?
>
>Is it usual/OK for these disable_functions to be set: shell, exec,
>passthru - others I should watch out for?
>
>Out of the following variables (and others you might think of), are
>there any which I should NOT expect to be able to change via
>.htaccess/php.ini?
>
> open_basedir
> register_globals
> memory_limit
> magic_quotes
> file_uploads
> upload_tmp_dir
> upload_max_filesize
>
>Thanks in advance for your help!
Questions like the above are questions you ought to be able to ask
your hosting support person. They'll know where and how they've
tweaked their Linux installation if it's Linux and they've tweaked it,
and they should be able to guide you in setup. One of the advantages
of starting with a shared server is that you don't have control of
everything so there are fewer ways in which you can shoot your foot
off. Of course if they've set things up so the gun always points at
your foot, well there you are, and if you ask them a question about
some PHP-related setting and have to explain to them what it is,
you'll want very much to have made sure beforehand that you can cancel
your hosting contract with them and move on.
Most of it boils down to time and money, in whatever your situation is
one or the other will lean your approach, so try to avoid fighting
that issue because in the end it will win. If you have neither time
nor money, then you're in a fix.
Here's a suggestion. I don't host with godaddy but I've heard it
rumored that you can actually get hold of someone at tech support
there. Whether that is in any way indicative with regard to their
hosting services, I have no idea.
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