behind AotW

Public thanks are overdue to Bill Turkel for the flattering profile on his blog, Digital History Hacks. He makes me and AotW look really good, and finds the things of which I’m most proud from the last ten years online — in two paragraphs. Hail Turkel.

Of course, now the pressure is on me to step it up …

I apologize to you if you’re interested in history, but not the Digital kind, especially. The past several posts have undoubtedly glazed your eyes, and those of most readers, I should think.

Let’s get back to another of the notable people of Antietam and a quick look at history from her perspective.

This dedicated looking woman is Isabella Fogg, a volunteer with the Maine Camp and Hospital Association, and mother of a soldier in the 6th Maine Infantry¹. On the first of November 1862, about 6 weeks after the battle of Antietam, she ventured out from Washington DC to observe the conditions of the sick and wounded troops around Sharpsburg, and to do what she could for their comfort.

No more fooling with theory and generalities. Its time to get started with your new web project. How better to learn?

Off we go, then.

We’ll start with a very simple, single-page project. We’ll get the development server up and running and use it to demonstrate how the XHTML, PHP, and database components work together, in more concrete terms. This will not, I hope, turn into an extended tutorial, there are plenty of those already out there, but this will give you a starting point for noodling around on your own.

Step 1: Install the XAMPP package on your home PC

Download the basic package – the 33 MB Installer [MD5] version. Ignore the Devel and Upgrade packages, and the Add-Ons. Do the full installation, and say “yes” to all the defaults. This will only take a few minutes. When finished, the following structure, very similar to that which you’ll use on your hosting service’s box, will be in place: