Yes, you should have a folder at /etc/apache2/original/

Open Finder and hold down command shift G

Under Go to folder: type /etc/apache2/original/ and click Go.

If you see httpd.conf and the extra folder open up Terminal and type:
sudo cp /etc/apache2/original/httpd.conf /etc/apache2/

This will overwrite the changes you made to the file during my tutorial.

After this is done I’d suggest you try the tutorial from the beginning. Make sure you have Xcode installed first though and that you read and understand each step; I’ve seen people try to skip steps before but this really isn’t something you can just skim through.

You can make sure sudo cp /etc/php.ini.default php.ini worked by typing this command into Terminal:
locate php.ini

If the command returns /private/etc/php.ini the earlier command worked.

And, /Library/WebServer/Documents/ exists on a clean install of both Leopard and Tiger by default. If you can’t find the folder I’d suggest reinstalling your OS then following my directions or using something like MacPorts to get Apache, PHP, and MySQL up and running on your machine.

I tried on a clean Leopard install but I got some odd results.

I followed everything in your tutorial and I got the apache page appearing from localhost so it was partially successful. However I cannot see sites in the folder I would expect (which is my Sites folder if I understand correctly) if I type localhost/~myUsername/mySite. I am told that I do not have permission.

There were a few odd things about following your tutorial though:

Firstly I do not have a apache2/original folder. Should I have one by default?
Next typing ’sudo cp /etc/php.inidefault php.ini’ did nothing from what I could tell. Should I get a message when I type this?

Some of the other commands did open files in the terminal window, but they appeared to be empty, and did not go to the line specified.

I also did not seem to have a Library/WebServer/Documents folder. Should this have been created automatically for me?

eek!

If you follow my directions exactly on a fresh install of Leopard everything should work properly.

However, if you insist on using TextWrangler you’ll need to enter your administrator/root password every time it prompts you to when you try to save a file. Also, before you try my directions again (using TextWrangler, nano, or otherwise) copy all the files from /etc/apache2/original to the /etc/apache2 directory; this will overwrite the existing files that you’ve been editing.

If you don’t have the patience or the time to get Apache, PHP, and MySQL running this way you could always try XAMPP for Mac OS X, but honestly I’ve never tried it myself and have little inkling as to how stable it is. From what I hear it should be fairly easy to get setup though. You should know I in no way endorse this product and their website even states that the Mac OS X “version of XAMPP is still in the first steps of development. Use at you own risk!”

I just want php and apache to work with mysql so I can play with a website (self teaching myself)

I am only trying to play with Joomla. I have edited so many files now I do not know how to get back to start.

Any ideas?

Well written article by the way!

Cheers,
Brook

Go to the Terminal and type in everything except the bold part unless you know what goes there, hit tab to autocomplete the missing bold part with your info before hitting return:
sudo nano -w /etc/apache2/users/ariadoss.conf

You should now see something like this on line 1:
<directory "/Users/ariadoss/Sites/"></directory>
Directly underneath line 1, you should change lines 2 and 3 to look like this:
Options All
AllowOverride All
Close and save.

You should now see something like this on line 1:

Directly underneath line 1, you should change lines 2 and 3 to look like this:
Options All
AllowOverride All
Close and save.

I try to save the file but I’m getting a “Permission denied” when I’m trying to overwrite the old file name with itself, with the updated changes.