8.1 Hacks 85-98

8.1 Hacks #85-98

Mac OS X is a web powerhouse, both in terms of its web-serving capabilities and wide range of web browsers from which to choose.

On the server side, OS X's understated Personal Web Sharing is powered by the ubiquitous, flexible, and industrial-strength Apache web server. Just click the Start button (System Preferences Sharing Services) and you have a full-blown web server at your disposal. By the end of this chapter, you'll be serving up dynamic content, running CGI applications, scripting PHP pages, and putting together server-side include-driven pages with the best of them. We'll also show you how to control access to your web site, honing what visitors can and cannot see.

You want browsers? OS X has browsers splendid enough to put the 1990s Netscape/Internet Explorer browser wars to shame. Numbered among the top contenders are Microsoft's Internet Explorer, default browser through Mac OS X 10.2; Safari, Apple's brand new ultra-fast, super-sleek entry threatening to replace IE as OS X's browser-in-the-box; and the Mozilla variants, most notably Camino (formerly Chimera), built just for Mac. Then there are the microcontent browsers, catering to quick searches and syndicated news reading daring to take content outside of the browser. This chapter introduces you to the pick of the litter.