The default configuration for a fresh Apache2 installation is usually stored in httpd.conf. On OpenSuSE this is found in "/etc/apache2/". On Fedora the file is found in "/etc/httpd/conf/". Additional configurations are traditionally stored in ".conf" files, but the server needs to know where to find these. On OpenSuSE to include additional configurations files edit /etc/sysconfig/apache2, adding the following:

APACHE_CONF_INCLUDE_FILES="/etc/apache2/httpd.conf.local"

Alternatively, for a Fedora installation, /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf will already have an include statement, to which you can append an additional Include:

Include conf.d/*.conf
#Additional include for my local experiments
Include conf.d/httpd.conf.local

When you create an additional configuration in a ".conf" file, add an Include statement to the httpd.conf.local with the full path to the configuration file

Include /path/to/my/custom/config.conf

The additional configuration files can be stored anywhere on your filesystem, but they must be accessible by the user running the Apache server, as must the content being server. All the directories in the path must therefore have +x permissions for apache to be able to access the content. On Fedora, if you are serving content from your home directory, you will need to grant +x permissions on /home and the appropriate subdirectories. If you are using SELinux, you will also need to enable "Allow httpd to read user content"

Serve Static Content

Create a project folder (myweb/drdsl), then create an apache configuration file (myweb/drdsl/etc/httpd.conf):

Alias /drdsl/	/home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/html/

<Directory /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/html/>
	Options Multiviews Indexes FollowSymlinks
	AllowOverride None
	Order deny,allow
	Deny from all
	Allow from 127.0.0.1
</Directory>

Add an include statement for this file in "httpd.conf.local":

Include /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/etc/httpd.conf

Now you can place static html files in myweb/drdsl/html/ and access them via the server as http://localhost/drdsl/filename.html

Explanations

<Directory /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/html/>

The directory block allows you to set properties for a named directory. Using '/' as the directory name, sets the default values for all directories.

Options Multiviews

Allows content negotiation from client, for example specifying language preferences in 'GET' request by setting 'Accept-Language' values.

Options Indexes

Sets the default action for when a request is made for a directory rather the a filename. Default filenames to return for a directory request are specified with 'DirectoryIndex'. If no match for DirectoryIndex files are found, then 'Options Indexes' will allow Apache to return a table of contents for the directory.

Options FollowSymlinks

The server will follow symbolic links but retains pathname to match against <Directory> directive

AllowOverride

Determines which settings can be modified by values in .htaccess files. 'None' forbids any settings being altered. Other values: 'All', 'AuthConfig' (authentication), 'FileInfo', 'Indexes', 'Limit' (access priviledges), and 'Options'.

Order Deny, Allow

If a request matches a <Deny> directive the request is denied unless it also matches an <Allow> directive. If neither are matched, then the request is allowed.

Order Allow, Deny

If a request matches an <Allow> directive it is allowed unless is also matches a <Deny> directive. If neither are matched, then the request is rejected

Alternatively, serve files from filesystem by creating a something.conf file in the /etc/apache2/conf.d/ directory as follows:

Alias /pydoc "/usr/share/doc/packages/python/html/python-docs-html"

<Directory "/usr/share/doc/packages/python/html/python-docs-html">
  AllowOverride None
  Order allow,deny
  Allow from all
</Directory>

Enable CGI Scripts

Create a project folder (myweb/drdsl/cgi-bin) for your scripts, then create an apache configuration file (myweb/drdsl/etc/script.conf):

Alias /drdsl-bin/ /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/cgi-bin/
<Location /drdsl-bin >
	SetHandler cgi-script
	Order deny,allow
	Deny from all
	Allow from 127.0.0.1
	Options Indexes ExecCGI
</Location>

Add an include statement for this file in /etc/apache2/http.conf.local:

Include /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/etc/script.conf

Scripts should now be accessible via http://localhost/drdsl-bin/filename.cgi,but you will need to ensure that you add execute permissions for the group running apache (chmod 755).

Explanation

<Location /drdsl-bin>

The location block allows you to apply directives by URL. In this instance the URL is defined in the preceding 'Alias' directive. Location directives are processed after Directory, .htaccess and Files.

SetHandler

Associates a 'handler' to specified files. Setting this value to 'cgi-script' forces identified files to be treated as cgi-scripts and therefore handled by mod_cgi.

Option ExecCGI

Execution of CGI scripts is permitted

Mod Perl

To configure perl scripts to run under mod_perl

Alias /drdsl-perl/ /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/cgi-perl/

<Directory /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/cgi-perl>
	SetHandler perl-script
	PerlResponseHandler ModPerl::Registry
	PerlSendHeader on
	Options ExecCGI
	order deny,allow
	deny from all
	allow from 127.0.0.1
</Directory>

You will need to enable add 'perl' to the list of APACHE_MODULES in /etc/sysconfig/apache2, and also remember to 'INCLUDE' the configuration file in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf.local:

Include /home/dr00/myweb/drdsl/etc/mod_perl.conf

Explanation

<SetHandler perl-script>

Files in identified by this block will be treated as perl scripts.

<PerlResponseHandler ModPerl::Registry>

Enables registry scripts, that is perl scripts will be run by the ModPerl::Registry module.

Enable Embedded PHP

install apache2-mod_php5. Create a file called hellophp.php in your document root directory:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>