HowTo: Setup lighttpd with suPHP. Using incron to autocommit changes in a folder. A friend e-mailed me this morning asking for some help with a problem he had where he wanted to make a folder writable by a group of people without making the files deletable. Stepping back from his question, I first pointed out that if the files are editable then they can be effectively deleted by removing the content from them, regardless of whether the directory entries themselves are retained. One solution which occurred to me would be to automatically version the content of the directory, and this reminds me of why versioning of /etc has never worked for me: it only happens when I remember to commit.
Normally when I edit files in /etc, I am focused on achieving something now, and not on being able to undo it later. To this end I have written myself a script which will commit the contents of a directory (including adding new files and removing deleted ones) into a git repository, as follows: VirtualBox VMs for Developers. Pre-Built Developer VMs (for Oracle VM VirtualBox) Learning your way around a new software stack is challenging enough without having to spend multiple cycles on the install process.
Instead, we have packaged such stacks into pre-built Oracle VM VirtualBox appliances that you can download, install, and experience as a single unit. Just downloaded/assemble the files, import into VirtualBox (available for free), import, and go (but not for production use or redistribution)! Some of these VMs are designed to support Developer Day workshops, and have specific hands on labs embedded in them, but they're available to all.) Be sure to install VirtualBox first.