Ok, let me start by saying I am not a newbie. I have built many VoIP Linux servers and have a pretty good understanding of the Linux OS.

Which is why I feel as though this thread will be a good one for the many out there having similar issues.

I have a VPS. Linux Fedora 5 I think.

The purpose of the server is to build a pretty high end web service for my business.

I decided I needed phptimesheet as part of my melting pot of features.

Got the ol' "unexpected end of script" error.
Ok, further research reveals this as a permissions error.
Did the traditional "change everything to 0777.
Ok, we all know apache does not like that.

chmod 0655
same original error.

Changed users of phptimesheet files to nobody from root.

Nothing.

Ok, hit the major list of trouble shooting ideas, let's back up and install grand daddy SUGAR on first and then build phptimesheet on top!

Started hitting the same "unexpected end of script" errors.
Started changing chmod and chown.
SSDD "same s&!^, different day"!

I have been working as root on this server and read that "if you unpacked, or installed as root, change to a different user"

So I logged in as a user I created and deleted the previous downloads of user.

"permission denied to unzip new download of sugar"

Ok, make a new directory!

Permission denied


Get where I am coming from!


If somebody could kindly reply with the down and dirty, quick chart of commands to manage permissions and the global effects of permissions dealing with Apache.

I can find zero "down and dirty" "here it is in a nutshell" on permissions and the relative effects when dealing with Apache.

Yes, I do currently have the octet chart for permissions. That tells me nothing about the relations.

Brad

Not getting into Apache, but here are the basics as I understand them.

To create a directory (or any file), you need write AND execute permission on the parent directory. (You talked octal, so that's octal digit 3.) For removing, same, and if the containing directory has the sticky bit 01000 set, you must also own what you remove.

The permissions that apply (in any operation) depend on who you are:
If you're root, you can do virtually anything.
Otherwise if you own the file (or directory), i.e., when your user id matches the file's owner, the user permissions (700 or first triplet in rwxrwxrwx notation) apply.
Otherwise if any of your groups (primary or auxiliary) matches the file's group, the group permissions (070 or middle triplet) apply.
Otherwise the other permissions (007 or last triplet) apply.

Funny consequences:
(A) If you give 044 to a file, everyone can read it, except you.
(B) You can remove other people's stuff, even if you have zero access to it, as long as you have -wx on the containing directory and it's not sticky.

And, as you correctly indicated, you use chmod to change permissions. Only the owner (and root) can chmod a file.