Hi. I've got a Joomla website made for me. It is hosted with a hosting company. Here and there i change some of its content, but i want to practice it locally on my computer before i do bigger things on the web, so that if things get into a serious problem it is close at hand to fix it up. I've installed apache2 php5-mysql libapache2-mod-php5 mysql-server on my Ubuntu 10.04 desktop. also, I've installed Joomla up and running. my question is: how do i transport/copy my website from the web into my computer?
I know that I need to transfer the database, where do i put it in my local file system, and what additional commands are required for that?
I know that I need to transfer the public_html, where do i put it in my local file system, and what additional commands are required for that?
Thanks for any help.

How do you access mysql currently? If you have command line access, mysqldump should be able to create a sql file containing all the data and commands to create a copy on your local mysql copy.

You should just be able to create a tarball of your existing site and then unpack it on your server somewhere where Apache can see it. You'll probably have to adjust your Apache httpd.conf file to point to it or use virtual hosts if you want more than one website on your local machine. Once you've transferred the site, you'll probably also have to mess with the Joomla config file (configuration.php) to make changes like users and passwords.

Thanks for helping. Please, I need more specific details: where is the folder on my computer where i need to place the sql file that i download from my website? [give full path, I'm very much a newbie in these things of virtual server, Apache and all that].
where to unpack the tarball? please, full, absolute path to that folder.
thank you.

The .sql file can be anywhere, it doesn't matter. The .sql file is something you use to create a copy of the database, by itself, the .sql file can't do anything. You might want to read this to get a better idea of what is created by mysqldump and how to use the file.
I can't do that because I don't know how your web server is set up. Basically, Apache has a document root directory (frequently something like /var/www/htdocs) and that is where you would unpack the tarball. You'll have to consult your Apache config file to find out what the DocumentRoot is.

One more thing: Since you aren't familiar with this stuff, you really, really, really don't want to expose this site to the Internet. Joomla has its share of security problems, so either start learning about securing your copy of the site or make sure that you have a firewall in place to prevent access to Apache.

Thanks for helping. I've found on the Internet the simple, friendly looking xampp. it has a simple GUI interface to import sql files, and seems to be able to give a shortcut from learning a lot regarding server files. but when i try to install it I run into a problem, when i reach the stage i get the message:
and the Xampp window won't open up. Another [the earlier] server daemon is interfering, I've tried to apt-get autoremove it [on my Netbook only, as a test, on my Desktop the earlier packages are still going] but to no avail, a residue remains. I've tried to install, test Xampp on an Ubuntu Live Cd, it installs and works very well. How can I completely remove- without any residue the apache2 php5-mysql libapache2-mod-php5 mysql-server that i have on my computer? [so i can Install Xampp all over again]. thanks for any help.

I guess I'd use Synaptic to remove those packages. That is the way Ubuntu usually works.

As you've noticed from your errors, xampp is installing the same software that is already there. Instead of installing xampp, you might consider using what Ubuntu has already installed and just install the extra xampp software like phpMyAdmin. You can install that through Synaptic as well. The benefit of using Ubuntu over xampp is that it should be easier to maintain through the normal Ubuntu update mechanisms.

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Thanks.
yes its works. I Installed only the phpMyAdmin through Synaptic and it is up and running.
Thanks a lot.

If you have xampp up and running on your home PC, copying a complete Joomla site could not be easier. I have done it a few times.

What you need is Akeeba backup software. This makes a complete back up of the whole site including databases, all you need to do then is download the backup onto your PC and run Kickstart on it which will interactively install joomla and your site. Akeeba is easy to install and use and has very comprehensive documentation. https://www.akeebabackup.com/ I use it not just for the moves between servers but also to make daily backups of my sites