/Public_html Folder....what is it?
 

Hey Gang,
Being the Linux newbie that I am...todays question is...
What is the /public_html folder?
I see it under /home/username/public_html
Can someone explain its purpose or how to use it...?
I'm using SuSE 9.1 personal.

Thanks in advance.

When you use Apache with the mod_userdir module (most distros set this up by default), you can specify a folder for that user to have their own webspace. By default, this is called public_html. If you put an index.html in there, and connect to your machine with a browser, using this URL:
http://your.name.or.ip/~username
your page would come up (as long as apache was set correctly - you might need to add another /). You might notice a lot of ISPs give you your own webspace using a similar URL.

So clarify if I'm wrong

Should I implement Apache correctly, configure etc, I would be able to share (via the internet) whatever information resides within the public_html folder?
in theory could I create and share html pages, post home movies, original music etc?
I'd like to know more.

You can find all info you need and HOWTO under this Apache Documentation link:
http://httpd.apache.org/docs-2.0/howto/public_html.html
Usually the "UserDir" is called "public_html" but you can change this folder name. And usually users don't have permission to save files in Apache's root directory.

Hope it helped!
Boby

EDIT

Yes! It's just like another webpage.