Host Your Own Site: An Intro to the Full Stack

So you've learned some HTML/CSS, maybe explored WordPress themes, but have you ever wondered what is actually running your site? How is your site served? Where are the files stored? If you have taken a front end class like GDI's HTML and CSS or WordPress courses, this class will give you a glimpse into the backend of your site. Although we cover a lot of material, it is a first step into website server administration and does not require prior knowledge of any of these topics.

In this class, we'll teach you how to set up a Linux web server using Amazon Web Services, Apache (HTTP server), MySQL (Database), and Wordpress ( PHP Content Management system). That's right, at the end of this class you will have your site running your server. We'll give you an introduction to the command line and Linux, as well as expose you to the fascinating nitty gritties of server administration like looking at logs and starting and stopping services. Think that sounds like a lot? It's really not that bad!

Some other exciting features of this class:

• Your site will be running on an AWS micro instance, so your hosting costs will be free for a year ( http://aws.amazon.com/free/ )

• Local dev shop Tikaro has kindly donated full stack merit badges to every class participant ( http://www.nerdmeritbadges.com/products/06-full-stack-web-developer )

About the teachers:

Sarah Gray: Sarah is a software engineer and general language nerd. After finishing her BA in English literature, she fell into a technology job, fell in love, and never looked back. She returned to school and got a computer science degree from the University of Pennsylvania after working in IT for several years. She is now a polyglot programmer and developer at The Neat Company in Philadelphia. You can find out more about her adventures in programming at www.devlogged.com.

Sarah Johnson: Sarah has always been fascinated by languages, starting with French as a child and transitioning to computer languages as an adult. She works as a Manager of IT at a medical certification board, developing and maintaining the website, database, and network. Sarah studied Computing Technology at Drexel and continues to learn programming thanks to the Philly tech scene.