CHAPTER 8 How to Fix The Web: Obscure Back-End Techniques and Terminal Secrets
website issue, and may unexpectedly pop a solution into your thoughts. If
so, give it a try. If not...aSK foR helP
Check the level of support that you are entitled to by your hosting
company. If you are paying $10 per month, it’s probably not much. You
may be able to get them to cast a vague glance in your direction within the
next 72 hours. If it’s substantially more, they may log in and have a look
within the next few minutes. They should be able to help with hardware
or software issues. They won’t help with Web programming issues.
Alternatively, ring a colleague or freelancer. If you are still stuck...PRePaRe
...to release some nervous energy. Find one of those squidgy balls that
you can squeeze mercilessly in your hands, or a couple pencils to use as
drumsticks, or a pack of cigarettes and a pot full of coffee. And then try the
last resort to any computing problem...RebooT
When your laptop or desktop goes wrong, a common solution is to reboot
it. You can try the same trick on your Web server. This is a quite risky.
Firstly, it may not solve the problem. If it’s a PHP error, then nothing will
change. If, however, your issue is caused by some obscure piece of software
becoming unresponsive, then it may well help, though it may not fix the
problem permanently. The same thing may happen next week.
Secondly, if the reboot fails then you will be really stuck. If the server
shuts down but fails to start back up again, then someone may have to
go and press the power button on the physical machine. That someone
is an employee of your hosting company, and they may be enjoying their
breakfast too, in a nice comfortable office somewhere. They may have left
their jumper at home. They may not want to enter the air-conditioned