Technical aspects of blogging

Though no technical skills are required to use and benefit from blogs, it is still instructive to examine the software and hardware that make blogs possible.

First, a blog requires a server, which is a computer that shares its resources with users' computers. An operating system runs on the server, typically a Unix variant such as Solaris, Linux or FreeBSD, or a Microsoft product such as Windows Server 2003.

Next, the server requires web server software. One of the most popular servers is an open source package called Apache. This software interprets URLs and takes requests for web pages and other files over the Internet. Other software packages, such as Microsoft's Internet Information Services and the Sun Java System Web Server from Sun Microsystems.

Along with server hardware and software, a database system (such as the open source MySQL) and a programming language (such as the server-side scripting language PHP). Finally, a content management system is needed to manage both posting articles and delivering them to readers. Numerous systems are available that are blog-specific, including Nucleus CMS, Movable Type, bBlog, WordPress, Drupal, b2evolution, and boastMachine.

Alternatively, a prospective blogger can start a blog using a site such as LiveJournal or TypePad, both owned by Six Apart, or Blogger, which is owned by Google and which was used to create this blog. The advantage of such web-based tools is that users do not have to own, rent, or configure servers and server software. However, these services may be less flexible, charge a fee, or display advertisements beside blogs hosted on their sites.