PHP Installation

What do You Need?

This tutorial will not explain how to install PHP, MySQL, or Apache Server.

If your server supports PHP - you don't need to do anything! You do not need to compile anything or install any extra tools - just create some .php files in your web directory - and the server will parse them for you. Most web hosts offer PHP support.

However, if your server does not support PHP, you must install PHP. Below is a link to a good tutorial from PHP.net on how to install PHP5:

http://www.php.net/manual/en/install.php
Download PHP

Download PHP for free here: http://www.php.net/downloads.php
Download MySQL Database

Download MySQL for free here: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/index.html
Download Apache Server

Download Apache for free here: http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi

Source: www.w3schools.com

Introduction to PHP

A PHP file may contain text, HTML tags and scripts. Scripts in a PHP file are executed on the server.
What You Should Already Know

Before you continue you should have a basic understanding of the following:

* HTML / XHTML
* Some scripting knowledge

If you want to study these subjects first, find the tutorials on our Home page.
What is PHP?

* PHP stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
* PHP is a server-side scripting language, like ASP
* PHP scripts are executed on the server
* PHP supports many databases (MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc.)
* PHP is an open source software (OSS)
* PHP is free to download and use

What is a PHP File?

* PHP files may contain text, HTML tags and scripts
* PHP files are returned to the browser as plain HTML
* PHP files have a file extension of ".php", ".php3", or ".phtml"

What is MySQL?

* MySQL is a database server
* MySQL is ideal for both small and large applications
* MySQL supports standard SQL
* MySQL compiles on a number of platforms
* MySQL is free to download and use

PHP + MySQL

* PHP combined with MySQL are cross-platform (means that you can develop in Windows and serve on a Unix platform)

Why PHP?

* PHP runs on different platforms (Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.)
* PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.)
* PHP is FREE to download from the official PHP resource: www.php.net
* PHP is easy to learn and runs efficiently on the server side

Where to Start?

* Install an Apache server on a Windows or Linux machine
* Install PHP on a Windows or Linux machine
* Install MySQL on a Windows or Linux machine
Source: www.w3schools.com