PHP
By Web Monkey
Page 3 — Installing PHP
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Phew! Hopefully you've got MySQL all up and running by now.
That was almost fun! Now for PHP ... This process is slightly
easier, but the array of options is dazzling. Don't be daunted,
though. You can always go back later and recompile PHP to
add or remove options as needed.
The home of PHP is http://www.php.net/. The PHP site is a
mine of information, from project listings to bug reports.
As with MySQL, you should choose a nearby mirror. Obviously
you'll want the Downloads section to get PHP. I'll be taking
you through an installation of PHP3. To learn how to tackle
PHP4, read Webmonkey Julie's detailed PHP4 installation instructions.
Your range of options here is a little more limited. A few
precompiled binaries are available, but these are experimental.
If you're on anything except a Windows platform, grab the
source code and compile it yourself.
But first let's cover Windows. When using PHP, a common practice
is to develop on a Windows machine and then run your site
on a Unix server. It may end up that you will do this yourself,
which means you need to be proficient in installing on both
platforms.
Let's grab the Windows binary and uncompress it using our
favorite Zip decompression tool into a directory on your C
drive called php3. The supplied README file deals with the
installation in some detail, but here's the Reader's Digest
version: If you want to install PHP to a folder other than
C:\php3, you'll need to edit the .inf file that comes with
PHP.
In the php3 directory, you'll find a lot of .dll files. Take
all the .dll files that don't begin with php_ and move them
into your \windows\system directory. Then rename php.ini-dist
to php3.ini and move it into your \windows directory. If you
open up that file, you'll see there are lots of interesting
things to change. For now just "uncomment" the line:
extension=php3_mysql.dll
If you're using Apache for Win32, set up Apache to recognize
and parse PHP files. Depending on the version of Apache you're
using, you'll need to add the following to either the httpd.conf
or srm.conf file:
ScriptAlias
/php3/"c:/path-to-php-dir/"
AddType application/x-httpd-php3 .php3
Action application/x-httpd-php3"/php3/php.exe"
Or if you're using IIS or PWS, right-click on php_iis_reg.inf
and select 'Install'. You'll need to reboot for IIS to see
this change.
OK, now that Windows is out of the way, let's get to Unix.
Of course, we'll be compiling from source code. As with MySQL,
download and unpack the source code. Again, PHP comes with
a configure script. You can't get away with going for defaults
here, though. Run ./configure -help | more to see pages and
pages of new and interesting options. You have to decide between
compiling as a CGI or as an Apache module. If you are using
the Apache Web server and you are able to recompile it, use
the module: It's faster and easier to use. Otherwise, you
can go with the CGI version. We also need to compile in MySQL
support.
For now we'll assume that we're running the module with MySQL
support. If you want to add other options or other libraries,
you can do this later. Type:
./configure
--with-apache=/path/to/apache/dir --with-mysql=/usr/local/mysql
Skip the -with-apache option if you're creating a CGI version.
The configure process will run and produce the relevant system
files. Now simply type make again.
It's time for another coffee. If you start feeling a bit
nervous and shaky at this point, don't worry about it. We
all get a little anxious during our first PHP install. Have
some more coffee.
If you've created a CGI version, you're now ready to roll.
Simply copy the resulting executable file into your CGI file.
For Apache module users, type make install to copy files to
your Apache directory. From there, follow the instructions
to add a module to Apache and recompile.
You'll need to tell your Web server how to process pages
through the PHP program now. If you're not using Apache, you'll
need to check your Web server documentation on how to get
it to process documents with a .php3 extension. Apache 1.3.x
users can simply add AddType application/x-httpd-php3 .php3
to the httpd.conf or srm.conf file. If you're using the CGI
version, you'll need to add the following before AddType:
ScriptAlias
/php3/"/path-to-php-dir/" AddType application/x-httpd-php3
.php3 Action application/x-httpd-php3"/php3/php"
That's it. With any luck, you've now got MySQL running and
PHP functioning. Don't forget to check the FAQs and documentation
if you get stuck. Also try the mailing lists.
Now that we've managed all that, lets put this stuff in motion!
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