start php, apache?

Question

I've just started reading about php, it needs me to install php, apache and MySql to run any php script. can any one suggest me a simplest method to install php, apache and MySql so that i can sun those php script. I've tried the zip files from php.net, Are those required to run the script offline for practicing the script? what do i do with them? i felt the things given on the same site a bit complex, and was unable to run the script. please help.

Answer 1

I'm assuming you're using Windows - get wamp - it has exactly what you need:

• Apache
• MySQL
• PHP

Wamp comes with a nifty tray controller app which you can use to access the most common tasks, like restarting services, editing config, etc.

Answer 2

Equivalent to Artem's post, just a different organization which packages it differently. And my preference. It is called XAMPP.

Answer 3

If you are using Windows, you could install XAMPP to have the environment setup for you. You'll then need to learn how to bring up the server (basically executing the XAMPP control panel program), copy your PHP scripts into the correct directories (for XAMPP, it'd be C:/[xampp installation dir]/htdocs), access MySQL and creating the necessary MySQL databases (you could access the MySQL via the included PhpMyAdmin).

You can probably refer to a tutorial here (it's a YouTube video, BTW).

Answer 4

Don't have enough rep to comment but wanted to add something to Artem's recommendation of Wampserver. It's what I use on my windows machine, and one of the nicest things about it I find is the ability to have multiple versions of versions of apache, php and mysql installed alongside each other as plug-ins and then select which to have running at any time. It makes it easy for me to emulate the eventual hosting environment for any given project.