What's a good way to approaching this? I would like to create a local database, just on my laptop (for now), so that I can teach myself some PHP and how to interact with databases.
... preferably a free approach...
Thanks, Hristo
+1
A:
Just grab it and start playing...
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/
php from http://www.php.net - which will probably be best used with Apache - http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi
hope that helps,
John.
jbeynon
2010-02-10 17:48:40
I agree: this is the best way to learn. It's easy enough you'll wonder what's the fuss about - just follow the instructions.
djn
2010-02-10 19:47:28
+4
A:
XAMPP is the way to go. It's very easy to set up and get working in no time, and you can just turn off all the services and turn on MySQL and you'll be good to go.
Trying to install and configure a MySQL official install is a nightmare (or at least, was last time I tried it). XAMPP is prepackaged and can be running in a matter of minutes, yet is a real MySQL install so there's no cost to this user-friendliness.
Ricket
2010-02-10 17:49:01
+1
A:
The old standby is XAMPP, but anymore I'd give Zend Server CE a shot. If you're running on Windows or OSX it includes MySQL. If you're running linux, you'll still need to install mysql, but depending on your distribution that's as easy as a line in terminal.
From what I remember of XAMPP, it's relatively easy to configure, and has the benefit of a portable installation to a USB stick. I find Zend Server CE attractive with its web based status/monitoring tools and ZF integration.
Either one would meet your needs. If you're running on Windows I would suggest whatever you choose, don't try to install php manually. I've found that it's quite the painful process.
Tim Lytle
2010-02-10 17:52:32
Do I have access to MySQL via the command line if I were to take the Zend Server approach?
Hristo
2010-02-10 18:21:06
+1 for Zend Server CE. It's a nicely packaged bundle. It includes a full install of MySQL, which I assume includes the command line options, but I've never actually used that.
Sonny
2010-02-10 18:22:52
Is this a replacement for the Apache Server? Meaning... if I install Zend, that will take care of PHP and MySQL installations and provide a server?I'm not sure if I'm wording that correctly.
Hristo
2010-02-10 18:29:18
+1
A:
If you have a Mac, it's fairly easy, because Apache 2 is preinstalled, MySQL is fairly straightforward to install, and someone built an easy Mac package for PHP. There are a few extra steps, but nothing intense. I don't like MAMP because I have to keep an extra app open.
spamguy
2010-02-10 18:14:03
A:
If you just want a database to play around with have a look at SQLite
SQLite is a software library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine.
If you want PHP though, you'll need Apache or IIS (does PWS still exist? It's a long time since I used Windows) go with one of the other suggestions
meouw
2010-02-10 18:48:17