Hello,
Thursday, June 9, 2005, 1:47:41 PM, you wrote:
aan> 1st issue. When I installed Apache, the installation program
aan> self-configures. Since I use a permanent, broadband connection, I
aan> think Apache detected it and assumed I was using Apache as a Web
aan> sever. How can I fix this?
I would not recommend running Apache as a service on XP if it's just
your development machine and you like doing other things on this PC
like playing games, etc :) Uninstall Apache. Get the latest 1.3 build
of it, install it and pick to choose all the settings yourself. Fill
the basics in (host name, etc) but do NOT set it to run as a service.
Complete the installation.
aan> 2nd issue. I downloaded and extracted PHP 5.0.4-Win 32. Although
aan> I read the installation instructions, I have no clue how to
aan> install it. There are several files and I don't know which to
aan> execute to install PHP. Or which file (if any) to configure.
"Install" PHP 4 and 5
---------------------
Grab the ZIP versions of PHP 4 and PHP 5 - do NOT get the
"installers", they're not worth the time and will only serve to
confuse you as to what has happened on your PC.
Create a local folder, perhaps something like:
D:\dev
Unzip PHP4 and 5 into this folder, so you have:
D:\dev\php-4.3.11
D:\dev\php-5.0.4
Edit the PHP INI files
----------------------
Go into each folder and find the php.ini-dist file. Take a copy of it
and call it php4.ini. Do the same for php5.ini
Open up these files into Notepad. You can leave most of the settings
as they are, but find this one extension_dir and change it:
extension_dir = "D:\dev\php-4.3.11\extensions"
Do the same for the php5.ini (obviously the path will be different)
Also decide which extensions you want enabled. For example you may
want to un-comment
;extension=php_gd2.dll
to enable GD graphics support. Just remove the ;
For the PHP5 ini file you need to un-comment the php_mysqli.dll
extension if you want to use the new MySQLi commands (recommended).
Copy to the Windows directory
-----------------------------
Save both of your ini files. Copy them both to the C:\Windows
directory.
Now copy these files into C:\Windows as well:
php4ts.dll (from the PHP4 folder)
php5ts.dll (from the PHP5 folder)
You should now have 4 PHP files in your Windows folder. Don't run
anything yet - it still won't work, we're getting there...
Configure Apache
----------------
Go into C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\conf
Make a copy the httpd.conf file and call it httpd_php4.conf
Make another copy, call it httpd_php5.conf
Open up the httpd_php4.conf in Notepad. Find the LoadModule section
and add this to the bottom of the list:
LoadModule php4_module "D:/dev/php-4.3.11/sapi/php4apache.dll"
Scroll down to the AddModule section and add this to the bottom:
AddModule mod_php4.c
Now scroll to the very bottom of this file and before the
<VirtualHost> block starts, add this:
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
<IfModule mod_mime.c>
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps
</IfModule>
Locate the "DirectoryIndex" value. It will have index.html,
add index.php to it:
DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
Finally make sure that NameVirtualHost is NOT commented and looks like
this:
NameVirtualHost *
Add this line under it:
Include "conf/sites.conf"
Save your file.
Repeat for PHP 5
----------------
Do ALL of the above, but this time do it to the httpd_php5.conf file.
You will need to use different LoadModule and AddModule lines, they
are:
LoadModule php5_module "D:/dev/php-5.0.4/php5apache.dll"
AddModule mod_php5.c
Everything else is the same however. Save this file.
Set Apache to handle local web sites
------------------------------------
To set Apache up to handle different web sites create a blank file in
the conf folder called sites.conf - open it up into Notepad. Add an
entry like so:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName bgs.dev
DocumentRoot D:\usr\home\bgs\public_html
</VirtualHost>
ServerName is the domain name you wish to type in to access this site
locally. Do NOT use proper domain names! But rather if you are working
on a site called "phprocks.com" then put the ServerName as
"phprocks.dev"
Change the DocumentRoot to point to a location on your PC where your
web files FOR THAT SITE live. This can be anywhere.
Save this file (make sure it is called sites.conf and not
sites.conf.txt)
Nearly there!
-------------
Go into this folder (on XP):
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
Open the file called hosts into Notepad.
Add 1 line to it, at the bottom:
127.0.0.1 phprocks.dev
(change the domain to reflect whatever you added tot he ServerName
above)
Save this file.
Last step:
----------
Go into your D:\dev folder. Create a blank text file called
go-php4.bat. Edit it in Notepad, add this:
@copy /Y "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\conf\httpd_php4.conf" "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\conf\httpd.conf"
@copy /Y "C:\WINDOWS\php4.ini" "C:\WINDOWS\php.ini"
@start "Apache" "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\Apache.exe" -w
Save the file. Create another called go-php5.bat, add this:
@copy /Y "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\conf\httpd_php5.conf" "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\conf\httpd.conf"
@copy /Y "C:\WINDOWS\php5.ini" "C:\WINDOWS\php.ini"
@start "Apache" "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\Apache.exe" -w
Save it.
In the text above make 100% sure that the paths are correct. For
example if your Windows directory is called something else, change it
in the batch files above.
Test it!
--------
You may wish to create a Desktop short-cut to each batch file and just
rename them PHP4 and PHP5. Now double-click one. A console window
should open and if you haven't done anything wrong ;) it will say
"Apache/1.3.33 (Win32) PHP/5.0.4 running..."
Open up a web browser and go to: http://phprocks.dev
Your site will now appear. To close down Apache just bring up the
console window and press CTRL-C (give it a few seconds, it does a
clean shut-down). To swap to PHP4 hit the PHP4 shortcut icon instead.
Add New Sites
-------------
To add a new local web site simply edit the sites.conf file and the
hosts file. Make sure they both match-up re: the domain name you use.
You need to restart Apache each time you edit the sites.conf file (but
NOT if all you do is edit the hosts file).
To install a new version of PHP
-------------------------------
Download it. Unzip it into a new folder D:\dev\php-5.0.5, copy the ini
file and php5ts.dll files out following the steps above and voila..
you've just upgraded to the latest version without breaking a sweat.
I know this all sounds like a lot of work, but you only need do it
once and it's really quite easy. When finished you'll have a fully
working local web server with a switchable PHP4/5 installation that
will work just like a real web server does, only with "fake" domain
names.
I've used this method for years now - infact my scripts will detect if
they're running on a .dev domain name and if they are they know to
load up require files from my PCs path rather than that of the live
web server. Having Apache run in a console window for development can
be really useful and you simply don't need the overhead of it sat
there running as a service all the time IMHO. You can install MySQL
onto your PC and both PHP4 and 5 will use it quite happily.
Mail me if you get stuck anywhere.
Best regards,
Richard Davey
--
http://www.launchcode.co.uk - PHP Development Services
"I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them." - Isaac Asimov
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