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Apache and PHP Install

The document provides a step-by-step guide to installing Apache and PHP on Windows. It outlines getting the right Windows version, installing Apache from binaries rather than source, enabling Apache to process PHP pages by editing the configuration file, installing PHP binaries and configuring the PHP ini file, and testing the installation by creating a simple PHP info page.

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Wiseman Baraka Ordination Mgongolwa
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36 views

Apache and PHP Install

The document provides a step-by-step guide to installing Apache and PHP on Windows. It outlines getting the right Windows version, installing Apache from binaries rather than source, enabling Apache to process PHP pages by editing the configuration file, installing PHP binaries and configuring the PHP ini file, and testing the installation by creating a simple PHP info page.

Uploaded by

Wiseman Baraka Ordination Mgongolwa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Installing Apache and PHP on Windows isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be a process of

trial and error. Learn the tricks you'll need to get started with our guide.

Apache 2 and PHP are popular (and cheap!) choices for creating interactive Web sites.
Installing Apache 2 by itself under Windows is easy, but installing PHP 4 so it runs
without restrictions with Apache 2 is tricky.

It doesn’t help that the PHP 4.3 manual’s Windows installation section is silent on
installing PHP to work with Apache 2, and the section on Apache 2 installation is missing
a lot of the information you need. Other published installation guides contain errors as
well, leaving some installers to resort to trial-and-error methods, such as replacing PHP’s
DLLs with those from another PHP version. But instead of spending hours of frustration
trying to figure it all out, you can follow our simple guide through the maze.

Get the right version of Windows


First, a few words on compatibility: Apache 2 does not run on Windows 95, and it runs
only marginally on Windows 98, where it cannot run at all as a service. Starting with
version 4.3, PHP does not run on Windows 95 either. So, you’re going to need to be
working with Windows NT, 2000, or XP before going any further.

Apache 2: Source or binary?


If you happen to have Visual C++ 5.0 or later or Microsoft Visual Studio, you certainly
can build Apache from source, but that is absolutely the wrong way to get started with
Apache. The build process under Windows is complex even inside the Visual Studio IDE
and hair-raising from the command line. So, unless you just enjoy creating makefiles, you
are better off getting a Windows Installer binary distribution, also known as an .msi file.
By the time you know enough about Apache to know which customisations you need,
you may be ready for the Apache build process.

If you have an earlier version of Apache 2 installed and running, bring it down and
uninstall it before installing your new server. Multiple versions of Apache 2 cannot
coexist.

Double-click the Apache 2 .msi file. After agreeing to the license, you’ll be presented
with the dialog box shown in Figure A.
Figure A

Set the Network Domain and Server Name to something appropriate (e.g., localhost
works fine assuming you aren’t installing Apache onto a remote computer), enter your e-
mail address in the Administrator’s Email Address field, and leave the port 80/service
option radio button selected. Selecting a Typical installation in the next dialog will
provide a no-hassles working install.
Installation tip
I recommend changing the default installation directory from C:\Program Files\Apache
Group to C:\Apache, or something similar that fits the 8.3 filename format. Doing so will
keep you from ever having to write quotes around the path to your Apache installation.

After a few moments, the Installation Wizard will tell you that Apache 2 is installed. The
only thing left to do is test it by opening your browser and browsing to localhost. You
should then see the default Apache 2 Web page.

You can then delete all the sample files in your main Web server directory, which by
default is C:\InstallDirectory\Apache\Apache2\htdocs. If you have an Index.html to copy
here, do so, or you can create a barebones file for yourself. For the HTML uninitiated, the
following code will work fine:

<html>
<head>title=default server page</head>
<body>Default server page</body>
</html>

Getting Apache 2 ready for PHP


From here on, you need a more hands-on approach than just clicking selections in dialog
boxes. Get used to it, it’s the Apache way. You will be editing files to set configuration
switches, and if you don’t do things just right, your changes may prevent Apache from
loading. If a setting triggers an error, there is a chance that the error will be logged to the
Apache 2 error log (by default that’s C:\InstallDir\Apache2\Logs\Error.log). As I said,
there’s a chance but not a high likelihood. It is more likely that the error will be logged
only to the Windows Event log (Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools |
Event Viewer).

Unfortunately, the Windows Event log is not a very convenient tool for debugging
installation settings. It is much more satisfactory to test Apache server loading in a
command line window, where you see error reports right away. So, after making the
configuration changes I’m about to discuss, open up a command line window, navigate to
Apache’s binary directory (C:\InstallDir\Apache2\bin), and start Apache from there.

The Apache configuration file is C:\Apache\Apache2\Conf\Httpd.conf, and it is editable


from your favorite text editor. A search for a setting called DirectoryIndex will bring you
to a line that looks like this:

DirectoryIndex index.html index.html.var # index.php

To enable Apache processing of PHP pages, remove the comment character (#) so that
the line reads:

DirectoryIndex index.html index.html.var index.php


You’ll also need to permit the use of .htaccess files in any directory, so search for an
AllowOverride setting and change it from None to All. You’ll probably want to leave the
file open in your text editor after saving your changes because you’ll need to edit it again
when you install PHP.

Installing PHP
Although you can download PHP’s source, you’ll want to start out with the binaries as
you did with Apache. Apache 2 can run PHP programs in two ways: via a CGI interface
using Php.exe or internally (and faster) using PHP’s DLLs. So, for every PHP version
released, there are two Windows binary packages. The smaller of the two, an .msi
package, installs the CGI executable Php.exe but is missing the modules you need to run
PHP scripts via Apache DLLs. The larger .zip package contains those, and you’ll want to
grab them from the Win32 section of the snaps.php.net Web site. After downloading the
file, unzip it to C:\Php, preserving folder names. Unless you just like flying blind, you
will also want the PHP manual, which is available in a variety of languages.

Configuring Apache 2 to run PHP4


Now for the fun part: getting Apache and PHP to play nice with each other. First, copy all
dlls from C:\Php\Dlls to the Windows system directory. Next, look for the section of
Apache’s configuration file (Httpd.conf) that contains a whole bunch of AddType
commands, and add this one:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

Copy C:\Php\Php.ini-recommended to your Windows directory, rename it to Php.ini, and


open it in a text editor. Edit the lines that set doc_root, extension_dir, and
session.save_path so they look exactly like the following, replacing InstallDir with the
name of the directory where you previously installed Apache 2:

doc_root = c:\apache\apache2\htdocs
extension_dir = c:\php\extensions
session.save_path = c:/temp

You can use a forward or backward slash for the session.save_path. The PHP manual
says these path arguments need trailing backslashes, but it’s incorrect. In PHP 4.3, that is
not the case. You’ll need to create C:\Temp if it doesn’t already exist.

The next step is to enable Apache to run PHP programs as modules, which involves two
steps. First, copy C:\Php\Php4ts.dll to your Windows system folder. Look for the
LoadModule section in Httpd.conf and add this line:

LoadModule php4_module “c:/php/php4apache2.dll”


If, for some reason, you need to enable running PHP programs in CGI mode (using
Php.exe), then comment out the above line and add these lines to Httpd.conf:

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php/"


Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

Now, does it work?


After you save your changes, you’ll need to answer two questions about your Apache
2/PHP 4 setup to make sure everything works as intended: Does Apache load, and does it
process PHP pages correctly?

To find out whether Apache loads, enter this in the command-line window you already
opened:

apache –k start

Alternatively, if Apache is already running, then use the restart command:

apache –k restart

The advantage of starting Apache from a command line is that if there is an error, Apache
will report it immediately. The problem you’re most likely to have if things don’t work
will be that Apache cannot load Php4apache2.dll for some reason. If you see Apache
complaining with this error, try retracing your steps to ensure that you entered all settings
as I described above.

To find out whether Apache is processing PHP pages correctly, use your text editor to
create a simple PHP page, called Phptest.php, containing the following line:

<? phpinfo(); ?>

Save the file to your main Web server directory (C:\InstallDirectory\Apache\Apache2\


Htdocs)and then navigate to http://localhost/phptest.php in your browser. If everything is
working correctly, you’ll see a long page with a PHP logo that includes a bunch of
settings and credits. You’ll be able to tell whether PHP is running through CGI or inside
Apache by checking the environment variable orig_script_name. If PHP is running
through CGI, this variable will be /Php/Php.exe. If Apache is running the PHP script
directly as modules, this variable will read /Phptest.php.
Although installing Apache 2 and PHP on Windows isn’t necessarily easy, it doesn’t
have to be a process of trial and error. With these instructions, you'll be well on your way
to enjoying one of the best, and certainly cheapest, Web development combinations
available to developers today.

Print this | E-mail this | Leave a comment

Peter Brawley and Arthur Fuller, Builder.com | 2003/04/28 09:30:01

Tags: apache | guide | install | installing | php | together | tricks | windows | work
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