PHP question.

Thorbar

Is there anyway to run php code on your computer other then setting up a personal web server and installing php on it? The server that's hosting my web site already has php installed on it but I can't ftp to from behide my workplace firewall. I'm just curious are there any programs out there that will take php code and run it for you as if it were running on a server.

I'm running windows xp on my work computer how difficult a task would it be to set up a personal web server and install php?

Sorry if this topic has poped up a few times already, I did a search and couldn't spot any threads relating to it.

McGyver

Yep...you can get a win32 copy of PHP...I have never used it tho'

The first place to check is the official PHP downloads page
which is located here :
http://www.php.net/downloads.php

A couple versions exist there and are described as such.
A few packages exist that install PHP along with related
technologies such as Apache and Mysql. Many of these are
listed here :
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Installation_Kits/

Many packages make it very easy to install so if you're a
newbie to PHP and/or Sysadmin work in general, they may
be for you. Be sure to edit/understand :
php.ini (PHP Configurations)
httpd.conf (Apache (web server) Configurations)

Also, keep in mind the following locations :
Mailing list Archives :
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=php-windows

PHP/Windows related information :
http://www.php4win.com/

PHP Windows Installation :
http://php.net/manual/en/install-windows.php

PHP Configurations :
http://www.php.net/manual/en/configurations.php

Good luck.

cherrio

Hi,

its not that difficult. I have done it a few time. I got Apache 1.3.27 with PHP 4.3.1 running on my machine (Windows XP).

1st, you need to install Apache, http://httpd.apache.org (goto downloads and get the windows binary)

Just a suggestion, but partion your HD if you haven't already and give one entire partion to the webserver. Of couser you don't have to and can install it on C drive no problems.


2nd, need to get the PHP binary from the PHP website ( http://ie.php.net/get/php-4.3.2-Win32.zip/from/this/mirror ).


3rd. Install Apache. (Install it into the base / root folder, i.e. c:\ It will create a folder called "Apache".

4th, Install PHP, the hard part. Follow the instructions in the install file. They can be a bit confusing. But essentiall all you are doing is copying the php.ini file to the "system32" folder, a couple of DLLs as well.

After that just a quick change to the httpd.conf, restart and your ready to go!

Thorbar

This is on my work pc so I really don't want to make a balls of it, what are the chances of this resulting in a big performance hit to my computer or forcing me to do a format?

[edit]Also I want to make sure noone else can access the server and that there are no security issues with setting up the server on my computer, basically I just want an enviroment that I can run php files on to learn it in my spare time at work.[/edit]

McGyver

This is on my work pc so I really don't want to make a balls of it, what are the chances of this resulting in a big performance hit to my computer or forcing me to do a format?

That really depends if you are a clieless user :rolleyes:

It will be a disk space issue....Apache and PHP are large, but it will only be a performance issue when you are running the server...and even then it would be low.

Thorbar

I'm not "clieless" but you'll understand that I don't want to mess up a machine that doesn't belong to me.

cherrio

In terms of Disk space, Apache + PHP combinied only tabke up about 18meg (excluding Apache Manual).

In terms of system resources, you wont even notice unless you are running a P II or something ancient. Of course bad coding (i.e. endless loops) can kill your comp all right.

cherrio

Im running Apache, PHP, MySQL and Perl. Doesn't slow my comp at all.

Thorbar

Alright thanks for the help lads, think I'll go ahead and install this. One last question, I'm on the company lan is there anyway to make sure noone else can see the apache server running on my comp either inside or outside the firewall?

cherrio

Outside hte firewall, no (well probably no!)

Inside the firewall, Yes. If they went to your IP they would see te index.html file thats in the HTDOCS folder.

Ofcourse you can fix this by simply banning all IPs but 127.0.0.1 (your own loop back ip) in the httpd.conf file.

seamus

Yep, there's a config option to let you choose who can and cannot gain access to the server, so you'd want to set that to only allow you (localhost) access. But, people connecting to your machine, will still get an "Access Denied" message, so......

.....you can also change which port it runs on, so people would have to specify the exact port to get through. So set it to port 25545 for example, and anyone (even checking from your machine) would have to connect to http://127.0.0.1:25545 to get to your server.

Also, by not having your server run on standard HTTP ports (79, 80, 8080, or 3128), you'll probably avoid most basic internal security audits.

peterd

You might want to have a look at Firepages

mneylon

Originally posted by peterd
You might want to have a look at Firepages

I'd second that