I need to run PHP scripts on server without having to update files it stores - perform testing on real server before deployment. Server has access to database which is inaccessible from outside. For this reason I can't run my scripts locally, I need to run them within server's environment, but I don't want to update files stored on server. Is there any way to do so? Is there a tool for remote PHP debugging?
There are several ways to achieve this thing
You can export database from live server and import it to your local server for testing and debugging purpose.
You can Upload code into a separate folder or subdomain on server to connect with database and test with live server configurations. Once you are satisfied replace live files.
I have found a solution - XDebug for PHP. However as was mentioned in comments, testing against copy of DB and using virtualization is a more common approach, which I personally will probably stick to.
For those who are still determined to go the "hard" way, here is a link to HOWTO on XDebug installation for PHP on Ubuntu - http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=525257.
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I am developing a php script locally using XAMPP, it is working on my local server, but after being uploaded to the linux live server, there are many things those won't work. Most of the problems are caused by file path writing.
For example:
require('inc/config.php') working in XAMPP but it does not work on live server or vice versa. So I need to change it to require('config.php') in order to make it able to be called on live server.
That seem like ruining the whole of my works and make the times I invested become useless.
My question:
What's the common solution can I use to prevent that kind of problem? Is using full path to call a file the best practice?
Is there any local development environment for Windows like XAMPP that able to simulate linux server structure, so there will be nothing need to be fixed after finishing development on local server then upload it to linux live server?
Please somebody help..
Best Regards
You don't need to change anything, just in the index.php give your script proper path to your scripts using set_include_path().
In my application i have to deploy my application on client system.
So is there any way to run my php application without installing xampp...
Because the client should access it as a readymade app without installing anything...
This is the description of my project...
We have to develop an application where the client will have our application he will connect to remote server
Then he will download the data from remote server...
Then he uses that downloaded data using that app
Here my requirement is the user may not have the knowledge of installing the xampp...
So is there any way to run the application in user system just by copying some files
U may suggest me a one click solution (like using installer which will include installation of xampp and copying my data into user system)
I really dont want to use any external software to render no database PHP pages so I did some digging and found that if you run php -S localhost:port in your working directory you basically start a server there.
S is a capital S and not s
I'm a big fan of server2go. I've used it to deploy PHP applications on CD/DVD. It comes with MySQL and is relatively easy to configure. I've even replaced their splash screen with my own so no one knows I'm using it. It's donationware, but I was impressed enough to donate:
server2go-web
With this application, you don't have to install all that other stuff. It's self-contained in this executable and directory.
EDIT: To clarify, server2go does not install anything on the client machine. It runs as an exe only when you specifically want it to. When you click on the .exe file, it launches your PHP application in a browser window, then you can right-click on the server2go icon in the system tray and close it when you're done.
EDIT2: One gotcha: if you want to save data to the MySQL db on the client machine, you'll need to copy serve2go to a directory on the client machine or run it on a writable USB stick. If you run this application off CD/DVD, it will be able to read data from the database, but not write.
The better way is to use PHP Desktop Application. It will allow you to run your PHP Script like a Desktop application and you don't need to install Xampp or any other web server to run.
PHP Desktop Application
After downloading the .Zip file unzips it to any folder that you like. After unzipping, Go to the folder, and there you can see a folder "www". Delete all the files contained in it and move all your php script to it.
Once you moved all your files into it. Run the .Exe file named "PHP desktop-chrome"
It will open your PHP Script really like a Desktop Application.
This script doesn't require any kind of server software like Xampp, Wamp, Etc installed in your PC.
You can either host the php application or install the application into one system as server and call in client system using the ip of the server system like the following
http://**ip address/php file name
If you don't want your client to install anything then you should create Client Server architecture, there is no another way.
PHP Application are not meant to be deployed on multiple clients. It's meant to be deployed on a webserver (your own server with sth. like IIS or XAMPP) so the clients can access it via their browser and doesn't have to install anything more.
If you want to deploy applications on the client pc's i recommened an other programming language like Java or C/C++.
I simply used xampp zip version so i copied my application into htdocs and the whole xampp is given to the customer so he simply running the application eazily without installation.
Make sure you have installed php from https://www.php.net/downloads.php. Once installed add it to path. Lastly type php -S localhost:8000
PHP needs to be installed on the machine it is running at in order to make sure it works. Since the app may grow and may require extension installing, PHP upgrading over time, hosting this on a client machine is not a very easy task in terms of management. You may want to host your project on a server and write a small bash script sending requests to the API.
If, for some reason you cannot host this on a server where your clients would send requests via the bash scripts, then you may want to install only PHP. If it does not need to listen to HTTP requests, then you do not need a server, you can just implement the PHP application and create a bash script so the user will be able to run it from the UI of their operating system.
No, you need some kind of server - Wamp, Xampp, etc.
You can host it online, and then he can just browse it from his PC.
When i've worked on Drupal sites before, if there is internal access to the server, or if remote desktop access is available, i've always developed it on the machine it would be ran from when live, and just not made it public on the server.
However, what is the best thing to do if you don't have access to the server yet, for example if the client hasn't got anything in place?
I need to be able to build and test the solution on my local machine, or on my VPS which I have RDP access to, and be able to move it over with as much ease as possible to the clients server when ready.
Any tips or best practices? As far as i'm aware Drupal doesn't have any specific migration tools? I could be wrong though
I don't work with Drupal, but for Prestashop, Wordpress, Zencart, etc. I always use the same workflow:
I setup a vhost in my virtual sever, usually using a subdomain of my own domain (like customer.mydomain.com). Install the software with its DB etc. on the server. Setup FTP access.
I get a local copy of the files, which I maintain in a local git repository, pushing to github for backup purposes mainly.
I work with ZendStudio and configure a remote server and set it up to upload the files when I save them, so I can check them pretty much as if I were working locally. But the main advantage of this approach is that I can share the project with the customer as it progresses.
When I have to move to final server, at least with Wordpress, I have to search/replace the domain name, which wordpress saves on DB. But I do it locally. I download the entire DB as an SQL file through phpmyadmin, open it, searc-replace and upload it again via phpmyadmin to the permanent server.
With ZenCart and others the problem is the config file, which stores some paths. For long projects or long term customers I modify the config file to use some config details or anothers depending on the server name.
adding to the above comment...
Check the "backup and migrate" module and the "backup files" module. "Backup and migrate" is useful in any setup...
with this I was able to do a barebones drupal install and then migrate/replace the database with the one backed up from my local system... if the databases are named differently you will still need to edit the settings.php
"backup files" is useful for themes and content assets like images etc. but is essentially just a wrapper around gzip
I typically develop on my local machine and then upload to server once complete.
All you need to do is change the folder name in /sites/ and change the settings.php file to reflect the server settings/domain.
Something you should be aware of:
If you are uploading files on your local installation, the file paths will be wrong on the server and you will need to execute a one off mysql replace query.
Make sure you use relative paths in any hard coded links.
Is there a way to distribute a PHP program like a desktop app, so that even if the user of the app doesn't have a local server environment setup on there PCs, the app will still work?
I was thinking, if there was some type of portable server environment program which includes PHP/Apache, then we could create a batch file which when clicked would start up apache in the portable program and launch the PHP app in the user's default browser. That way PHP apps could be distributed like desktop apps.
But the question is, is there such a portable server environment program that can be used for this?
Yes, if you google for XAMPP portable, you can find several versions of fully portable, fully functioning xampp servers for the go. You would have to make sure it contains all the security settings and extensions you need.
The file your user launches should be an .html file to be sure it opens in your browser. As you need to point the user to his own localhost to run your app (otherwise PHP won't be executed and he'd see a plain html file), you'd have to create a redirect, possibly using javascript or a simple "click here to start" link.
The XAMPP only provides half of the solution:
In addition to the XAMPP you can use Phar files that give you the ability to package your PHP applications as a unit for installation and/or deployment.
You can configure a separate php file which will handle any database creations and initial configuration which can be set to run on the first time.
For a helpful start guide consider the following link:
http://phpmaster.com/packaging-your-apps-with-phar/
Finally if you want to make it seamless (easier) to the user, consider writing a Batch script which will handle running some of the task required (Such as starting apache and mysql and running run.php). Take note of using relative rather than absolute directories to make script development easier.
I am currently working on a web application that uses PHP and MySQL, but I do not have shell access to the server (working on that problem already...). Currently, I have source control with subversion on my local computer and I have a database on the local computer that I make all changes to. Then, once I've tested all the updates on my local computer I deploy the site manually. I use filezilla to upload the updated files and then dump my local database and import it on the deployment server.
Obviously, my current solution is not anywhere near ideal. For one major thing, I need a way to avoid copying my .svn files... Does anyone know what the best solution for this particular setup would be? I've looked into Capistrano a bit and Ant, but both of those look like it would be a problem that I do not have shell access...
I'm using Weex to synchronize a server via FTP. Weex is basically a non-interactive FTP client that automatically uploads and deletes files/directories on the remote server. It can be configured to not upload certain paths (like SVN directories), as well as to keep certain remote paths (like Log directories).
Unfortunately I have no solution at hand to synchronize MySQL databases as well...
Maybe you could log your database changes in "SQL patch scripts" (or use complete dumps), upload those with Weex and call a remote PHP script that executes the SQL patches afterwards.
I use rsync in production but you could do this:
Add a config table into your site to hold what level of DB you are currently at.
During development, store each set of SQL changes into a single file (I use something like delta_X-up.sql). These will stay in your SVN as well. So, for example, if you are at delta_5 and add a table between the current release and the new release, all the SQL needed will be put in delta_6-up.sql
When it comes time to build, export the repo instead of using a checkout. This lets you ignore all the SVN cruft that comes along since you won't need that into production.
Use Weex to push those changes into production (this would be were I would use rsync but you don't have that option). Call a remote script that checks your config DB to see what delta level you are currently at, parse the directory with you delta_x-up.sql files and see if there are any new ones. If there are, read them and run the SQL inside.
You can do a subversion export (rather than checkout) to different directory from your working copy, then it will remove all the .svn stuff for you