Best PHP download to keep all my options open? - php

In the past, I used WAMPserver on windows to parse PHP for me. This is a pre-configured package, focussed on working with MySQL.
When I tried to run PostgreSQL, I got error messages that said that my version of PHP wasn't compiled to work with PostgreSQL.
So, I've recently uninstalled WAMP and every associated with it. I've downloaded Apache 2.2.11 with openSSL, installed as admin(you know, run the command prompt as administrator, cd to the directory where the download was done and have it executed, so the install was done as admin).
That's that. I now have Apache installed, "it works" shows up, so I'm that far.
Now I'm wondering, do I download the exe and install, or the zip, or something else.
What is the best thing to do to make sure that the PHP on my system can handle everything I can ever throw at it?
Also, PHP first, or MySQL/Postgre first.
And lastly, what about PEAR? I need PEAR installed, which isn't standard on Windows. I'm guessing the pear.bat file in the PHP downloads will do that for me?
EDIT: I see one close vote, yet no comment as to why. It makes me wonder how people who are so lazy and rude got to have somany points.

I would recommend downloading the zip package, as configuring php is not really that difficult, and it allows you to add features as needed.
As for whether first to install php or MySQL/PostgreSQL, - it does not really matter. You can install them in any order.
Your guess regarding PEAR is quite correct

i haven't used wamp before, so i can't comment on that
i do however use xampp which sounds very similar
in xampp if i want to enable postgres support i edit the php.ini file and uncomment the postgres section of the ini file, same with any of the extensions that i need
perhaps this might be an alternative you can try if you get stuck

There are many ways to setup a HTTP server/PHP/database machine. Sometimes the behaviour of your development setup will differ from the live server's.
I would recommend finding out the setup your web host is using, then getting a vmware appliance image that fits that as close as possible and get any additional software using it's package manager (which is easier that installing stuff on Windows).
Setup a file sharing link between the VM and the host, make sure you can view the VM's port 80 in a browser running in your host OS and you're set.

Related

Need help in configuring WAMP (phpMyAdmin)

So I have been looking on the net for hours now and I can't solve my problem.
I have wamp installed (WampServer Version 3.1.7 64bit).
I want to open phpMyAdmin through wamp. (I have the phpMyAdmin5.0.2 installed and phpMyAdmin.conf is configured).
I have several php versions installed.(this was done through the process of trying to fix the solution alone).
When I try to open phpMyAdmin I get this error message: [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZEMaX.png .
I have tried configuring php.ini file (by de-commenting mysqli) it didn't change a thing.
Here's my php.ini file joined in the google drive link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fQuVoh5vhRX-MHhYL3zMQ4xNkstO-4Ch/view?usp=sharing .
I have configured extension_dir tp the php/ext folder.
I have similary configured my windows path to the php/ext.
Nothing I try works. Any help is welcome.
Thank you.
Since you're using WAMP, which should include all the pieces you need already working, but also have several PHP versions installed, it sounds like you're installing more than you need which is causing conflicts.
Assume you have no data in your database or web pages that you need to preserve, I suggest removing everything; get rid of WAMP and any extra Apache, PHP, or MySQL/MariaDB installations you have. Clean up (delete or move out of the way) any leftover configuration files, then reinstall WAMP. If you have trouble after installing only WAMP and no other PHP installation, then report back here details of the error. WAMP should come to you working and all ready to go, so if there is a problem, it will be helpful to start from a known base installation without extra configuration files or executable that will cause conflicts.
I'll also point out that the very top of the file you posted states that it's used only for the PHP Command Line Interface, so this is not the configuration file used by anything running through your webserver (like phpMyAdmin or your site). It's a little confusing that there are really two PHP instances (one for the command line and one that runs through the webserver), but in this case you would be looking for the file in wamp/bin/apache/apache2.x.y/bin/php.ini

Code only works if I use the Xdebug extension

When I started my latest project I learned how to use the xdebug extension and I have been using it ever since. Now I am ready to spin up a server and go in to production with this project and my site doesn't fully work. The frontend pages seem to work, which are php based as well, but the backend endpoints that query the database and return some data to the frontend always are returning a 500 status code. So I attach xdebug and figure out how to run it remotely and the pages all start working without any code changes. I go in to the php.ini file and turn it back off and the pages continue to work. Since this is an AWS EC2 server, I delete the instance and create a new one running the same initialization scripts I wrote to install all the software and I get the exact same issue. The server doesn't work until I follow the xdebug install instructions and restart apache2. And like before even when I unattach the xdebug extension via the php.ini file, the code continues to work. Even after the system is rebooted it still continues to work so whatever is being fixed appears to be permanent.
What would building and attaching the xdebug extension, and restarting Apache2, do to the a LAMP stack that would make my code work, even after the extension has been turned off? My server is being built with scripts that run various apt-get install commands with no binaries provided by me as it all is community provided programs. Like clockwork it breaks every time I rebuild the machine until I apply the extension. I can automate that in to my build scripts if I have to, but it is driving me a bit nuts that I don't understand what is happening.
When the server sends a 500 error, normally you get an entry to the php_error.log. So first check this file. Maybe there is some difference in memory limits, max. post variables etc.
I would suggest you to try to find calls of any xdebug specific functions such as var_dump() or any prefixed by xdebug_ in your code:
https://xdebug.org/docs/all_functions
What would building and attaching the xdebug extension, and restarting Apache2, do to the a LAMP stack that would make my code work, even after the extension has been turned off?
Installing one piece of software can bring with it another. If you sudo apt install php-xdebug without php installed, it will install php.

Multiple versions of Apache installed and conflicting

I started trying to create a website which uses PHP on an old computer (previously used by another programmer).
I wanted to test my PHP code without uploading it each time, so I downloaded Apache and installed it. I was starting to set Apache up when I discovered this computer already had Apache on it.
Now I had multiple versions of Apache, so I went into add/remove programs and got rid of Apache (which only showed up once in the list).
Unfortunately windows decided it would uninstall the old version and keep mine which was not functioning properly. Also for whatever reason it seemed to have kept a good few files from the old version, but not enough that I could actually use it in any way. I believe it just had some configurations files.
I thought I would copy my files from the new version into the old version and not replace anything so hopefully I would be able to run under the older configurations, but that didn't work.
At this point I just wanted to cut my losses, so I put all the versions of Apache in an archive so there was no way the computer could be using them. I also removed Apache from the windows startup and rebooted the computer after configuring one single version of the newer copy of Apache to supposedly run PHP.
The problem is upon startup I could immediately log in to localhost and apache was already running. Also when I opened Apache manually from the files I had left unzipped, it only gives me the option to start Apache (not an option to stop or restart implying it is not running) and when I click it, it says "The requested operation has failed!" which is less than helpful.
So anyway, I just want to be able to run PHP locally and now I don't feel like I can even successfully uninstall and start from scratch anymore. Does anyone know what I have to do to get this to work? Sorry for the long description, I wove such a tangled knot.
One way to solve is use a XAMP (Apache + MySQL + PHP) client like XAMPP http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html brings it all set up for you to use. The problem of conflict can be caused by any IDE (Netbeans for example) that already carries a version of Apache.
Try to configure config files of Apache case exist.
Assumption: Running Windows OS for development and linux for production environment.
My recommendation is to not mix the Windows and Linux worlds as while they can be made to behave after lots of work, it is usually more pain than good.
Instead, as a humble windows and linux user, download and install Virtualbox [https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads], a free open source virtualisation tool.
Then download a linux distribution of your choice and install that into a new virtual machine.
Configure the linux tools inside linux and leave your windows machine relatively untouched.
A useful linux service to install would be Samba - windows file sharing - you can use this to edit your code in windows using any IDE of your choice, while saving directly to linux and testing through linux. When happy, upload from the linux system (again like any other file uploader) and all will be well.
If you are deploying to a linux based environment in your production service then this will help you avoid common mistakes such as case-sensitivity trouble and many others.
Building and running this system is free and it will help teach you more about the linux environment you are deploying to also.
Equally, when you don't have the virtual machine booted, there's no services lying around exposing your computer to possible local network threats and consuming resources - as opposed to installing Apache on Windows where it will be using some resources all the time.

How to bundle a php application with 1 click run/install

I create php application for small businesses. Some of the clients may prefer running the app on a local server, therefore my requirement is to create/bundle an app with apache/mysql/php with all the necessary confirguration and one click executable (be it a batch file) such that when the user opens it, it runs the apache server on some port say localhost:1234 and mysql as well.
and opens up the application in the default web browser.
To be more exact, Im looking for something like http://www.simpleinvoices.org/go, check their Simple Invoices for Windows which come budled with apache/php/mysql.
P.S - Im not sure if this question should be at SO or Superuser.
If you actually want to install a web server and a SQL server then Lars' solution would be a way to go. On windows you can generate a .msi installer containing the dependencies you need (like WAMP). An installer executable would be a cleaner solution than a batch file in my opinion, as it will also provide the user with an option to uninstall your software if they wish.
If you want to distribute your application in a standalone version, then you might also want to check a solution like NuSphere's PHPDock - http://www.nusphere.com/products/phpdock.htm
I had the same challenge and came across Uniform Server:
http://www.uniformserver.com/
You download it, add your application to it, start it and everything runs. Lovely.
Superuser would have been better. But depending on your requirements, you should just create a package to install. On windows, package it with WAMP, on linux, package it with either one-click-install or creating packages for the two biggest systems, namely APT and RPM. With the dependency-system on all of them you can make sure, that your application runs right off the bat.
PHP Desktop is the best option I found when researching this.
https://github.com/cztomczak/phpdesktop
PHP Nightrain is also an option:
https://download.cnet.com/PHP-Nightrain/3000-10248_4-76169308.html
Bitnami WAMP stack looks good as well:
https://docs.bitnami.com/installer/infrastructure/wamp/

Using Mamp or another package vs manually enabling PHP and installing MySQL on Mac 10.6

What are the benefits of installing mamp or another package vs enabling php in httpd.conf and manually installing mysql? I am really not sure of which option is better and would love some info.
Thanks,
MAMP and other packages are usually pre-configured and come with other tools like phpMyAdmin, SQLite Manager, SSL, code optimizers. If you think you're handy enough to do what others have done, go ahead. But it'll save you a lot of time and trouble by grabbing what's already available.
I've used MAMP for over two years now and I love it.
For me, I didn't want to configure PHP and MySQL with Apache. On my old computer I installed MySQL and then phpMyAdmin and had a lot of fun trying to get it all working. (But I'm not good with terminal and bash commands)
I installed MAMP on my new computer just because it does all the work for me. When I want to debug a php script, I just fire up my local server and make a few changes.
Imo, MAMP/WAMP = Easy get up and go in a development environment.
If you are running a business critical app, you may be better off with a LAMP stack

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