How To Install PHP & What Are Web Servers - PHP 8 Tutorial
Summary
TLDRThis video guide walks viewers through setting up a local PHP development environment using XAMPP, which bundles Apache, PHP, and MySQL. It explains the basics of web servers, how they process requests, and the importance of virtual hosts. The tutorial also touches on the limitations of all-in-one solutions like XAMPP for professional development and production environments, but recommends it for beginners and hobbyists. The video concludes with a demonstration of creating a simple 'Hello World' PHP file in the document root and emphasizes the need for a code editor for PHP development.
Takeaways
- 🛠️ Setting up a local development environment for PHP is essential before writing any code.
- 🌐 A web server can be hardware, software, or both, and is responsible for processing HTTP requests and serving web pages.
- 📚 Understanding how web servers work is important, especially when learning PHP, as they are the backbone of web applications.
- 📈 Web servers can host multiple websites using virtual hosts, sharing resources across different sites.
- 🔍 Browsers communicate with web servers by sending requests and receiving responses, which can be inspected using developer tools.
- 💡 Common errors like '404' occur when a requested file is not found, and can be observed in the browser's developer tools.
- 🔑 Two popular web servers are Apache and Nginx, each with their own advantages and suitable for different use cases.
- 👍 All-in-one solutions like XAMPP, MAMP, and WAMP simplify PHP setup by bundling necessary components and handling configurations.
- 🚫 XAMPP is not recommended for production environments due to security and flexibility limitations.
- 🛑 When setting up XAMPP, ensure no other services are using the default ports to avoid conflicts.
- 📁 The 'htdocs' directory in XAMPP is the document root where PHP project files should be placed for the web server to serve them.
- 💻 A code editor is necessary for writing PHP code efficiently; options like Sublime Text, VS Code, and PHPStorm are recommended.
Q & A
What is the purpose of setting up a local development environment for PHP?
-The purpose of setting up a local development environment for PHP is to allow developers to write, test, and debug PHP code on their own computers before deploying it to a live server.
What is a web server and what role does it play in serving web pages?
-A web server is either a hardware or software system, or both, that stores web server software, source code, and other files. It processes incoming requests using protocols like HTTP, which browsers use to view web pages, and serves the appropriate content in response.
How can a single web server host multiple websites?
-A single web server can host multiple websites using a feature called virtual hosts. This allows the server to allocate and share resources across multiple websites, even on the same server.
What happens when a browser requests a file from a web server?
-When a browser requests a file, the web server processes the request. If it can locate the file, it responds with the content. If not, it responds with a 404 status code indicating the file was not found.
How can we inspect the requests made by a browser to a web server?
-We can inspect the requests made by a browser to a web server by opening developer tools in the browser, either by right-clicking and selecting 'Inspect Element' or by pressing F12.
What are the two most common web servers used for PHP development?
-The two most common web servers used for PHP development are Apache and Nginx.
Why might a beginner choose an all-in-one solution like XAMPP for PHP development?
-A beginner might choose an all-in-one solution like XAMPP because it bundles the web server, PHP, a database, and other tools, handling the configuration automatically, making it easy for beginners to start PHP development quickly.
What are some limitations of using an all-in-one solution like XAMPP for PHP development?
-Limitations of using XAMPP include a lack of flexibility, such as not being able to have multiple PHP versions installed at once, difficulty managing multiple projects, and security issues that make it unsuitable for production environments.
What is the document root in the context of a web server like XAMPP?
-The document root is the directory where the web server, such as XAMPP's Apache, looks for files to serve to clients. In XAMPP, this is typically the 'htdocs' directory.
What is the significance of the 'index.php' file in a web server's document root?
-The 'index.php' file is significant because the web server will look for this file in the document root to serve as the default page for a directory. If found, the server will use it to display the website; if not, it may list the directory contents.
Why is it recommended to use a code editor when writing PHP code?
-It is recommended to use a code editor when writing PHP code because they provide features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and error detection that improve the coding experience and productivity, unlike basic text editors like Notepad.
Outlines
🛠️ Setting Up a Local PHP Development Environment
This paragraph introduces the need for a local development environment to write PHP and discusses the concept of web servers, which are essential for running PHP. It explains that a web server can be hardware, software, or both, and is responsible for processing incoming HTTP requests and serving web pages. The paragraph also covers virtual hosts, which allow a single server to host multiple websites by sharing resources. A diagram is mentioned to illustrate the communication process between the client and server, including the common 404 status code response when a file is not found. The viewer is encouraged to explore this process using developer tools in their browser. The paragraph concludes by mentioning the two most common web servers, Apache and Nginx, and introduces the concept of all-in-one solutions like XAMPP, MAMP, and WAMP, which simplify the setup process for beginners. It also touches on the limitations of such solutions, such as the inability to run multiple PHP versions simultaneously and the challenges of managing multiple projects and upgrading PHP versions.
📝 Exploring XAMPP and PHP Project Structure
The second paragraph delves into the practical aspects of setting up a PHP environment using XAMPP, which bundles a web server, PHP, and a database, making it beginner-friendly. It addresses common issues like port conflicts when other services are running on the same port and suggests solutions like changing the port or stopping the conflicting service. The paragraph guides the viewer through accessing XAMPP's control panel, starting and stopping services, and editing configurations. It introduces the 'htdocs' directory as the document root where source code and project files should be placed. The viewer is shown how to create a simple 'index.php' file to display 'Hello World' on the local server. The paragraph also discusses the importance of choosing a code editor for PHP development, recommending Sublime Text, VS Code, and PHPStorm, and concludes by summarizing the steps taken to get PHP running locally with XAMPP and looking forward to writing the first PHP code in the next video.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡PHP
💡Local Development Environment
💡Web Server
💡HTTP Protocol
💡Virtual Hosts
💡404 Status Code
💡Developer Tools
💡Apache
💡XAMPP
💡Document Root
💡Code Editor
Highlights
Setting up a local development environment is the first step before writing any PHP code.
Understanding what a web server is and how it works is crucial since PHP runs on web servers.
A web server can refer to hardware, software, or both, and it processes incoming requests using protocols like HTTP.
Web servers can host multiple websites on the same server using virtual hosts, which share resources across sites.
The browser requests files from the server, and the server responds with the necessary HTML or an error code like 404 if the file is not found.
Common web servers include Apache and Nginx, each with its own pros and cons.
XAMPP, MAMP, and WAMP are all-in-one solutions that bundle a web server, PHP, database, and other tools, making it easy for beginners to set up a PHP environment.
Docker is a more flexible alternative for setting up a PHP environment, though it is not covered in this video.
XAMPP's simplicity comes with trade-offs like limited flexibility in having multiple PHP versions installed simultaneously.
XAMPP is not suited for production due to security concerns, leading to potential differences between local and production environments.
XAMPP is suitable for hobby projects and learning PHP quickly without complex setup.
Installing XAMPP involves downloading it, selecting necessary services, and addressing common errors related to port conflicts.
The XAMPP control panel allows managing services, viewing logs, and configuring settings.
In XAMPP, the 'htdocs' directory is the document root where source code and project files are stored.
When accessing 'localhost,' the server looks for an 'index.php' file in the document root to serve the website.
A code editor is essential for writing PHP code, with recommendations including Sublime Text, Atom, VS Code, and PHPStorm.
Transcripts
before we can write any php we need to
have the local development environment
set up for it let's do that in this
video and also talk a little bit about
web servers because php mostly runs on
the web server and it's a good idea to
know what a web server is and how it
works
[Music]
when talking about a web server you
could either refer to a hardware or
software or both hardware and software
together a web server on the hardware is
just a computer that stores the web
server software source code and some
other stuff a web server can process
incoming requests using different
protocols typically it's the http
protocol which is the protocol used by
the browser to view the web pages a web
server can host either a single or
multiple websites on the same server
using the same resource this is done by
something called virtual hosts where the
single web server is able to allocate
and share resources across multiple
websites here is a simple diagram of how
the communication between the client and
the server happens when you visit the
website the browser will request for the
file from the server the web server will
process this request and respond
accordingly if it cannot locate the file
then it will respond with the 404 status
code we can actually see this in action
by visiting any website and opening
developer tools to inspect the requests
you can either open dev tools by either
right clicking on your mouse and then
clicking on the inspect element or by
hitting f12 on the keyboard let's
refresh the page and see what happens as
you can see the first request is what
gets sent to the server and then it
responds back with the html that then
gets rendered on the screen don't worry
about the other requests for now also
don't worry if this is new to you or if
it doesn't really make sense you don't
really need to worry about this too much
at this stage of your learning i just
wanted to explain how it works and what
web servers are so things make more
sense when you're actually installing
the necessary software to run the php
the two most common web servers are
apache and nginx they both have their
pros and cons i'm not going to get into
much detail on which one is better or
which one to choose because i don't want
to overwhelm you with too much
information we'll be using the apache
for now because it comes with the
software bundled in that we're going to
be installing in this video there are
many different ways you could have php
installed in your local environment you
might even have it installed on your os
if you have php manually installed you
will need a local server either apache
or nginx you would need to install that
manually yourself later if you decided
that you also needed a database you
would need to install that as well this
does not sound beginner friendly you
probably just want to get it installed
as simply and as fast as possible this
is why all in one solutions like xampp
mamp and wamp exist they bundle in the
web server php database and some other
useful tools and handle the
configuration for you which makes it
very easy for beginners to get started
with php some other better alternatives
to xampp to get a php environment set up
are virtual machines or containers i
personally don't use xampp i use docker
and i will have a separate video about
getting php environment setup using
docker but don't worry about it right
now we are not going to be installing
docker right now we are going to be
installing xampp this simplicity though
comes with a trade-off and that is
flexibility one of those trade-offs is
you cannot have multiple php versions
installed at the same time out of the
box there are ways you could achieve
this with xampp but it's not simple and
requires some work you may also need a
different version of the database per
project which goes back to the point one
it also becomes harder to manage and
maintain multiple projects especially
when you're trying to upgrade your
current php version it is not suited for
production due to its security so i
would not be advising using x-amp for
production and because you would not use
x-amp in production you would always
have some sort of disconnect differences
between your local setup and your
production these differences could be
minor if you know what you're doing or
you could be major like a difference in
php versions or the packages it's
installed for example which could yield
to issues like it works on my local
machine but it does not work in
production there is absolutely nothing
wrong with using xampp for hobby
projects or just playing around with php
and getting it running as fast as
possible it is entirely up to you how
you want to get your local environment
set up or what tools you want to use if
you are a beginner then i would suggest
to stick with xampp for now and then
look for alternatives once you're
comfortable so just go to the xampp
website download it and follow the
instructions to install on one of the
steps it will ask you what services you
want to include in the bundle you could
unselect the ones that you do not
care or you don't want to use for this
course though we're only going to be
using database and php so we don't need
all other services so we could disable
them for now
let's start the control panel and
briefly review it right away as you can
see i'm getting an error and this is
actually a pretty common error for cases
where you may already be running some
other servers on the same port for
example in my case i have a database
running in a docker container on the
same port 3306 and because this port is
already taken xampp can start the
database service this can easily be
fixed by turning off the service that's
currently running on port 3306 or we
could use a different port to run it
same thing can happen for apache for
example so if you see such errors just
check what services are using that port
and either disable or change them we
won't be needing the database right now
so we can ignore this error for now and
fix it once we actually start using the
database you could also change the
xampp's configuration you could change
the default text editor or you could
enable some of the services to start
automatically whenever the xm starts you
could also stop and start the necessary
services from the control panel view and
edit configuration files and check logs
don't worry about the config files for
now we'll touch on that topic in a
separate video let's head over to the
browser and type http localhost and hit
enter it opens the welcome dashboard
page for xampp which means that the web
server is working as expected you might
be wondering where you would put your
source code and that depends mainly on
how the web server is configured so
let's open xampp control panel and click
on the explorer button here this opens
the directory where xampp is installed
and here we see that that's where apache
phpmysql and other services are
installed but you don't have to worry
about these directories for now the only
thing that you need to know is that
htdocs right here this is your document
root which means that this is where your
source code and project files will go to
if we open that we see that this is the
source code for this dashboard page that
we see on the localhost so we could go
ahead and delete this because we're
going to be adding our own files
now what happens when you go to
localhost is that it will try to locate
index.php within your document root if
it finds the index.php then it will
serve the website using that index.php
if it cannot find the index.php then it
will just list the files and directories
within the document root so for example
right now we don't have any content if i
were to create just some file here
and go to localhost
we see that it just lists the document
tree so what we can do is we can create
directories here so we can call this
program with geo
and here we could create
an index dot php and we could just say
hello world for now now a quick note
here we're not writing a php code yet
this is just a simple uh text so if we
go to the local host now we see the
program with geo directory if we click
that we see hello world as you noticed
we have not written a php code yet we'll
do that on the next video where we'll go
over the basic syntax before we can do
that though we need a code editor
because even though you could write php
in notepad it's not so pleasant to work
with there are a lot of options when it
comes to code editors try some of them
and pick the one that you like and feel
more comfortable with sublime text adam
vs code and phpstorm are the ones that i
recommend though it's up to you what you
use this is it for this video now you
know how to get up and running with php
on your local environment using xampp
but in addition to that you also know
what web server is and how it works
thank you for watching hope you liked
this video please hit like and subscribe
and i will see you on the next one where
we'll go over the syntax and write our
first php code
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