SilverBolt Development

Here’s how I setup Apache, MySQL, PHP on Windows Vista Home Premium. This assumes you are only intending to use your machine as a development machine (i.e. no remote connections).

NOTE: I am using the 64-bit version of Windows, but there are only 32-bit versions of most of these components anyway. Basically, wherever a 64-bit version of a component is available, it is advisable to get that instead of a 32-bit version.

Setup Apache Web Server

1. Download the best available version of Apache from http://httpd.apache.org/download.cgi. Get the Win32 binary with installer (not the “Win32 Source” version).
2. Install the file you just downloaded. You can change the installation directory, but leave everything else at their default settings (unless you have a particular need to change something and you know what you’re doing!).
3. Configure the following settings in the Apache Configuration File (httpd.conf):
   1. Modify the ‘ServerName’ directive to match your computer name and port number. By default, the port number is 80 (unless you changed it) and you can use ‘localhost’ as the computer name:

      ServerName localhost:80

   2. Modify the DocumentRoot to point to the directory you wish to use as your website’s home:

      DocumentRoot "D:/Websites"

   3. Modify the <Directory /> tag to point to the same directory as DocumentRoot:

      <Directory "D:/Websites">

   4. If you are only intending to use Apache for development purposes on your local machine, you can restrict it to only accept connections from your local machine by modifying the ‘Listen’ directive as follows:

      Listen 127.0.0.1:80

   5. If you wish to browse directories through your web browser, you can enable fancy directory listings by uncommenting/adding the following:

      Include conf/extra/httpd-autoindex.conf

4. Test your configuration and start the Apache server. You can go to your website through your browser by browsing to:
   http://localhost:80

Setup MySQL

1. Download the Generally Available (GA) Release of MySQL Community Server from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads.
2. Install MySQL from the file you just downloaded. Use all the default options (use the quick setup if you like).
3. You’ll probably also want to download the MySQL GUI Tools too: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/5.0.html.

Setup PHP

1. Download the latest Thread Safe PHP Windows Installer package from: http://windows.php.net/download.
2. Install PHP using the file you just downloaded.
   1. Select to install the PEAR libraries and documentation.
   2. During the installation yo uwill be asked to select the location of the Apache Configuration File. This is typically found here:
      [Apache Installation Directory]/conf/httpd.conf
3. After installation, you will need to configure the php.ini file ready for development:
   1. Enable the option to display errors in PHP (if it is not already set):

      display_errors = On

   2. Add (or modify) the following lines to enable SMTP mail:

      SMTP = your.smtp.server
      smtp_port = 25
      ; For Win32 only.
      sendmail_from = yourname@domain.com

4. Ensure PHP file handlers are added to the Apache httpd.conf file (they should be added by the PHP installer in step 2.2):

   PHPIniDir "C:/Program Files (x86)/PHP/"
   LoadModule php5_module "C:/Program Files (x86)/PHP/php5apache2_2.dll"

5. Create a test PHP file (called test.php) in your chosen web server home directory, which contains the following line:

   <?php phpinfo(); ?>

6. Save the file, and then browse to the file at:

   http://localhost/test.php

7. If everything has gone well, you should have a page full of PHP information telling you every PHP parameter for your current installation.

Setup XDebug

1. Download the latest Windows binary appropriate for the version of PHP you downloaded earlier (e.g. VC6 (32 bit)).
2. Copy the downloaded file to the PHP extension directory:
   [PHP Installation Directy]/ext
3. Edit the php.ini file to include the following lines (Note: substitute the right path/filename for your xdebug dll file):

   [XDebug]
   ;; Only Zend OR (!) XDebug
   ; zend_extension="C:\xampp\php\ext\php_xdebug.dll"
   ; Modify the filename below to reflect the .dll version of your xdebug
   zend_extension="C:\Program Files (x86)\PHP\ext\php_xdebug-2.0.5-5.3-vc6.dll"
   xdebug.remote_enable=true
   xdebug.remote_host=127.0.0.1
   xdebug.remote_port=9000
   xdebug.remote_handler=dbgp
   xdebug.profiler_enable=0
   xdebug.profiler_output_dir="C:\Program Files (x86)\PHP\output"

4. Restart the Apache web server and reload your test.php page. It should now include an additional ‘XDebug’ section.

Setup PHP Eclipse IDE

1. Download the PHP Development Tools Eclipse IDE (PDT) All-in-one for Windows (32-bit) from: http://www.eclipse.org/pdt/downloads.
2. Unzip the downloaded file to a temporary directory and then move the resulting ‘eclipse’ directory to a permanent location.
3. Execute the eclipse/eclipse.exe file.
4. A ‘Workspace Launcher’ dialog box will appear asking you to choose your Workspace directory. Just stick with the default and click OK.
5. In the ‘Welcome’ screen, click on the ‘Workbench’ icon on right side towards the middle.
6. In the Workbench, change to the PHP Perspective by clicking ‘Window’->’Open Perspective’->’PHP’.
7. To be continued…