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Offline testing of PHP

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:03 am
by damoleeds
Being very new to PHP (page 1 of the tutorial...) I would like to test my PHP offline.

Basically, the PHP enabled server I can put my pages on I can only access by dropping my DSL connection and dialling their servers up for FTP access. (I do need to soer this out, but it won't happen until my current DSL contract is up).

Back to the point: I wish to test PHP offline. I run XP Pro SP.1. Do I need to run a webserver on here, or can I use the install file from php.net to get me up and running just for testing?

I have read that the auto installer can present security issues, but that is not of concern to me at the moment.

Any help would be appreciated. As I am sure I have come across, I am a complete and utter novice.

Cheers,

Damo

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:05 am
by patrikG
Read McGruff's Starter Pack and for a local server out-of-the-box, I'd recommend Xampp for your typical LAMP setup (and more).

Re: Offline testing of PHP

Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 1:04 pm
by JAM
You don't need a webserver, per ce, to test PHP. However, if you mean PHP as in making dynamic webpages you need a webserver to show the pages it generates.
damoleeds wrote:...I run XP Pro SP.1...
I'd suggest WAMP

About security issues, no. As you are testing offline, you shouldn't be scared. You can make the webserver listen to localhost:80 as well as making other arrangements in the httpd.conf (configuration file that comes with Apache webserver) that would make the server inaccesible for outer use, if you have your DSL line plugged in.

The httpd.conf file is well documented even for beginners, at least for the critical parts, so I think you should manage to understand it when you see it.