Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

[luvtopost@yahoo.com]

I am trying to learn PHP and was reading the book by Laura Welling and
Luke Thompson. Obviously, PHP is already installed on a server when
hosted by an ISP already. Is there a way to just download PHP 5 onto my
laptop as well as MYSQL and practice learning it with coding and
scripts, etc.? I don't have another machine to install Apache or IIS.
Thanks.

[Rik]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

luvtopost@yahoo .com wrote:

I am trying to learn PHP and was reading the book by Laura Welling and
Luke Thompson. Obviously, PHP is already installed on a server when
hosted by an ISP already. Is there a way to just download PHP 5 onto
my laptop as well as MYSQL and practice learning it with coding and
scripts, etc.? I don't have another machine to install Apache or IIS.
Thanks.

Lots of prepacked easy packages. They don't care wether the computer is a
laptop :P

For Windows, XAMPP is a nice one. Installing Apache/MySQL/PHP seperately is
also possible, but I would not recommend it for a beginner.
--
Rik Wasmus

[luvtopost@yahoo.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

So can i just download php from php.net and start learning on my WinXP
laptop? I can wait to learn MYSQL later. Thanks.
Rik wrote:

Lots of prepacked easy packages. They don't care wether the computer is a

laptop :P
>
For Windows, XAMPP is a nice one. Installing Apache/MySQL/PHP seperately is
also possible, but I would not recommend it for a beginner.
--
Rik Wasmus

[Geoff Berrow]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Message-ID: <1168126176.988 111.142970@42g2 000cwt.googlegr oups.comfrom
luvtopost@yahoo .com contained the following:

>So can i just download php from php.net and start learning on my WinXP
>laptop? I can wait to learn MYSQL later. Thanks.

You can even run it from a pen drive.

--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

[Rik]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

luvtopost@yahoo .com wrote:

Rik wrote:

>>Lots of prepacked easy packages. They don't care wether the
>>computer is a laptop :P

>>
>For Windows, XAMPP is a nice one. Installing Apache/MySQL/PHP
>seperately is also possible, but I would not recommend it for a
>beginner.

So can i just download php from php.net and start learning on my WinXP
laptop? I can wait to learn MYSQL later. Thanks.

Please do not toppost. http://www.caliburn.nl/topposting.html

I'd say you'd be making it difficult for yourself to try and add the MySQL
support later.
Install both MySQL & PHP. You can offcourse ignore MySQL for the time
being, but it will save you some headaches in future when you DO want to
start learning/using MySQL.
--
Rik Wasmus

[Rik]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Geoff Berrow wrote:

Message-ID: <1168126176.988 111.142970@42g2 000cwt.googlegr oups.com>
from luvtopost@yahoo .com contained the following:
>

>So can i just download php from php.net and start learning on my
>WinXP laptop? I can wait to learn MYSQL later. Thanks.

>
You can even run it from a pen drive.

Webserver On Stick (WOS), very handy for those doomed to switch computers
again and again indeed.
--
Rik Wasmus

[Gordon Burditt]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

>I am trying to learn PHP and was reading the book by Laura Welling and

>Luke Thompson. Obviously, PHP is already installed on a server when
>hosted by an ISP already. Is there a way to just download PHP 5 onto my
>laptop as well as MYSQL and practice learning it with coding and
>scripts, etc.? I don't have another machine to install Apache or IIS.

In order to really work with PHP, you need a MySQL server (or some
other database server), PHP interfaced with a web server, and a browser.
There's no reason this can't all be on the same machine, although having
lots of memory will speed things up a bit. It's not like you're going
to try to run all of Google's search engines on one laptop with all
the hits per minute Google gets.

[frank.i.emmons@gmail.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Installing PHP+Apache+MySQ L on a laptop is basically really no
different from installing it on a server. But there are some things you
need to take into consideration first:

CPU and RAM .. the more the better. Especially if you intend on running
some kind of IDE ( Dreamwaver, JEdit, etc.. ) or other desktop apps
while you run you httpd and db locally.

OS .. I would personally never host any web apps on a windows server.
My personal choice based on experience. I've run windows on a laptop
with Apache+PHP+MySQ L installed... and it was 'twitcy' .. crashes were
not unheard of.

My current laptop is a Dell Inspiron 9300 running Fedora Core, maxed
out on the RAM and CPU. I went high end ( for the time I bought it )
for the purpose of being able to run a full suite of web services
locally and still not notice a significant hit on performance while
running desktop apps ( browser, email client, open office, GIMP,
multiple consoles, vim, ssh, etc... ).

Binaries vs Source. IMHO, if you want a tighter install that runs
faster and you have a *nix OS installed on your laptop, download the
source code for your DB, PHP and HTTPD, build it from source. But that
is just my opinion, since I cut my teeth with slackware over 10 years
ago and most apps were not available to me as pre-compiled binaries, so
I compiled a lot of my software from source and still do.

As always, but especially with a laptop, install a good source
repository client ( cvs, subversion, etc ) and keep a current synced
copy of any code for an application you do not want to loose checked
into your source code repository that is hosted on an external and
stable server. Take out cheap shell account the offers access to a cvs
or subversion. Once, I lost a laptop ( theft ) and with it went almost
two weeks worth of work. I was so bummed.

Hope this helps in your decision.

luvtopost@yahoo .com wrote:

I am trying to learn PHP and was reading the book by Laura Welling and
Luke Thompson. Obviously, PHP is already installed on a server when
hosted by an ISP already. Is there a way to just download PHP 5 onto my
laptop as well as MYSQL and practice learning it with coding and
scripts, etc.? I don't have another machine to install Apache or IIS.
Thanks.

[Martin Mandl - m2m tech support]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Dear Frank,

Installing PHP+Apache+MySQ L on a laptop is basically really no
different from installing it on a server.

I aggree completely

CPU and RAM .. the more the better.

Of course it is always nice to have tons of CPU power and memory, but
is not really necessary to learn using php. As IDE I would recommend
HTMLKit, it has lots of plug ins for PHP and MySQL and is really light
weight. So basically you are running a text editor which does not need
a lot of CPU and memory. The actual server might even use the swap
memory most of the time, because you will only need it when you run
your scripts ... That actually will give you a feeling like the real
internet. Most HTML designers build heavy homepages on their PC or
local network and wonder why it is so slow when they publish them ;)

OS .. I would personally never host any web apps on a windows server.

Again, I agree, but to learn PHP it is nice and handy. However there
are minor differences between the features of PHP & Apache on different
operation systems.

As always, but especially with a laptop, install a good source
repository client ( cvs, subversion, etc ) and keep a current synced
copy of any code for an application you do not want to loose checked
into your source code repository that is hosted on an external and
stable server.

100% agree, but again not really necessary to learn PHP. But after you
are familiar with PHP you should have definitely have also a look into
cvs et al. A good starting point for windows would be tortoisecvs.

Have fun
Martin

[luvtopost@yahoo.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

I am just wanting to learn PHP and MYSQL for now. I don't know Linux
or Apache, so i will have to use IIS and my XP machine. I appreciate
the advice though. Once i get more familar with this stuff, i will most
likely put it on a more powerful machine and learn Linux and Apache. I
will check out HTML Kit . Thanks again.

[Geoff Berrow]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Message-ID: <1168206489.622 669.281550@42g2 000cwt.googlegr oups.comfrom
luvtopost@yahoo .com contained the following:

>I am just wanting to learn PHP and MYSQL for now. I don't know Linux
>or Apache, so i will have to use IIS and my XP machine.

No you won't. The bundles you can get install the whole lot with one
click. Don't dismiss them without trying, they are very easy to
install.
--
Geoff Berrow (put thecat out to email)
It's only Usenet, no one dies.
My opinions, not the committee's, mine.
Simple RFDs http://www.ckdog.co.uk/rfdmaker/

[frank.i.emmons@gmail.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

luvtopost,

I wish you all the best in your pursuit of PHP and MySQL.

This thread has yielded some very good points for the beginner in PHP.
Another editor I would suggest you check out is jEdit (
http://www.jedit.org ). It is written in java and runs on almost any
platform that has java installed. It supports plugins and there are a
lot of very useful ones available for download.

One more thing, in my early days of programming, I got a lot of support
from the #php channels on a couple different IRC networks ( undernet,
dalnet, etc ). Most of regulars in those channels were very helpful to
me.

luvtopost@yahoo .com wrote:

I am just wanting to learn PHP and MYSQL for now. I don't know Linux
or Apache, so i will have to use IIS and my XP machine. I appreciate
the advice though. Once i get more familar with this stuff, i will most
likely put it on a more powerful machine and learn Linux and Apache. I
will check out HTML Kit . Thanks again.

[larry@portcommodore.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?


luvtopost@yahoo .com wrote:

I am just wanting to learn PHP and MYSQL for now. I don't know Linux
or Apache, so i will have to use IIS and my XP machine. I appreciate
the advice though. Once i get more familar with this stuff, i will most
likely put it on a more powerful machine and learn Linux and Apache. I
will check out HTML Kit . Thanks again.

Actually putting them installed on a your deveopment system is a good
way to check out the code without uploading it, especially to squash
the most obvious errors we didn't see in our code, this is a 'good
thng' to pre-flight your code before putiing it on-line.

(Technically your computer acts just like a "web server" but this one
is only for you.)

You should also look for a program to write your code with (there are
free ones for just about any platform) the better ones offer "syntax
highlighting" whiuch will color variables, functions operators and
strings differently so you can "see" potential flawas quicker. Many
are just fancy text editors and some have more coding and site
mangement tools and are commonly referred to as an "Integrated
Development Environment" or IDE.

I'm sure many of us here have our systems set up for web development
(As I do, a laptop Acer - 1.4Ghz and a P4 desktop at 2.8 Ghz. I had a
Mac at work running them also but found the Linux tools better)

BTW - many books on PHP and MYSQL include a section on how to install
and configure PHP and MySQL on Windows, Linux or Macs. Also don't
forget Google enter PHP or MySQL with a few words on what you are stuck
on usually points you to a bunch of answers.

Welcome, and good luck!

[luvtopost@yahoo.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Yeah, i just need to learn the code and see how it works rather than
putting anything online right now. I'll look into doing it with Linux
and Apache. I just downloaded HTMLKit as the previous poster
recommended. The idea of color syntaxing sounds cool. Ah.. now i know
what IDE meant. I also googled for some good intro PHP and MYSQL books
and there was a consensus that the Thompson and Welling book would be a
great start. Also, i've found tutorials on the php.net site to be
useful. I'll scour through any info i can get just to get my feet wet.
Thanks again guys.

larry@portcommo dore.com wrote:

luvtopost@yahoo .com wrote:

I am just wanting to learn PHP and MYSQL for now. I don't know Linux
or Apache, so i will have to use IIS and my XP machine. I appreciate
the advice though. Once i get more familar with this stuff, i will most
likely put it on a more powerful machine and learn Linux and Apache. I
will check out HTML Kit . Thanks again.

>
Actually putting them installed on a your deveopment system is a good
way to check out the code without uploading it, especially to squash
the most obvious errors we didn't see in our code, this is a 'good
thng' to pre-flight your code before putiing it on-line.
>
(Technically your computer acts just like a "web server" but this one
is only for you.)
>
You should also look for a program to write your code with (there are
free ones for just about any platform) the better ones offer "syntax
highlighting" whiuch will color variables, functions operators and
strings differently so you can "see" potential flawas quicker. Many
are just fancy text editors and some have more coding and site
mangement tools and are commonly referred to as an "Integrated
Development Environment" or IDE.
>
I'm sure many of us here have our systems set up for web development
(As I do, a laptop Acer - 1.4Ghz and a P4 desktop at 2.8 Ghz. I had a
Mac at work running them also but found the Linux tools better)
>
BTW - many books on PHP and MYSQL include a section on how to install
and configure PHP and MySQL on Windows, Linux or Macs. Also don't
forget Google enter PHP or MySQL with a few words on what you are stuck
on usually points you to a bunch of answers.
>
Welcome, and good luck!

[luvtopost@yahoo.com]

Re: Learning PHP and MYSQL on own laptop possible?

Yeah, i just need to learn the code and see how it works rather than
putting anything online right now. I'll look into doing it with Linux
and Apache. I just downloaded HTMLKit as the previous poster
recommended. The idea of color syntaxing sounds cool. Ah.. now i know
what IDE meant. I also googled for some good intro PHP and MYSQL books
and there was a consensus that the Thompson and Welling book would be a
great start. Also, i've found tutorials on the php.net site to be
useful. I'll scour through any info i can get just to get my feet wet.
Thanks again guys.