How can I test PHP Files on a local computer?

I am new to Web Development.. I know basic HTML and CSS. I dont know PHP but I can understand a bit about what does it do..

I know that a web server must be installed on a computer for testing PHP files.

Is there any method to test PHP files locally on a computer without having a web server installed?

And Please tell me in which order should I install the Web server, PHP on the Local computer..

1st install Apache and later PHP later? Will this work?

 

Installing Apache first is the best idea.

http://foundationphp.com/tutorials/php_installer.php

Of course you could always get WAMP or MAMP (for mac)

 

You can get XAMPP, which is; a localhost server and runs on most, if not all OS's...

http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

Good Luck,
~ Mike

 

Bang on target

 

put your folder website at C:\AppServ\www\
and then test in url localhost/your folder website/

 

Only problem you might run accross is if the script request a .htaccess file and the rewritebase to be used for SEO Urls. Windows has issues with that.

 

The best thing that I always recommend to anyone, being that this works well for me, is to install Dreamweaver (they do have a trial version if you don't already have it) along with WAMP server. Once you have both installed, configure your test site in Dreamweaver, and you can test locally that way. Dreamweaver even offers the capability to publish your files directly to your web server once you are finished.

Hope that helped a bit!

 

Actually instead of WAMP , get XAMPP , its better than that as I have used both of them

 

I've always used Easyphp on my XP machine. It does everything my webhost does and is very easy to use.

 

you can download pre-configured packages, xampp works the best for me

 

Google something called Vertrigo Server, what this is its a local server that installs php, apache, mysql, sql, phpmyadmin and more and configures it all for you.

This program is very simple and easy to use and even a 5 year old can install it

 

I was in your situation when looking for a test system that's easy to set up until I found EasyPHP.

Installation shall be straight forward and there's a step by step guide too here:

http://klikr.net/local-test/

 

If building from source, you want Apache and MySQL (assuming you want MySQL) installed before you build PHP - so that the PHP build process can find the header files.

If installing compiled solutions, they should have a README associated with them.

 

If you want to tinker with the 'real thing' you should look into VirtualBox and Vagrant.

It is essentially a real web server setup on your local machine.

You can work with HTML, PHP etc as if it is locally on your computer but is accessed as if from a server.

Here is a tutorial for getting up and running: https://scotch.io/tutorials/get-vagrant-up-and-running-in-no-time

It requires more technical knowledge than a pre-packaged app like MAMP but is a great learning resource if you want to further develop skills.