I'm looking for a program I can use to basically run a site offline to be able to mess around with it without the problem of wrecking the site by uploading something wrong to my host. Is there should a thing a such a program as this with sql with php?
Sure, install and run Apache, MySQL, and PHP on your computer. I'm not trying to be a smart ass - you basically need to set your computer up as a web server.
Hello. Yes there is. Its called: mySQL, PHP and Apache all together. (I was trying to be a smart ass) The explaination was offerd to you in the previous post. If you have no idea how to set it up: Google: Enscape Apache setup guide Enscape is a website that has a guide on there. There are lots but thats one of the best ones. Its a little dated and uses an old version of Apache but all the basics are still the same.
2 last questions on that? Is it, would you say, easy to install like a normal program or more like as hard as a typicial network setup? Do a lot of people do this?
its pretty easy... you just need to install it, read the directions... It helps if you have some basic knowledge of web servers.
The only network config you need to do is maybe changing the host file. (Does that even count as network config?) Its basically just making sure that you are listening for connections on apache aswell in the httpd.conf Google that guide I told you of. Its very simple. I do this for testing my PHP applications. Some of my scripts are like 500kb in size so uploading and testing every time is a pain in the ass. Its just good...
For a really simplified and secure process, I would recommend using XAMPP. It runs on Windows and Linux systems, and is a very easy solution for a local development machine. I personally use it myself. It comes with the works. Apache, PHP, MySQL, PHPMyAdmin, and there are other add-ons available on the website. Check it out, it should be exactly what you're looking for. URL: apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html
That looks like a great combo! I would download it in a heartbeat if it weren't in 'early development' for the Mac OS X version, or if I had a dedicated development machine. Thanks for the link.
im using appserv for this. This prgram include php,apache, mysql . This is great for me. You can find it i google fo use appserv tag.
Hello. There is an installation program called FoxServ, that installs Apache, mySQL, and PHP. This way your computer is converted into a local Web server. Maybe you will need to tweak somehow the configuration files of all three applications. For example, you will want to designate a directory in your hard disk as the "Document Root" so that Apache know where to find the files that it will serve. The net effect of all this is that when you start your web browser and write http://localhost/MySite/index.html Apache will go to the directory designated as root, look into the folder "MySite", and display the file "index.html". If that file is a PHP file (something.php), Apache will call PHP to interpret the script commands. To process SQL transactions, the mySQL server has previously to be started and be running in the background. All the best.
Personally I use wampserver its pretty good, and i never have any difficulty installing it. It installs an apache server, php, mysql, and phpmyadmin, along with some others.
There is an equivalent of XAMPP for Mac called MAMP. It does the same thing, except for the Mac. I run this on my Mac, it works great. http://www.mamp.info/en/home.php
For the Mac folks, check your documentation. If I'm not mistaken, Apache, MySQL and PHP are part of the standard OS X software package. You may already have them installed, needing only to start their daemons. For Windows, there is a package similar to WAMP, except that it uses IIS instead of Apache. It is fittingly called WIMP. If you do run these on Windows, be absolutely sure your firewall blocks every port Apache, IIS and MySQL use. That's at least ports 80, 443 and 3306. IIS6 is better than IIS5 by a bunch, but no way would I expose either to the net. I'm not a good enough security/network admin and I don't know of anyone here that is either. Running on Linux, it can be fun to watch all the attacks. But, it gets scary. I've experienced hundred per hour on random IP addys. I've seen attacks within 15 seconds of bringing a server on line. Segregate your servers from the web and you should be OK, just don't take chances. It's all worth it though. I can't imagine trying to develop web sites without a local server setup. cheers, gary