If,
on your computer, a web server is already in action and it has
activated the capability to support php and mysql, you don't need any
kind of extra installation since php is a free and a large number of
host offer support for it. You write your php code, place in web
directory and the web server will parse this code for you.
However, if your server denies the support for PHP, then we'll have to make :
- Installation of web server.
- Installation of PHP.
- Installation of backend database, such as MySQL.
To download free XAMPP, first of all visit the website to get free download XAMPP. Also if you want a quick download just visit the concerned link to download free xampp software.
Having downloaded the XAMPP package, double click on the file to start xampp installation.
User Account Control (UAC) Warning
Another thing that may come in the way is UAC warning. This is not so problematic as it seems to be.
Although this message is a little alarming at first yet it is not a big deal. It simply refers not to install XAMPP in C:\Program Files as you are often used to of that. However the installer defaults to installing in C:\xampp.
The installer will ask you for a location to install XAMPP with a default of c:\xampp, but you are free to have another location to install the package.
The installer will ask you to configure a number of options. The default selections shown in Figure. If you like to keep a clean desktop, you might want to uncheck the Create a XAMPP desktop icon checkbox. If you want your Apache and MySQL servers running at all times and not start manually, you can check the Install Apache as service and Install MySQL as service checkboxes.
On completion of installation, you’ll be asked to start the XAMPP Control Panel. Click No.
At this point, It is recommend shutting down and restarting your computer.
Once the installation is complete and your system has restarted, you can run/open the XAMPP Control Panel. You’ll find it on the Start menu under All Programs > Apache Friends > XAMPP > XAMPP Control Panel.
Now you are to Click the Start buttons next to Apache and MySql in the Modules list so that we may launch the Apache andMySQL servers built into XAMPP. You will see a green Running status indicator next to each server in the list.
One more thing is that , you’ll probably receive a Windows Firewall alert for each server. This will happen when the servers usually try to start listening for browser requests from the outside world.
Here click on Cancel button if you want to make sure that only you can access your development servers. Inspite of that you’ll be able to connect to the web server using a browser running on your computer. However, in some cases, it can be handy to access your server from another computer on your network that is why it is recommended to check the Private networks, such as my home or work network checkbox and then clicking on the button 'Allow access'.
Once you see that both the servers are running , click the Admin… button next to Apache. Open/Run your web browser and type http://localhost/xampp/
If the above page appears, it means your web server is up and running. Notice that the web address/URL in your browser’s address bar starts with http://localhost/
It is to be noted that some browsers may hide the protocol, “http://”
What is localhost
"localhost" is such a special hostname that often refers to your own computer.
When you’re done working with the XAMPP Control Panel,clickon the Exit button to shut it down.
