Quick Start Guide

304 Setup for Sample PHP Site
To configure your system:
1. Make sure you have a web server (see “Checking for a web server
(Windows)” on page 304).
2. Install the PHP application server (see “Installing a PHP application
server (Windows)” on page 304).
3. Test your installation (see “Testing the PHP installation (Windows)”
on page 306).
4. Create a root folder (see“Creating a root folder (Windows)”
on page 308).
Checking for a web server (Windows)
To develop and test dynamic web pages, you need a web server. A web
server is software that serves web pages in response to requests from web
browsers.
Make sure Microsoft IIS is installed and running on your hard disk or on a
remote Windows computer. A quick way to check whether IIS is installed
on a computer is to look at the folder structure to see whether it contains a
C:\Inetpub or D:\Inetpub folder. IIS create this folder during installation.
If IIS is not installed, install it now. For instructions, see “Installing a Web
Server” on page 231.
After installing the web server, install the application server.
Installing a PHP application server (Windows)
To process dynamic web pages, you need an application server. An
application server is software that helps a web server process web pages
containing server-side scripts or tags. When such a page is requested by a
browser, the web server hands the page off to the application server for
processing before sending the page to the browser. For more information,
see “Understanding Web Applications” on page 217.
Make sure the PHP application server is installed and running on the
system running IIS. (IIS may be located on your hard disk or on a remote
Windows computer.) You can download and install it from the PHP
website at www.php.net/downloads.php.
NOTE
Installing the web server and application server are one-time-only tasks.