Setting up a PHP Development Environment
Additional Requirements
XAMPP (if you have Windows) • Learn more
MAMP (if you have Mac OS X) • Learn more
This tutorial describes how to set up a development environment on a Windows or a Macintosh computer for building PHP web applications with Adobe Dreamweaver and a MySQL database server.
Setting up a PHP development environment for Dreamweaver requires a web server (such as Apache or IIS), PHP, and a MySQL database. Although you can install all three separately, it's usually much simpler to use an all-in-one solution, such as XAMPP for Windows or MAMP for Mac OS X.
Note: PHP can be used with most database systems. However, Dreamweaver's PHP server behaviors support only MySQL.
This setup tutorial shows you how to complete the following tasks:
• Install and run a PHP-enabled web server on your local computer • Install the MySQL database server on your local computer • Define a PHP site in Dreamweaver CS5 • Import data into MySQL and create a MySQL user account for your web application • Connect to a sample database
1. Setting up PHP for Windows
PHP pages need to be processed through a web server. So, to develop with PHP in Dreamweaver, you need access to a PHP-enabled web server and the MySQL database. It's also useful to have phpMyAdmin, a graphical interface to MySQL. All three components are open source software that you can use for developing, testing, and deploying web applications–and they are free!
You can install each one independently, but the quickest and easiest way is to use an all-in-one solution. The one chosen for this tutorial is XAMPP. If you already have a working PHP/MySQL environment, or want to use a different all-in-one installer, such as WampServer (http://www.wampserver.com/en/), go straight to Defining a PHP site in Dreamweaver.
If you're a Mac user, see Setting up PHP for Mac OS X.
Before you start
XAMPP installs the Apache web server, which listens for requests on
XAMPP (if you have Windows) • Learn more
MAMP (if you have Mac OS X) • Learn more
This tutorial describes how to set up a development environment on a Windows or a Macintosh computer for building PHP web applications with Adobe Dreamweaver and a MySQL database server.
Setting up a PHP development environment for Dreamweaver requires a web server (such as Apache or IIS), PHP, and a MySQL database. Although you can install all three separately, it's usually much simpler to use an all-in-one solution, such as XAMPP for Windows or MAMP for Mac OS X.
Note: PHP can be used with most database systems. However, Dreamweaver's PHP server behaviors support only MySQL.
This setup tutorial shows you how to complete the following tasks:
• Install and run a PHP-enabled web server on your local computer • Install the MySQL database server on your local computer • Define a PHP site in Dreamweaver CS5 • Import data into MySQL and create a MySQL user account for your web application • Connect to a sample database
1. Setting up PHP for Windows
PHP pages need to be processed through a web server. So, to develop with PHP in Dreamweaver, you need access to a PHP-enabled web server and the MySQL database. It's also useful to have phpMyAdmin, a graphical interface to MySQL. All three components are open source software that you can use for developing, testing, and deploying web applications–and they are free!
You can install each one independently, but the quickest and easiest way is to use an all-in-one solution. The one chosen for this tutorial is XAMPP. If you already have a working PHP/MySQL environment, or want to use a different all-in-one installer, such as WampServer (http://www.wampserver.com/en/), go straight to Defining a PHP site in Dreamweaver.
If you're a Mac user, see Setting up PHP for Mac OS X.
Before you start
XAMPP installs the Apache web server, which listens for requests on