Create a local web server using PHP and XAMPP

With the continuous development of computer technology, the use of Web servers has become an indispensable part of people's daily lives. For programmers or web developers, using a local server is essential when developing and testing websites. PHP is a very popular scripting language for web development, and XAMPP is a commonly used server suite among developers. In this article, we will explain how to create a local web server using PHP and XAMPP.

1. Download and install XAMPP

Before we start creating a local web server, we need to download XAMPP first. XAMPP is a free and open source web server suite developed by Apache Friends. It contains multiple components such as Apache, MySQL, PHP and Perl, and can be installed and configured with one click.

XAMPP provides versions for multiple platforms such as Windows, Mac and Linux. We can download the corresponding version according to our own operating system. The download address is https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html.

Installing XAMPP is very simple, just follow the wizard step by step. During the installation process, we can select related options such as the components to be installed and the installation path. Once the installation is complete, we can start creating a local web server.

2. Configure the Apache server

After the XAMPP installation is completed, we need to open the XAMPP control panel and start the Apache server. Then, we can visit localhost through the browser to confirm whether the Apache server has been started successfully.

But by default, the Apache server does not install the PHP interpreter. Therefore, it is very critical to enable the PHP module in the Apache server.

Enabling the PHP module in XAMPP is very simple. We only need to open the apacheconfhttpd.conf file in the XAMPP installation directory and find the following two lines of code:

#LoadModule php7_module "modules/mod_php7.so"
#AddHandler php7-script php

Uncomment these two lines of code. Yes (cancel the # sign in front). Next, we save the file and restart the Apache server. In this way, the Apache server will automatically load the PHP interpreter and parse the PHP script.

3. Place the PHP file in the XAMPP directory

To run the PHP file in the local web server, we need to place the PHP file in the htdocs folder under the XAMPP installation directory. This folder is the default root directory of the Apache server, and all files placed in this folder can be accessed through the browser.

In order to test whether our PHP environment is working properly, we can create the following file named "test.php" in the htdocs folder and copy the following code into the file:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Next, we can start the Apache server and enter http://localhost/test.php in the browser to check whether our PHP environment is configured correctly. If everything is OK, the browser will display a series of detailed PHP environment information.

4. Use the XAMPP control panel to manage the server

XAMPP provides a very convenient control panel through which we can start/stop the server, configure the server, etc.

To open the control panel, we can find the xampp-control.exe file in the XAMPP installation directory and double-click it to run it. Then, we can select the module or server that needs to be started/stopped, and click the corresponding button to complete the corresponding operation.

In the control panel, we can also configure the server, view log files, open PhpMyAdmin and other functions. These features eliminate the need to manually configure the Apache server or execute commands, making server management more convenient.

Summary

Through the above steps, we have successfully created a local web server using PHP and XAMPP. Now we can happily develop and test our website.

However, please note that when using a local server, you need to maintain the security of your own computer and network environment. Never connect the server directly to a public network, and be careful not to store sensitive information on the server. In addition, we should also regularly back up server data to deal with unpredictable failures and losses.

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