PHP: Setting Up Your Development Environment

To write PHP, you need just two things: a server environment that can run PHP, and a code editor. This lesson helps you set up both—and then write your very first line of PHP code.

1. Choosing a PHP Development Environment

Running PHP requires a web server + PHP engine + database. You can install Apache/Nginx, PHP, and MySQL separately, but it's much simpler to use an all-in-one package that works out of the box.

This tutorial uses XAMPP (cross-platform, full-featured, easy to configure). If you're on Windows, Laragon is also an excellent choice.

2. Installing XAMPP

(1) Step 1: Download

Go to https://www.apachefriends.org/ and click the Download button for your operating system.

(2) Step 2: Install

Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the prompts. Keep these points in mind:

• Installation path: Use the default C:\xampp\ (Windows) or /Applications/XAMPP/ (Mac)
• Component selection: At minimum, check Apache, MySQL, PHP, and phpMyAdmin
• The firewall may prompt you during installation — click "Allow access"

(3) Step 3: Start

Open the XAMPP Control Panel and click the Start buttons next to Apache and MySQL:

XAMPP Control Panel
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Apache     [Start]  →  Ports 80, 443    │
│  MySQL      [Start]  →  Port 3306        │
│  FileZilla  [Start]  (not needed)        │
│  Mercury    [Start]  (not needed)        │
│  Tomcat     [Start]  (not needed)        │
└──────────────────────────────────────────┘

When you see "Running" with a green background next to Apache and MySQL, everything is up.

(4) Step 4: Verify

Open your browser and visit http://localhost/. If you see the XAMPP welcome page, everything is working.

Then visit http://localhost/phpmyadmin/. If you see the phpMyAdmin interface, MySQL is running too.

3. Installing VS Code

You only need a text editor to write PHP code. We recommend VS Code (free, lightweight, rich extension ecosystem).

After installing, add these two recommended extensions:

Click the Extensions icon in the VS Code sidebar (or Ctrl+Shift+X), search for the extension name, and click Install.

4. Your First PHP Program

(1) Find XAMPP's Web Root Directory

XAMPP serves files from the htdocs directory:

Inside htdocs, create a new folder called myphp:

htdocs/
└── myphp/
    └── index.php   ← We'll create this file

(2) Create index.php

Open the htdocs\myphp\ folder in VS Code (File → Open Folder), then create a new file called index.php and enter the following code:

▶ Example: Hello World

<?php
echo "Hello, PHP!";
echo "<br>";
echo "Today is " . date("F j, Y");
echo "<br>";

// Display PHP version and configuration info
phpinfo();
?>

Output:

Output displayed

Save the file, then visit http://localhost/myphp/ in your browser. You should see:

• "Hello, PHP!"
• Today's date
• A purple PHP configuration info page (generated by phpinfo())

Congratulations! You've successfully run your first PHP program.

5. PHP File Rules

▶ Example: Pure PHP File (Recommended Without ?>)

<?php
$name = "John";
$age = 18;
echo "My name is {$name} and I'm {$age} years old.";

6. How PHP Runs — Summary

┌──────────┐   Request    ┌──────────┐  Execute PHP  ┌──────────┐
│  Browser  │ ──────────→ │  Apache   │ ──────────→ │ PHP Engine│
│          │ ←─────────── │ (Web Srv) │ ←────────── │           │
└──────────┘  HTML Resp.  └──────────┘ Generate HTML└──────────┘
     ↑                                                      ↓
     └─────────────── http://localhost/ ─────────────────────┘

PHP must be accessed through a web server (http://localhost/...). You can't double-click a .php file the way you can with .html files. Double-clicking a .php file will show you the raw source code, not the executed result.

▶ Example: Checking Your PHP Version

<?php
echo "PHP Version: " . PHP_VERSION . "<br>";
echo "Running on: " . PHP_OS . "<br>";
echo "Default charset: " . ini_get("default_charset") . "<br>";

if (version_compare(PHP_VERSION, "8.2.0", ">=")) {
    echo "✅ PHP 8.2+ — all features in this tutorial are available";
} else {
    echo "⚠️ Please upgrade to PHP 8.2+ for full compatibility";
}

Output:

Output displayed

❓ FAQ

📖 Summary

• XAMPP bundles Apache + PHP + MySQL — install once, ready to go
• XAMPP's web root is htdocs/ — PHP files must go there to be accessible via the browser
• PHP code goes inside <?php ?> tags; files must have the .php extension
• Access PHP pages via http://localhost/ — never double-click to open
• echo outputs content to the page; . concatenates strings
• For pure PHP files, omit the closing ?> tag

📝 Exercises

1. Install XAMPP and VS Code, start Apache, and visit http://localhost/. Take a screenshot of the XAMPP welcome page.
2. Inside htdocs/myphp/, create about.php and use echo to output your name, city, and the current time.
3. Visit http://localhost/myphp/about.php and confirm it works. Take a screenshot of the result.

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