Table of Contents

Multidimensional Array PHP

July 25, 2024

To work with PHP locally, you need to have the following software:

PHP
A web server that supports PHP. We’ll use the Apache webserver.
A database server. We’ll use the MySQL database server.

Installing all these software separately is typically not recommended for beginners due to the complexities involved in connecting them. Hence, it’s preferable to opt for an all-in-one software package such as XAMPP, which includes PHP, a web server, and a database server, making the setup process much simpler.

XAMPP is an easy install Apache distribution that contains PHP, MariaDB, and Apache webserver. XAMPP supports Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Download XAMPP

To install XAMPP on windows, you can go to the XAMPP official website and download the suitable version for your platform.

Install XAMPP on Windows

Step 1: Start the installation

Double-click the downloaded file to start setting up XAMPP:

Step 2: Select components to install

Select the components that you want to install. In this step, you can select Apache, MySQL, PHP, and phpMyAdmin, deselect other components like the following, and click the Next button to go to the next step.

Step 3: Secifying the installation folder

Select a folder to install XAMPP. It’s recommended to install XAMPP in the c:\xampp folder. Click the Next button to go to the next step.

Step 4: Selecting a language

Select a language for XAMPP Control Panel. By default, it’s English. And you can select your preferred language and click the Next button to go to the next step.

Step 5: Bitnami for XAMPP

Feel free to skip this step because you don’t need Bitnami for learning PHP. Just click the Next button to go to the next step.

Step 6: Begin installing XAMPP

And you’re now ready to install XAMPP. Click the Next button to start the installation. It’ll take a few minutes to complete.

Step 7: Completing the XAMPP setup

Once completed, the XAMPP setup wizard shows the following screen. You can click the Finish button to launch the XAMPP Control Panel:

The XAMPP Control Panel lists installed services. To start a service, you click the corresponding Start button:

The following shows the Apache web server and MySQL are up and running. The Apache web server listens on the ports 80 and 443 while the MySQL listens on port 3306:

Step 8: Launch the XAMPP

Open the web browser and navigate to the following URL: http://localhost/. If the installation is completed successfully, you’ll see the welcome screen of the XAMPP.

Troubleshooting

By default, Apache uses port 80. However, if port 80 is used by another service, you’ll get an error like this:

Problem detected!
Port 80 in use by "Unable to open process" with PID 4!
Apache WILL NOT start without the configured ports free!
You need to uninstall/disable/reconfigure the blocking application
or reconfigure Apache and the Control Panel to listen on a different port

Problem detected!

Port 80 in use by "Unable to open process" with PID 4!

Apache WILL NOT start without the configured ports free!

You need to uninstall/disable/reconfigure the blocking application