Joomla requires a PHP webserver and mySQL like the one packaged in Xampp. Most begining web developers are daunted by thought of having to install and configure Apache web server, mySQL database server and even an FTP host. Before Xampp, you will need to run individual installers and having gone this path I can tell it wasn't an easy task for newbie.
If you don't know yet what these programs are, please see my notes below :
- Apache - open source web server software. This basically allows you to use your computer as a web host. If you have this on your computer, you can run HTML, PHP, etc over http in your browser.
- mySQL is a database server like Oracle and MS SQL 2000. You can use it in conjunction with a scripting languange like PHP to save and retrieve information.
Xampp is package of these software. You can get it from this URL : http://www.apachefriends.org/xampp.html.
These are available downloadable pakages for each major OS :
Get the appropriate distribution for your OS, once downloaded, run it to install the software. To start using the software, double click the file called xampp-control.exe :
You should see a window similar to the one below :
The button labels of each module (i.e service) are either Start or Stop. If you see "Start" it mean the service is currently stopped. In the example above. Apache is stopped since the button says "Start". Click on the "Start" button to start the Apache service. Click the "Admin..." button to access the Admin page :
You should see your browser open pointing to the local Xampp page :
You can play the links under the Demos to see some interesting applications. Phonebook is one simple application that you can see actual database transaction :
The web pages are stored in the htdocs folder inside the Xampp folder. If you have a folder containing your HTML or PHP project, put them there. To test if it works, open your browser and type in the URL like below :
http://localhost/[foldername]/filename.htm
Just replace foldername and filename htm to the actual folder and filename that you have.
If you have installed the Joomla software in folder myjoomla inside htdocs in Xampp directory so you can open your Joomla in your browser like below :
http://localhost/myjoomla
I hope this little introduction to Xampp gets some of you excited to try out more dynamic platforms like PHP. Unlike ordinary HTML, PHP is more powerfull and what you can do with it just depends on your imagination. Who knows ? You might create very own killer app!
Original source : http://online-tech-tips.com
