To begin working with PHP you must first have access to either of the following:

• A web hosting account that supports the use of PHP web pages and grants you access to MySQL databases. If you do not have a host, but are interested in signing up for one, we recommend that you first read our Web Host Guide to educate yourself about web hosting and avoid getting ripped off.
• Have PHP and MySQL installed on your own computer. Read this lesson thorougly for more information on installing PHP.

Although MySQL is not absolutely necessary to use PHP, MySQL and PHP are wonderful complements to one another and some topics covered in this tutorial will require that you have MySQL access.

 

Installing PHP

For those who are experienced enough to do this yourself, simply head over to PHP.net - Downloads and download the most recent version of PHP.

However, if you are like most of us, you will most likely want to follow a guide to installing PHP onto your computer. These guides are kindly provided by PHP.net based on the operating system that you are using.

• PHP - Windows - Windows Installation Guide
• PHP - Mac - Mac Installation Guide
• PHP - Linux - Linux Installation Guide

 

Installing MySQL

As we mentioned before, MySQL is not a requirement to use PHP, however they often go hand in hand.

Visit MySQL's MySQL Installation Guide for help on installing MySQL.