When configuring PHP on Windows, you need to pay attention to version selection, environment variable settings and integration with the server. 1. Download the appropriate PHP version. It is recommended to use the Thread Safe version and decompress it to a simple path such as C:\php to avoid the path with Chinese or spaces; 2. Configure environment variables, add the PHP directory in the system Path and verify the installation through php -v; 3. Modify the php.ini file, set extension_dir, enable necessary extensions such as mysqli, configure the time zone Asia/Shanghai, etc.; 4. If you use Apache, you need to load php_module in httpd.conf and specify the correct DLL path and PHPIniDir, and test whether the configuration is successful by creating info.php. Frequently asked questions include path errors, not enabled extensions, and improper Apache configuration.

Configuring PHP is actually not too difficult on Windows, but it is easy for beginners to get into tricks. The key is to select the version, configure the environment variables, and enable the server (such as Apache or Nginx) to correctly recognize PHP.

1. Download the appropriate PHP version

First, go to the PHP official website to download the Windows binary package. Pay attention to choosing "Thread Safe" or "Non-Thread Safe". If you are using Apache mod_php, generally choose Thread Safe. Download the ZIP compression package and decompress it to a fixed directory, such as C:\php .

Frequently asked questions: Some people fail to unzip the file directly after downloading it or have spaces in the path, which will cause the subsequent configuration to fail. It is recommended that the path be as simple as possible, such as not bringing Chinese or spaces.

2. Configure environment variables

In order to enable PHP to be used in the command line, you need to add the PHP installation path to the system environment variable:

• Open System Properties → Advanced System Settings → Environment Variables
• Find Path in "System Variables" and click Edit
• Add the directory where you unzipped PHP, for example, C:\php

After completion, open the command prompt and enter php -v . If you see the version number, it means that this step is successful.

3. Configure the php.ini file

There will be a php.ini-development or php.ini-production in the PHP decompression directory, which you can copy and rename to php.ini .

Commonly used modifications include:

• extension_dir : Set the path of the extension directory, such as "ext"
• Enable common extensions: remove the semicolons in front of such type ;extension=mysqli
• Set time zone: date.timezone = Asia/Shanghai

These settings will affect PHP's behavior, such as connecting to the database, whether the date function reports an error, etc. Don't forget to save the file.

4. Use with Apache (optional)

If you use Apache, you need to have it load the PHP module. Taking XAMPP as an example, in Apache's configuration file httpd.conf you should ensure that there are contents similar to the following:

 LoadModule php_module "C:/php/php8apache2_4.dll"
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php .php
PHPIniDir "C:/php"

Note that the path should be forward slash / or double backslash \\ , otherwise Apache may fail to start.

Test method: Put an info.php file in the root directory of the website, and the content is <?php phpinfo(); ?> . If you can see the PHP configuration information on this page, it means that it is successful.

Basically that's it. Points that are easy to ignore during the configuration process include path errors, failure to enable necessary extensions, and the Apache configuration has written the DLL path incorrectly. Just take it step by step, it is not complicated but the details cannot be missed.

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