Apache Installation Tips for PHP, SQL Server and MySQL Logo Thursday, August 21, 2008
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Apache Installation Walkthrough
I. Before you start
II. Downloads
III. Installation
IV. Configuration
V. Credits N Stuff

Sub-Sections

Essential Packages
Database Packages
Perl Packages
Optional Packages
FreeBSD Users

!!! WARNING !!!

This Guide is Deprecated!

Please go to the New Guide here.

Downloads

Initially, create a working directory where you can download all the files into (The author usually downloads to /usr/local/src or a /usr/local/src/downloads directory). You might want to keep all the downloaded files handy, just in case you have to re-install something. The list of packages to be downloaded are enumerated below. There are two download locations for all the packages (the first one is the official site and the second one belongs to a friend). The official sites will contain the latest version of the package + some useful information for each pacakge. While my friend's FTP site is updated as soon as a new version of a package is released, you might want to check the official sites first.

Essential Packages

  • Apache Web Server: Check www.apache.org for the latest version or download it from here. Currently, the latest version is apache_1.3.23 as of 02/28/2002.
  • PHP Module Check www.php.net for the latest version or download it from here. Currently, the latest version is php-4.1.1.
  • Zend Optimizer: This is actually an optional module. However, since the optimizer enables the PHP code to run faster, I've included this as an essential package. Download the version that is specific to your operating system (Linux or FreeBSD) from here.
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    Database Packages

  • MYSQL: (Only if you're going to use MySQL) Check www.mysql.com for the latest version or download it here. Currently, the latest version is mysql-3.23.46.
  • SQL Server: (Only if you're using SQL Server) The driver to use is called FreeTDS. Check www.freetds.org for the latest version or download it here. Currently the latest version is freetds-0.53. Note that this is a driver to connect to SQL Server, not the SQL Server package itself. If you're looking to download a pirated version of SQL Server, you will NOT find it here!
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    Perl Packages

    While you may not use Perl to serve any web pages, it is still useful to download the perl packages to enable it to connect to databases. The reason for this is that you may need to write some scripts that do lookups on databases and write out certain data. The author has some perl scripts that access data on a SQL database and write out some PHP code automatically. This is especially useful when you need some lookup tables or something like that and you don't want to query the database each time. Instead, you can write a perl script that dumps the data into a PHP array, which your PHP code can then use. If the data in the database changes, all you need to do is rerun your perl script to rebuild your PHP code and you're set!

  • Perl Sybase Driver: (For SQL Server and Sybase only). Microsoft had originally licensed SQL Server from Sybase corporation and hence the driver works for both products. You can check the latest version at search.cpan.org/search?module=DBD::Sybase or download it from here. Currently, the latest version is DBD-Sybase-0.91.
  • Perl MySQL/mSQL Driver: (For MySQL or mSQL only). The driver works for both MySQL and mSQL. You can check the latest version at search.cpan.org/search?module=Msql or download it from here. Currently the latest version is Msql-Mysql-modules-1.2216.
  • Perl Database Independent Driver(DBI): You'll need this driver regardless of what database engine you are using (SQL Server, MySQL, mSQL or even Oracle for that matter). You can check the latest version at search.cpan.org/search?module=DBI or download it from here. Currently the latest version is DBI-1.20.
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    Optional Apache Modules

  • MHASH: This is an optional module to perform hash calculations in PHP. You can check for the latest version at mhash.sourceforge.net/dl/ or download it from here. Currently, the latest version is mhash-0.8.10. If you don't use any of PHP's mhash_xx functions, then you might not need this module. The author generally installs it, because he has always needed it at a later stage (because of the nature of the programs that he writes).
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    FreeBSD Users

    If you are a FreeBSD user, you will also need some other modules. The reason for this is that, some of the installation procedures use the GNU Make (gmake) program instead of plain ol' make (for some additional features that make does not provide). FreeBSD does not come with gmake by default and so you may need to install it separately, if your system does not already have it.
  • gettext: Check the latest version from www.gnu.org or download it from here. Currently the latest version is gettext-0.10.36.
  • make: Check the latest version from www.gnu.org or download it from here. Currently the latest version is make-3.79.
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    Apache Installation Walkthrough
    Last updated 12/25/2001