This section will guide you through the general configuration and installation of PHP on Unix systems. Be sure to investigate any sections specific to your platform or web server before you begin the process.
Prerequisite knowledge and software:
Basic UNIX skills (being able to operate "make" and a C compiler, if compiling)
An ANSI C compiler (if compiling)
flex (for compiling)
bison (for compiling)
A web server
Any module specific components (such as gd, pdf libs, etc.)
There are several ways to install PHP for the Unix platform, either with a compile and configure process, or through various pre-packaged methods. This documentation is mainly focused around the process of compiling and configuring PHP.
The initial PHP setup and configuration process is controlled by the use of the commandline options of the configure script. This page outlines the usage of the most common options, but there are many others to play with. Check out the Complete list of configure options for an exhaustive rundown. There are several ways to install PHP:
As an Apache 1.x module or an Apache 2.x module.
As an Pike module for Caudium
For use with AOLServer, NSAPI, phttpd, Pi3Web, Roxen, thttpd, or Zeus.
As a CGI executable
PHP can be compiled in a number of different ways, but one of the most popular is as an Apache module. The following is a quick installation overview.
When PHP is configured, you are ready to build the CGI executable. The command make should take care of this. If it fails and you can't figure out why, see the Problems section.