Mac Server Series: Setting up PHP and MySQL
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This week on Mac Server Series I explain how to install PHP and MySQL on your Mac. PHP is one of the most popular programming languages for web development, and MySQL is a popular open source database application. FreeMacBlog.com and all the FreeMac* sites are powered by PHP and MySQL running on a Mac mini.
Learning PHP and MySQL is a great way to learn web application development, and installing them is easy.
Watch here: How to setup PHP and MySQL on your Mac
Show Notes:
- Download PHP from Entropy.ch.
- Download MySQL from MySQL.com.
- If you just want to try them out, download MAMP (for testing and development only, not production.)
- Learn PHP with the PHP.net tutorial

September 11th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
really usefull!! thx
keep the work
September 11th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
For some reason, that screwed up my Mac’s Apache server to where it no longer works. Maybe it’s that PHP didn’t update the Apache configs when it (or at least I think it did this) replaced PHP 4? We all know how Apache doesn’t like to start when that happens..
September 12th, 2006 at 9:23 am
Unless the person is looking for the very latest version of PHP, the mac mini already comes with PHP installed. The user just has to uncomment the lines in the httpd.conf file.
So is all is really needed is the MY SQL install.
September 12th, 2006 at 11:41 am
Nice intro to setting up PHP/MySQL. Curious to see progress of further posts.
I just went through similiar steps for PHP/MySQL using “Foundation: PHP for Dreamweaver 8″ and just set up a virtual host of my own website on my laptop to pre-test before posting to my server. I still have a long way to go, but am excited to see this compendium to what I’ve already begun.
Thanks!
Mark
September 14th, 2006 at 9:11 am
Great series - but can you please change your mouse cursor? Its really hard to see, especially when it turns yellow. Thanks
September 14th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Scott, I use the regular mouse cursor. I think it is one of the flaws with running Snapz Pro on an Intel machine.
I’ll see if there is a way to make the cursor more visual.
September 21st, 2006 at 5:06 am
No episode for this week?
— Its already Thursday 
September 21st, 2006 at 5:49 am
Has the series stopped or will there be more??
September 22nd, 2006 at 4:00 pm
what happen to the series? seems to have stopped?
October 5th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
It’s getting close to a month since a post in this series. I can certainly understand if the project was just too much to handle, but it sure would be nice to get some sort of feedback here to indicate if there are plans to continue.
So I’ll ask the question one last time:
Are there plans to continue this series?
October 5th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
Scott, there will still be videos, just not as regularly.
We did create an RSS feed that will just deliver the videos so keep an eye on that.
http://www.freemacblog.com/rss-feed-for-server-series/
October 7th, 2006 at 9:46 am
wow this is a great series!! I haven’t been able to watch all of the videos yet, but I don’t think you have covered starting an email server and I would love a video on it!
again thanks for a such a great contribution (the website is great as well)!
ps- macminicolo is a great business idea.
October 7th, 2006 at 10:32 am
Yeah I was wondering what is coming down the pipe?
October 18th, 2006 at 5:02 am
“Scott, I use the regular mouse cursor. I think it is one of the flaws with running Snapz Pro on an Intel machine.
I’ll see if there is a way to make the cursor more visual.”
Brian, I do not know Snapz Pro, so maybe my tip won’t work, but you can change the size of the cursor in OS X by going to System Preferences - Universal Access - Mouse - Cursor Size. It’s a system-wide setting, so I expect it would do the job in this particular case.
I’m really glad to hear that more tutorials are in the pipeline. As far as I’m concerned, this series is a great service to the Mac community. Keep up the good work.
November 1st, 2006 at 12:08 am
just a note - if you have already enabled the built-in php on your mac (by un-commenting the php module lines within the httpd.conf file by hand) then using the entropy installation will break apache and it fails to start.
however, the solution is simple - put the #comments back into the httpd.conf file (at the start of the two lines in there that contain ‘php’) and then re-run the entropy installer and everything will be fine.
one thing i did notice, although i haven’t fully investigated this - i had a test file that worked under php4 but not under php5 - seems it has to now be - is this right? or did i get something else wrong and it’s just conincidence that changing the tag fixed it?
November 3rd, 2006 at 11:30 pm
Does http://www.freemacblog.com/rss-feed-for-server-series/ work with video rss programs like Democracy Player?
November 5th, 2006 at 9:18 am
Can you make a tutorial on how to configure MySQL
December 17th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Hi
thank you for the series
i am getting an error message every time i am downloading the php ???
“there were errors installing the software”
any help
plus i lost my sites folder on my mac
December 17th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
hi
after downloading the mysql and installing it
my personal web sharing button is dimmed i can’t even see my local hoast address which was in blue right under that page? any hel what shell i doi to recover
thanks
Mike
July 7th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Hi; your video was great! But i now have two installations of apache trying to run. I know apache 1.3 is running but when i try to start 2.0 in the sys prefs, it gives me this error msg “Error! An instance of Apache is already running! Please disable Personal File Sharing in the Sharing preferences.”
I try to stop apache in the personal web sharing then start apache 2, it works but doesn’t run my php. i guess i’m unix challenged! Thanks.
jp