PHP FAQ
What is PHP?
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML.
Where can I learn more about PHP?
Online resources:
- The official PHP Homepage with documentation, tutorials, FAQ, etc.
- The W3Schools PHP Tutorial is a great way to learn about PHP by example.
Books:
- PHP Cookbook by David Sklar and Adam Trachtenberg.
- PHP in Action by Dagfinn Reiersøl with Marcus Baker and Chris Shiflett. (Book review on Slashdot.)
How is PHP used by Moodle?
- Installing Moodle/Creating custom php.ini files
- PHP settings by Moodle version
- PHP error logs
- php.ini related discussions in the Moodle forums
Which version of PHP is required by Moodle?
- See Installing_Moodle#Requirements.
- You can tell which version you are using by looking at PHP info.
How do I install PHP?
Usually PHP is installed alongside Apache and MySQL in a combination known as AMP, see Installing AMP for details. It is possible to build PHP from source - you might have to if you need a very new version for developing Moodle - however, it is quite challenging. PHP itself has many dependencies that you will need to obtain and build, some of which are also tricky to build from source (e.g. GD).
How do I check the PHP configuration on my server?
Run the phpinfo() command. It will display a whole lot of information about the current PHP configuration on your server. You can also run this command from within Moodle. This option is available under Administration > Server > PHP info.
