Server on an iBook

September 27, 2006 8:37 PM

Help me put an interactive web site on an iBook.

I have a web site that I created, which uses PHP and SQL, running on an Apache server. I'm applying for jobs, and it could be nice to bring along my iBook on an interview and demonstrate the site.

Now, of course the site is available on the web, but I can't count on hooking up anywhere I'm interviewed. What do I need to know to set up the whole functionality of the site within the confines of one Mac lap top?

I've done next to no configuring on a Mac before, so beginners level stuff is good.

posted by RobotHero to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Sounds like a perfect reason to give this product a spin:

XAMPP

The Mac version is in early beta, and I haven't tried it myself, but I'd give it a shot in your situation. (I am not affiliated with them in any way).
posted by pmbuko at 8:54 PM on September 27, 2006

on "postview" neustile's suggestion looks better, though.
posted by pmbuko at 8:54 PM on September 27, 2006

Both Apache and PHP (version 4 only, download version 5 here) are installed by default on OS X. Apache can be turned on in the "Sharing" panel in System Preferences. The PHP files can then be placed in the "Sites" folder under your home directory.

Apple provides a guide on installing MySQL here.
posted by shaun at 8:59 PM on September 27, 2006

>Apple provides a guide on installing MySQL here.

...And it's clearly marked "Updated: 2005-05-13"! It's way out of date and involves all kinds of command-line pain that RobotHero doesn't need.

Just go to MySQL's website and download their Mac installer.

Don't some recent Macs have MySQL installed anyway?
posted by AmbroseChapel at 9:37 PM on September 27, 2006

I'd recommend MAMP, as getting the preinstalled stuff working nicely is a bit of a pain.
posted by malevolent at 5:53 AM on September 28, 2006

neustile said 'Try the MAMP MySQL, Apache, PHP installer for the Mac.'

It's certainly the easiest way to get everything up and running quickly, but I found MAMP ran very slowly indeed on my iBook (a G3, so YMMV).
posted by jack_mo at 5:58 AM on September 28, 2006

Response by poster: I've installed MAMP, but I'm having a problem with it:

How do I get it to be more talkative with php errors?

I uploaded my site as is, and I'm getting no output. If I put in an html file, or a simple "Hello world" php script, I get output. If I put a bug in my Hello World file, it outputs nothing.

So I don't know how to get the error message out of MAMP that will tell me why my site isn't working.
posted by RobotHero at 3:41 PM on September 28, 2006

You need to enable error reporting in the php.ini.

google will show you the way!
posted by tjenks at 4:05 PM on September 28, 2006

I put this in the top of the page:

<?php 
	error_reporting ( E_ALL );
	ini_set ( display_errors, 1 );
 ?>

which is, you know, cargo cult because I don't really know what it means but works. Easier than setting it in the ini file.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 5:05 AM on September 29, 2006