Ubuntu Apache PHP5 and MySQL Installation

How do I install and configure PHP5 and MySQL for the Apache 2 web server under Ubuntu Linux operating systems?

php5 is server-side, open source HTML-embedded scripting language. MySQL is database server for many web-based applications. This FAQ assumes you have installed and configured Apache 2 Web Server.

Install MySQL Server

Type the following command to install MySQL server, client and documentation:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-common mysql-client  mysql-doc-5.0

Edit /etc/mysql/my.cnf, enter:

sudo vi /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Review MySQL settings (the defaults are fine for small usage). To start / stop / restart mysql use the following commands:

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start
sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

Set MySQL root User Password

By default there is no root password for MySQL. Type the following command to set root password:

mysqladmin -u root password 'My-Secret-Password'

Create a Sample Database and User For Testing Purpose

First connect to server, enter:

mysql -u root -p

Sample Outputs:

Enter password:
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 277
Server version: 5.0.67-0ubuntu6 (Ubuntu)
Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.
mysql>

Create a database called nixcraft, type the following at mysql> prompt:
mysql> CREATE DATABASE nixcraft;
Create a user called vivek with password t0mj3rR, enter:
mysql> GRANT ALL ON nixcraft.* TO vivek@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 't0mj3rR';
To quit just type \q and hit [Enter] key.

Install PHP 5

Type the following command to install php5, gd (graphics), MySQL and PostgreSQL database support:

sudo apt-get install php5 libapache2-mod-php5 php5-cgi php5-cli php5-common php5-curl php5-gd php5-mysql php5-pgsql

/etc/php5/apache2/php.ini is default php5 configuration file. By default php5 is enabled by installer. You can also run the following command to turn on php5 support

sudo a2enmod php5

Sample Outputs:

Enabling module php5.
Run '/etc/init.d/apache2 restart' to activate new configuration!

Restart the Web server:

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Test Your PHP5 and MySQL Configuration

Create a sample program called /var/www/test.php and type the following code:

$link = mysql_connect("localhost", "root", "123456");
   mysql_select_db("mysql");
 
   $query = "show databases";
   $result = mysql_query($query);
   print "
<h1>MySQL DB Test executed from ". $_SERVER['SCRIPT_NAME']. "</h1>
 
\n";
   print "Script name: ". $_SERVER['SCRIPT_FILENAME'] ."
<hr>\n";
   while ($line = mysql_fetch_array($result))
   {
      print "$line[0]<br>\n";
   }
   mysql_close($link);
   echo "
<hr/>Script executed on " . date("d/m/Y");
?>

Fire a web-browser and type url http://example.com/test.php or http://server.ip.add.ress/test.php

Fig.01: PHP and MySQL in action

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Ubuntu Apache PHP5 and MySQL Installation – Configuration