How to Run Your First PHP Program with XAMPP and Visual Studio Code

Last update: 12-17-2024

Are you ready to dive into PHP programming? This guide will walk you through setting up your environment and running your very first PHP program. We'll use Visual Studio Code as our code editor and XAMPP to set up a local web server. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Setting Up the Environment

Before we write any PHP code, we need to set up the tools to run it. Here’s how:

1. Download and Install XAMPP

XAMPP is an open-source web server package that allows you to build and test websites on a local server. The name stands for:

X: Cross-platform
A: Apache (the web server)
M: MariaDB (the database)
P: PHP
P: Perl

To get started:

Visit https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html.
Find the "XAMPP for Windows" section.
You’ll see multiple versions available. Opt for the latest version, usually listed at the bottom of the section.
Once the XAMPP download is complete, open the installer.
If a warning appears, click Yes to continue.
Choose the default installation folder (C:\xampp) and click Next.
Wait for the installation to finish, then click Finish to launch the XAMPP Control Panel.

2. Start XAMPP

To start the server:

Open the XAMPP Control Panel.
Click Start for both Apache and MySQL.
To verify the installation, open your browser and type localhost. If XAMPP is installed correctly, the dashboard will appear.

3. Download and Install Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a powerful and lightweight code editor. To download:

Go to https://code.visualstudio.com/Download.
Download the version for Windows.
Follow the straightforward installation steps — just click Next until the installation is complete.

Step 2: Writing Your First PHP Program

1. Navigate to the htdocs Folder

All PHP files must be stored in the htdocs folder for XAMPP to process them:

Go to C:\xampp and locate the htdocs folder.
Create a new folder inside htdocs and name it firstphp.

2. Create Your PHP File

Let’s create a file named index.php. This file will load by default when you access the folder in a browser:

Open Visual Studio Code.
Click Open Folder and navigate to C:\xampp\htdocs\firstphp.
Create a new file inside the folder and name it index.php. Ensure the extension is .php.

3. Write the PHP Code

Open index.php and add the following code:


<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My First PHP Webpage</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>My First PHP Webpage</h2>
    <?php
        echo "Hello, World!";
    ?>
</body>
</html>

4. Run Your PHP Program

To view your program in action:

Open your browser.
Type http://localhost/firstphp in the address bar.
You should see the heading and the text Hello, World!.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up a PHP development environment and run your first PHP program. You’re now ready to explore more complex PHP features. Happy coding!