Installation variants of PHP-based systems

This chapter is going to be translated to Polish ASAP :)

You need all the components mentioned above to install a Joomla! system for yourself. PC, browser, and Internet connection are usually available. There are a number of options for web server, PHP interpreter, and database.

You can:

• set the system up locally on your PC
• set the system up on a server in a company's Intranet
• rent a virtual server from a provider
• rent or purchase a server from a provider (with root access)

You can also:

Have the web server and database located on computers that are physically separated from each other.
You can also, of course, use different:

• brands of web servers
• versions of PHP interpreters
• Versions of MySQL databases
• And on top of that, you can install and operate all these components on various operating systems.

This freedom in choice of resources can sometimes confuse a layman. Therefore, we will discuss a few typical scenarios.

Local Test Environment

If you are at home or in your office, for example, and want to set up a Joomla! website, you may use any of the following operating systems.

Windows Operating System

For a Windows operating system you can use either of two web servers:.
You take a pre-configured package (XAMPP), unpack it on your computer, and everything you need is there (http://apachefriends.org).

Linux Operating System

Here it depends on the distribution version you have. All the distributions allow simple installation (with a click of the mouse) of the Apache, PHP, and MySQL packages. At times, depending on distribution, they may already be pre-installed. So you can use the programs contained in the distribution or a preconfigured package (XAMPP); extract it on your computer and everything you need is there (http://apachefriends.org).

Mac OS X Operating System

In Mac OS X operating system, you have a default web server (Apache) in your system that you have to activate, but unfortunately not PHP and no MySQL.
So you can use the installed Apache web server and install the missing software or the pre-configured XAMPP package for Mac OS X. Another complete package by the name of MAMP is also very popular with the Mac OS X environment (http://www.mamp.info).

Production Environment

You have several options here as well.

Rented Virtual Server

You rent a web-space package with database, PHP support, and often also your domain name from a provider. In this case you have a functional environment and you can install your Joomla! into it. Consult your provider as to the version choices (PHP, MySQL). Sometimes providers offer Joomla! pre-installed with various templates. IIf this is the case, all you have to do is activate Joomla! with a click of the mouse and it is ready for you.

Your Own Server

You rent a server from a provider and install the operating system of your choice. You are the administrator of the system and you can work on it, just like on your PC at home.
Before you venture into the wilderness of the Internet, you should first practice on your local computer. This has the advantage that there are no connection fees, it is very fast, and you can practice at a leisurely pace.
You may even have a small local network at home where you can install Joomla! on one computer and access it from another.
Remember that there are probably more current versions on the respective project sites on the Internet.

Stumbling stones

This topic is very complex because there is a vast number of providers and an even greater number of installed web server, PHP, MySQL versions and web space management tools. Crunchpoints during the installation often consist of:

• an activated PHP Safe Mode, preventing you to upload files,
• 'forbidden' rewrite paths with the Apache web server because the so-called Apache Rewrite Engine (mod_rewrite) is not activated,
• the directory permissions on Linux and OSX, which are set differently than in Windows.
• Basically, the easiest way that almost always works, is the following:
• Download the current file package from the project website to your home PC and unzip everything into a temporary directory.
• Load the unpacked files via FTP onto your rented server or to the directory of your local installation. The files must be installed in the public directory. These directories are usually called htdocs, public_html or html. If there already are other installations in that directory, you can specify a sub directory