php newbie

[kingkev]

hi
im a complete novice at this, i have read tutorials on different sites but cant find an answer!!! i have latest versions of php, mysql and apache server installed on my win xp machine. i am thinking about creating my own website from scratch but dont want to commit to buying a domain name as yet. my problem is that i cant view my php test document, i know it has to be uploaded to the webserver but i dont know how to do this. do i need to have a domain name? when i installed apache i just typed localhot in the domain section because i dont have a domain name. is this the problem??
can someone help me please!!!!

[laserlight]

You can test your website from localhost, but if you want to publish it to the Web, it is best to get webspace from a webhost. It sounds like PHP was not correctly installed. How did you install Apache and PHP?

[kingkev]

im pretty sure ive installed apache correct as ive done a browser test for that which was suggested on another site, im not sure about php though. ive downloaded the zip and windows installer versions tried them both but still no luck. ive followed installation instructions which tells you to move .dll files to the apache folder and a few lines to a http (or somthing like http) text file. the only thing what i want to do is actually see what the php stuff would look like before i upload it like you can see a html document in a browser to see what it looks like. also could anyone talk me through how to install php properly in easy to understand steps as ive had no previous programming expeirience.
cheers

[kingkev]

im pretty sure ive installed apache correct as ive done a browser test for that which was suggested on another site, im not sure about php though. ive downloaded the zip and windows installer versions tried them both but still no luck. ive followed installation instructions which tells you to move .dll files to the apache folder and a few lines to a http (or somthing like http) text file. the only thing what i want to do is actually see what the php stuff would look like before i upload it like you can see a html document in a browser to see what it looks like. also could anyone talk me through how to install php properly in easy to understand steps as ive had no previous programming expeirience.
cheers

[laserlight]

Follow our instructions for installing PHP 5 under Windows.

[kingkev]

cheers laserlight thin ive got it sorted 🙂

[kingkev]

just a quick one, i have dreamwaever installed on my computer and when i do the php test (http://localhost/info.php) instead of loading in the browser it opens up into dreamweaver is this normal?

[sheephat]

yes, but i find it best to do it directly in the browser

i think there is an option in the settings to change this.