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Apache 1.3.x on Microsoft Windows

This section contains notes and hints specific to Apache 1.3.x installs of PHP on Microsoft Windows systems. We also have instructions and notes for Apache 2 on a separate page.

Note: You should read the manual installation steps first!

There are two ways to set up PHP to work with Apache 1.3.x on Windows. One is to use the CGI binary (php.exe for PHP 4 and php-cgi.exe for PHP 5), the other is to use the Apache module DLL. In either case you need to edit your httpd.conf to configure Apache to work with PHP, and then restart the server.

It is worth noting here that now the SAPI module has been made more stable under Windows, we recommend it's use above the CGI binary, since it is more transparent and secure.

Although there can be a few variations of configuring PHP under Apache, these are simple enough to be used by the newcomer. Please consult the Apache Documentation for further configuration directives.

After changing the configuration file, remember to restart the server, for example, NET STOP APACHE followed by NET START APACHE, if you run Apache as a Windows Service, or use your regular shortcuts.

Note: Remember that when adding path values in the Apache configuration files on Windows, all backslashes such as c:\directory\file.ext must be converted to forward slashes, as c:/directory/file.ext.

Installing as a CGI binary

If you unzipped the PHP package to C:\php\ as described in the Manual Installation Steps section, you need to insert these lines to your Apache configuration file to set up the CGI binary:

Example 6-3. PHP and Apache 1.3.x as CGI

ScriptAlias /php/ "c:/php/"
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

# For PHP 4
Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php.exe"

# For PHP 5
Action application/x-httpd-php "/php/php-cgi.exe"

# specify the directory where php.ini is
SetEnv PHPRC C:/php
Note that the second line in the list above can be found in the actual versions of httpd.conf, but it is commented out. Remember also to substitute the c:/php/ for your actual path to PHP.

Warning

By using the CGI setup, your server is open to several possible attacks. Please read our CGI security section to learn how to defend yourself from those attacks.

If you would like to present PHP source files syntax highlighted, there is no such convenient option as with the module version of PHP. If you chose to configure Apache to use PHP as a CGI binary, you will need to use the show_source() function. To do this simply create a PHP script file and add this code: <?php show_source("original_php_script.php"); ?>. Substitute original_php_script.php with the name of the file you wish to show the source of.

Installing as an Apache module

You should add the following lines to your Apache httpd.conf file:

Example 6-4. PHP as an Apache 1.3.x module

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php

# For PHP 4
LoadModule php4_module "c:/php/sapi/php4apache.dll"

# For PHP 5
LoadModule php5_module "c:/php/php5apache.dll"

# specify the directory where php.ini is
SetEnv PHPRC C:/php

You may find after using the Windows installer for Apache that you need to define the AddModule directive for mod_php4.c. This is especially important if the ClearModuleList directive is defined, which you will find by scrolling down a few lines. You will see a list of AddModule entries, add the following line at the end of the list: AddModule mod_php4.c. For PHP 5, instead use AddModule mod_php5.c

If you would like to use the source code highlighting feature, you need to add the following line to your httpd.conf: AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps. This should be inserted at the same place where you inserted AddType application/x-httpd-php .php above). With this setup, all files served with the .phps extension will be syntax highlighted for the browser.

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