Chapter 51. Obtaining PHP

This section has details about PHP download locations, and OS issues.

1. Where can I obtain PHP?
2. Are pre-compiled binary versions available?
3. Where can I get libraries needed to compile some of the optional PHP extensions?
4. How do I get these libraries to work?
5. I got the latest version of the PHP source code from the CVS repository on my Windows machine, what do I need to compile it?
6. Where do I find the Browser Capabilities File?

1. Where can I obtain PHP?

You can download PHP from any of the members of the PHP network of sites. These can be found at http://www.php.net/. You can also use anonymous CVS to get the absolute latest version of the source. For more information, go to http://www.php.net/anoncvs.php.

2. Are pre-compiled binary versions available?

We only distribute precompiled binaries for Windows systems, as we are not able to compile PHP for every major Linux/Unix platform with every extension combination. Also note, that many Linux distributions come with PHP built in these days. Windows binaries can be downloaded from our Downloads page, for Linux binaries, please visit your distributions website.

3. Where can I get libraries needed to compile some of the optional PHP extensions?

Note: Those marked with * are not thread-safe libraries, and should not be used with PHP as a server module in the multi-threaded Windows web servers (IIS, Netscape). This does not matter in Unix environments, yet.

LDAP (Unix).
LDAP (Unix/Win) : Mozilla Directory (LDAP) SDK
free LDAP server.
Berkeley DB2 (Unix/Win) : http://www.sleepycat.com/.
SNMP* (Unix): .
GD* (Unix/Win).
mSQL* (Unix).
PostgreSQL (Unix).
IMAP* (Win/Unix).
Sybase-CT* (Linux, libc5) : Available locally.
FreeType (libttf):.
ZLib (Unix/Win32).
expat XML parser (Unix/Win32).
PDFLib.
mcrypt.
mhash.
t1lib.
dmalloc.
aspell.
readline.

4. How do I get these libraries to work?

You will need to follow instructions provided with the library. Some of these libraries are detected automatically when you run the 'configure' script of PHP (such as the GD library), and others you will have to enable using '--with-EXTENSION' options to 'configure'. Run 'configure --help' for a listing of these.

5. I got the latest version of the PHP source code from the CVS repository on my Windows machine, what do I need to compile it?

First, you will need Microsoft Visual C++ v6 (v5 may do it also, but we do it with v6), and you will need some support files. See the manual section about building PHP from source on Windows.

6. Where do I find the Browser Capabilities File?

You can find a browscap.ini file at http://www.garykeith.com/browsers/downloads.asp.