First lot of confusions seems that there is multiple php.ini files in standard XAMPP installation. If check documentation of XAMPP you will notice that php.ini file is in /xampp/php.ini and everything else need to be ignored. Also if you are lazy to read documentation you can check which php.ini Apache use on your XAMPP by using

phpinfo(); or http://localhost/xampp/phpinfo.php

So when you locate your php.ini open this file in favorite text editor and find php_curl.dll currently this is commented by ; and all what you need to do is simply uncomment this line

extension=php_curl.dll

in your php.ini file, then restart Apache. If you asking what dlls you need, you don’t need because all dlls are included in XAMPP installation

This is installed and used on my 1.7.1 version

First you will need xDebug, you can download this from this site. Choose package what you need and which is compatible with your PHP version – THAT IS IMPORTANT. For example if you have PHP version 5.1.1 you will need xDebug for 5.1.1.

When you finish download copy downloaded xDebug dll file in the folder that contain other PHP extensions, for example c:\php\ext in case that you use XAMPP location is c:\xampp\php\extensions

xdebug - php extensions folder

When you finished locate and open php.ini file, it usualy located in apache bin folder or in php folder,

xdebug - Edit php ini file

open php.ini file in your favorite editor and search for



[Zend]

zend_extension_ts = “C:\xampp\php\zendOptimizer\lib\ZendExtensionManager.dll”

after last line and before next [Something]

add this



zend_extension_ts = “C:\xampp\php\extensions\xdebug.dll”

xdebug.remote_enable = on

Replace C:\xampp\php\extensions\xdebug.dll with full path to your xDebug dll file.

And that is all now you have working debug server on your xampp

Except this you will need debug client ( xDebugClient ) too for full operational environment

What is the XAMPP ? – XAMPP is a variation of the commonly used acronym LAMP which stands for Linux, the Apache web server, the MySQL database and the languages PHP and Perl. XAMPP runs on multiple platforms (hence the ‘X’) and installs versions of Apache, MySQL, PHP and Perl specifically tailored to run on your local computer rather than on a server available on the Internet. The emphasis on local installation also means that XAMPP is inherently insecure and should not be deployed on systems accessible from outside your own network. XAMPP makes all of this extraordinarily easy and the rest of this post will show you just how easy it really is. Also XAMPP is available for most common operating systems such is MacOS, Linux, Solaris and Windows ( we will use this installation package for our environment ).

Installing XAMPP – First you will need latest version of XAMPP and can be always downloaded from the Apache Friends XAMPP site. The most recent version is 1.6.7. The Windows version has three downloads – an installer file version, a zipped package version “for the purists” and a self-extracting zipped archive. The simplest option is the Windows installer. Go ahead and download the installer version. I don’t mind waiting.

Installation really is easy and is straight forward . Double click on the exe file you downloaded. If you’re running Vista, the following warning message may pop up:

XAMPP - Vista Warnning popup

Just follow advice and click OK.

After you press OK usual installer screen will show.

XAMPP Installation screen

XAMPP will ask you to choose a destination. Vista users should keep in mind the earlier warning message and make sure that XAMPP installs in to your main system folder. I have chosen to install XAMPP directly into my C:\ drive at c:\xampp. Once you have selected a location, click “Next” to continue.

XAMPP - Select folder where you want install

You need to install the web server and database services for XAMPP to be useful for local blog development. At the next screen of the installation, ensure that the boxes are checked for Apache service (the web server) and MySQL service (the database).

XAMPP - Options

The Filezilla option is for the installation of an FTP service. You are probably already familiar with FTP (File Transfer Protocol) but it is not required for our purposes here. I have left that option unchecked.
The shortcuts are also useful but not necessary. I have chosen to let XAMPP install the shortcuts.
Click “Install” to let the XAMPP installer do its thing, which will look something like this:

XAMPP - Start Installation

You might get an error message like the following once the installation is finished:

XAMPP - Ports Error

I am going to admit that I have no idea why this error message appeared. I waved the rubber chicken and clicked “OK”. Since then, everything seems to have worked just fine. My advice: go with the flow on this one.
Step 3 – Check your installation
XAMPP sets up a local web server on your computer that is accessed by typing http://localhost/ into your web browser. Do this now to see if XAMPP installed correctly with the required services running. If you’re lucky, your browser looks like this:

XAMPP - Final Look when started

For some reason, one or more of the required services might not be running (for example, the Apache service might not be running because the ports were already in use). You can see which services are running in the XAMPP Control Panel. If you chose to have shortcuts installed, you will find a shortcut to the Control Panel conveniently placed on your desktop. If not, you will also find the program sitting in the main XAMPP folder (the file is called xampp_control.exe).
The control panel looks like this:

XAMPP - Control Panel

The most important services are Apache and MySQL. If they’re not running, you can start them in the Control Panel. Once your control panel looks like the one above, try localhost again.
Hooray!
XAMPP is now installed and ready for business. In the coming weeks I will show you how to install a number of blogging engines on your local machine such as WordPress and Movable Type.
If you are still having problems getting XAMPP up and running, drop me a line in the comments and I will try and help you get it working.

And that’s all

I’ll write in my next post how to setup PHP develop environment using xdebug and XAMPP, until that stay tuned.