practice php on ubuntu laptop

I only have a laptop with ubuntu 20.04 installed.
I am anxious to learn php but the book I have only explains how to install php and set up local server for Window and Mac users. I found a stack overflow page that explains how but it is 10 years old and I decided to ask this question.
So could you please explain how I can set up a local server and practice and test php programming?

Use the builtin webserver from php:

Installation:

sudo apt install php-cli

Usage (From inside your test projects directory):

php -S localhost:8000

Then point your browser to localhost:8000.

It will automatically load the index.php file if there is any. You can create it with any text editor and start programing:

<html>
 <head>
  <title>PHP Test</title>
 </head>
 <body>
 <?php echo '<p>Hello World</p>'; ?> 
 </body>
</html>

There are three things you will need for this:

an Internet connection (to install software)
Apache
PHP

Here's how you can get a bare minimum installed and running on your system:

Open Terminal (if it's not already open)
Update apt:
```
sudo apt update 
```
Install Apache:
```
sudo apt install apache2
```
Test Apache works by opening a browser and visiting http://127.0.0.1. You should see something that looks like this:

Install PHP (and some common development libraries):

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-dev php-xml php-json php-mbstring

Restart Apache:
```
sudo service apache2 restart
```
Create a test file in the Apache root directory:
```
sudo nano /var/www/html/testing.php
```
Paste the following into the new file:
```
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
```
Test PHP works by visiting http://127.0.0.1/testing.php in your browser. You should see something like this: ^{Your version number will likely be a bit different, as this was done on a 21.10 installation.}
Start learning PHP 👍🏻

That's all there is to a basic setup with just Apache and PHP.

practice php on ubuntu laptop

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