What do i need to install with php and where?

[bazmanblue]

I have just started a website where i want a voting booth. i wanted to learn asp but cant run ito n xp home edition. ive started learning php but am totally confused about what else i need to download i.e my sql, apache...
could someone explain to me what i need to install and where i can install it from? everytime install one thing it tells me i need another program installed to run it. i feel as if im going round in circles. what do i need for windows xp home edition? thanks for your help in advance

[extofer]

you can use PHP on any Linux machine.... however, there are Apache Servers for Windows and MySQL for them as well (I don't recommend). for best results, get a Linux machine running, otherwise, get an account like at fatcow.com where you can run PHP and MySQL.

Anymore questions?? But if you still want to run it on Windwos, check out http://us2.php.net/install.windows

Just so you also know, I use the MySQL Administrator Tool for Windows, but the DB is on Linux.

[bazmanblue]

im limited by money. how much would a linux machine cost?
would it be best for me to use asp on xp windows professional? thanks for your quick response. also does the database have to be on my own server. as in my own hosting? sorry am quite new to all of this?
i looked at the lunar pages link above for php hosting? is this similar to fatcow?

[extofer]

quest #1) what is this site (program) going to be used for?

You can desing your site and even your mySQL DB on your windows machine and upload them to the Web. Do you have a domain or a site where you work off of already?? I recomend a cool guy I use, http://www.cscweb.net/ (starting at $8.95 a month) or http://www.fatcow.com.

Last but not least, if you have VM ware, you can install and instance of Linux on your Windows box ... remember, linux if Free,

[Puckdropper]

Linux is free. All you need is the proper hardware (a P-200 with 32 or 64MB of RAM should be fine with some tweaking) and a distribution of Linux set up for running a server. (Many Linux systems have no keyboard, monitor, or mouse, the adminstration is done via SSH or a serial port.)

If you're just learning PHP, I'd find an all-in-one program such as EasyPHP that will let you get started easily and quickly. You can worry about such things are the Linux box later (or pay for web hosting.)

One more thing: You don't need a web server to process PHP. PHP comes with a command-line processor. You can redirect the output to a file and load that in your web browser. It's just so much easier to do development using a web server.