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Minh Huynh

Minh Huynh
Macromedia
 
Setting Up the PHP, MySQL, and Apache Server Platform on Macintosh OS X for Dreamweaver MX


Note: this article is quite dated. We encourage you to instead read Setting up a PHP development environment for Dreamweaver that was written for Dreamweaver CS3.

Creating dynamic web applications on an Apple Macintosh computer has become easier with the release of Mac OS X, which supports Apache, PHP, and MySQL. In this article, I will cover how all these technologies fit in with Macromedia Dreamweaver MX and how to set up each application server component to work with Dreamweaver MX. Use the steps in this article to guide you in getting started with these technologies. While I don't address security in this article, it is important and I recommend that you learn about it at some point.

At the time of writing, my configuration is Mac OS X version 10.2.3 (Jaguar), Apache Web server version 1.3.27, PHP application server version 4.2.3, MySQL database server version 3.23.53, and Dreamweaver MX version 6.1.

Apache Web Server Configuration
By default, when you install Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) it also installs Apache web server software. Almost everything is configured and ready to host your website. However, if you would like to run PHP, you must make minor configuration changes. The default Apache installation also installs PHP, but disables it. To use PHP, you must enable the PHP module, as follows:
1

Launch Terminal from /Applications/Utilities.
2 Open the Apache configuration file and edit the UNIX shell prompt:
sudo pico /etc/httpd/httpd.conf.
3 When prompted for a password, enter the Mac OS X administrator account password.
4 Uncomment the following lines:
  
LoadModule php4_module libexec/httpd/libphp4.so
AddModule mod_php4.c
5 Add the following lines (add these lines above: AddType application/x-tar .tgz):
  
AddType application/x-httpd-php .php 
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps
  Note: All the commands for the pico editor display on the screen and you can start any commands with the Control key. Use the arrow keys to move around. Pico is a text editor, mostly for UNIX users to use at the UNIX command line. The pico text editor resides in /usr/bin/ directory.
6 Add a new index page for PHP (index.php) so that the web server will recognize it as the first page to load:
  
<IfModule mod_dir.c> 
DirectoryIndex index.html index.php index.htm
</IfModule>
7

Save the httpd.conf file by pressing ^X (control + x keys). When the screen asks "Save Modified buffer?", press "Y". When prompted for "File Name to write : httpd.conf", press Return once to accept it. This will return you to the UNIX shell prompt.
 

Stop and Start Apache
There are two ways you can stop and start the Apache web server. This first method, described below, is the preferred way: use sharing in System Preferences, as follows:
1

Launch System Preferences.
2 Select Sharing and the Services tab.
3 To stop the Apache web service, uncheck the "Personal Web Sharing" checkbox or click the Stop button.
4 Click the Start button to start "Personal Web Sharing." This will turn on the Apache web service.
 
The second method is to stop and start Apache web server through the /usr/sbin/apachectl script from the UNIX shell, as follows (note that the first method, above, is preferable):
1

Launch the Terminal utility.
2 To stop the Apache web service enter the following at the UNIX shell prompt: sudo /usr/sbin/apachectl stop.
(Enter the Macintosh administrator password when prompted for a password.)
3 To start the Apache web service, enter the following at the UNIX shell prompt: sudo /usr/sbin/apachectl start.
(Enter the Macintosh administrator password when prompted for a password.)
Note: You can restart the Apache web server without first stopping it by entering
sudo /usr/sbin/apachectl restart.

Testing the Apache Web Server with PHP
Use the Macintosh text editor, textedit  to create a PHP file to test your Apache configuration. This determines if you successfully enabled the PHP application server module. To test the PHP module, follow these steps:
1

Launch TextEdit

 
• By default, when you create a text file using TextEdit, it will give the file an RTF extension. You need a .PHP extension; therefore, change TextEdit's preferences using the following steps:
 
a Select TextEdit from the menu and select Preferences.
b Under New Document Attributes, select Plain text.
c Under Saving, uncheck append ".txt" extension to plain text files.
d Close the Preferences window.
2 Copy the following PHP code into the TextEdit window:
  
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
3 Choose File > Save As... Save the file as phpinfo.php into your home directory. Under Where, choose Home. Then, save the file in the "Sites" folder.
4 To test this file, browse it at the following URL: http://localhost/~UserName/phpinfo.php where ~UserName is the name of your account. If you have configured everything correctly, the following appears:
   
  Browsing phpinfo.php
 
Creating a MySQL Account
Before installing MySQL, you must create a user account named mysql and a group called mysql (the MySQL database will be running under the same username and group). The mysql name and group should have been created when you installed Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar). This has nothing to do with installing MySQL database. The system creates this account and group by default. To verify that your Macintosh has this account, follow these steps:
 
1 Launch NetInfo Manager by going to /Applications/Utilities/.
2 If the NetInfo Manager's domain list does not start, select Domain > Open and enter: / for the Domain entry. Click OK
3 Under the second column of the Domain list, you should see a list of things such as aliases, groups..........users.
4 Select users to verify that the user mysql exists.
5 Select groups under the second column to verify that group mysql exists.
6 If the user and group named mysql do not yet exist, create them as follows:
 
a The easiest way to create any new account is to use the System Preferences Accounts.
b Create the mysql user account the same way you would create any new user account. Use the following steps:
 
i Click New User.
ii Enter MySQL User for the Name.
iii Enter mysql for the Short Name.
iv Do not enter a password and uncheck both "Allow user to administer this computer" and "Allow user to log in from Windows".
v Click Save. Click Ignore when the system prompts you with "No password has been set for this user."
c Now that you've created the mysql user account, launch the NetInfo Manager (/Applications/Utilities). Before you can change or verify the properties or values of the mysql user account, you need to authenticate yourself by choosing Security > Authenticate and when prompted for a password, enter the Mac OS X administrator account password.
d Click the users column and search for the mysql account that appears to the right of the users column.
e Click mysql. The mysql account should have the following properties:
   
 
Property Value(s)
expire 0
realname MySQL User
name mysql
passwd *
uid 74
_writers_passwd mysql
change 0
shell /dev/null
home /dev/null
gid 74
   
• Uid and gid can be any number that you have not yet used. Both properties use Number 74 by default.
• If you need to change or add any information, you must authenticate yourself  by selecting Security > Authenticate before you can make any changes.
• After you authenticate yourself , you can double click any field under " Property and Value" and modify the entries. For example, if you need to delete any field such as picture (picture is one of the available properties), select the property and click Delete.
• If you need to add a new property, such as sharedDir (sharedDir is one of the available properties), click New.
Note: Using the System Preferences/Accounts to create the mysql account will make the account appear in the System Accounts. However, the account will not appear on the Macintosh Login screen.


Installing MySQL Database
By default, if you have Mac OS X 10.x server installed, this process has already installed MySQL database for you, too. If you have to install MySQL, however, it's a simple process that takes no longer than a half hour (I went through this process). Compiling your own MySQL has several benefits over the precompiled binary. These benefits include adding or removing features that you do not need, adding/removing the configurations, and always having the latest version. For most systems, however, the precompiled binary should be sufficient. Below, I will walk you through the precompiled binary of MySQL.

You can download the precompiled MySQL binary from http://www.entropy.ch/software/macosx/mysql/.

Once you've downloaded the MySQL installer from the entropy.ch website, double click the MySQL installer package (mysql-3.23.53.pkg) and follow the instructions. By default, the MySQL installation installs in the /usr/local folder. Note that all steps hereafter will be in UNIX. If you know UNIX, this benefits you; however, if you are not familiar with UNIX, don't panic. It's very simple if you follow these steps below carefully.
 
1 Double click the MySQL Installer to install the MySQL database.
2 Launch the Terminal utility.
3

At the UNIX shell prompt, enter:

cd /usr/local/mysql
4

Enter:

sudo ./scripts/mysql_install_db

This will execute the shell script to create the MySQL system tables and set up all the necessary files.
5

Enter:

sudo chown -R mysql:mysql data

This UNIX command changes both the owner and group of the data directory to mysql.

6

While staying in the /usr/local/mysql/ directory, start the MySQL database. Enter:

sudo ./bin/safe_mysqld --user=mysql &

7

If you need to set up the password for the root account (this root account is the super user of MySQL database), enter:

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqladmin -u root password 'new-password'
8

To test if you can log in using the root account, enter:

/usr/local/mysql/bin/mysql -uroot -p mysql

When prompted for a password, enter the newly created password. The mysql> database prompt appears.
Note: If you encounter any problems, repeat steps 1 through 8 above. You must first completely remove the MySQL installation by running /usr/bin/rm -rf /usr/local/mysql/.
 
Creating a New MySQL Database User and Table
After you install the MySQL database on your system, the installation should create two databases: mysql and test. In the following example, you will not use the test database, but you will create a new test database for test purposes. If you are still logged in to the MySQL database from step 8 as root user in the "Installing MySQL Database" section above, create a MySQL user. If you are not logged in as root, you must log in following step 8 above.

Once you log in at the mysql> prompt, run the MySQL statement/query or script:
1 Enter the command to change the database:
  
use mysql;
2 Create a new database called dreamweavermx:
  
CREATE DATABASE dreamweavermx;
3 Now you are ready to create a MySQL username called dwmx, set the password to mm, grant select, insert, delete and update permissions, and only allow users to log in from localhost:
  
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE ON dreamweavermx.* TO 
dwmx@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'mm';
4 Enter the command to reload the system tables:
  
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
5 Enter the command to query the database table:
  
SELECT db, host, user FROM db WHERE user='dwmx';
  You will see your query result.
6 Change the database to dreamweavermx:
  
use dreamweavermx;
7 Create a table called movies in the dreamweavermx database by copying the following MySQL script and pasting it at the mysql> prompt:
  
CREATE TABLE movies (
movies_id INTEGER AUTO_INCREMENT NOT NULL,
PRIMARY KEY (movies_id),
firstname VARCHAR(20) NULL,
lastname VARCHAR(20) NULL,
email VARCHAR(35) NULL
);
8 Enter the command to describe the movies table:
  
desc movies;
  You will see the table definition.
9 Insert seven records into the movies table by copying the following insert statements and pasting them into the mysql prompt:
  


INSERT INTO movies VALUES(1,'Harry','Potter','harry@harrypotter-fake.com');
INSERT INTO movies VALUES(2,'Ron','Weasley','ron@harrypotter-fake.com');
INSERT INTO movies VALUES(3,'Hermione','Granger','hermione@harrypotter-fake.com');
INSERT INTO movies VALUES(4,'Draco','Malfoy','draco@harrypotter-fake.com'); 
INSERT INTO movies VALUES(5,'Albus','Dumbledore','albus@harrypotter-fake.com');
INSERT INTO movies VALUES(6,'Minerva','McGonagall','minerva@harrypotter-fake.com'); 
INSERT INTO movies VALUES(7,'Rubeus','Hagrid','rubeus@harrypotter-fake.com');
10 Query the movies table and confirm that you inserted seven records:
  
SELECT count(*) FROM movies;
  This should return seven records.
11 Finally, log out from the MySQL database with the following command:
  
quit
 
Using Dreamweaver MX to Create PHP/MySQL Applications
You will use Dreamweaver MX and what you have learned in this article to create PHP/MySQL applications. Since I'm logging to my Mac OS X system with a username admin with administrator privileges, I will set up my site definitions in Dreamweaver using my home directory for the location of my saved PHP files.
1 Launch Dreamweaver MX.
2 Select Site > New Site.
3 Select the Advanced tab if it's not already selected
 
a Enter the following information under the Local Info category (Click here to see a sample of a screen shot of the Local Info category):
 
• Site Name: Assign a name for your site, such as PHP-MySQL Site.
• Local Root Folder: Choose any folder in your system by clicking the Browse folder icon.
• Check the Enable Cache button.
b Remote Info (Click here to see a sample of a screen shot of the Remote Info).
 
• Access: Local/Network
• Remote Folder*: HardDrive:Users:admin:Sites:
• Check the Refresh Remote File List Automatically checkbox.
c Testing Server (Click here to see a sample of a screen shot of the Testing Server).
 
• Server Model: PHP MySQL
• This Site Contains: Dreamweaver MX Pages Only should be selected.
• Access: Local/Network
• Testing Server Folder*: Should be the same as the "Remote Folder" in the Remote Info entry.
• URL Prefix**: http://127.0.0.1/~admin/
4 Click OK to save your site definition and click Done when you are finished.
 
Next you will create your first PHP page, which will retrieve all of the records from the database that you created and display them on the page.
 
1 Create a new page in Dreamweaver MX by selecting File > New > General > Dynamic Page > PHP > Click the Create button.
2 Save the page as harrypotter.php by selecting File > Save As.
3 Enter the following text anywhere on your page: "Harry Potter - The Casts".
4 To create a database connection and recordset, select Window > Databases.
5 Under Databases, click the plus button and choose MySQL Connection. Enter the following information in the connection dialog box:
 
a My Connection: PHPMySQLConn
b MySQL Server: localhost
c User Name: dwmx
d Password: mm
e Database: dreamweavermx
In this step, you can leave the Database field blank and click Select to choose the database from a list.
f Click the Test button to the test the connection. If everything tests OK, you should see the message "Connection was made successfully."
g Click OK to close the testing window.
6 Click OK to save the connection.
7 To get to the Bindings tab and create a recordset, select Window > Bindings. Click the plus button, choose Recordset, and enter the following information.
 
a Name: rsPHPMySQLConn
b Connection: PHPMySQLConn (Select from the pop-up menu)
c TableName: movies
d Columns: All
e Click the Test button. You will see all seven records return.
f Click OK to close the test dialog.
g Click OK again to save the recordset.
8 To add a dynamic table to the page, place the cursor below the page heading "Harry Potter - The Casts" and select Insert > Application Objects > Dynamic Table.
9 Enter the following in the Dynamic Table dialog:
 
  Recordset: rsPHPMySQLConn (select from the pop-up menu)
  Show: pick All Records
  Border: 1
Click OK.
10 This inserts the dynamic table on the page.
11 Select File > Save to save the page.
12 Next, transfer the files harrypotter.php and Connections/PHPMySQLConn.php to the Remote Site.
13 Launch your browser and enter http://localhost/~admin/harrypotter.php into the Address bar and press the Return key. Your page will display seven records, as shown below:
   
  Display of Harry Potter Cast from the Database
   
  See the source code for the harrypotter.php page in this TXT file.
 
* If you would like to use the Apache Web server root directory to host your site, the default root directory is in /Library/WebServer/Documents/. Ensure that the account that logged in to the Macintosh has read and write permissions to this directory.

** If you are using the /Library/WebServer/Documents/ for your Remote Folder and Testing Server Folder, your URL Prefix will be http://localhost/ or http://127.0.0.1/.
 
 

About the author
Minh Huynh has been with Macromedia for about three years and is currently a Technical Support Engineer for Dreamweaver and Contribute products. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, coxing, photography, and eating in new restaurants.