What you need for this book

For this book, you'll need a computer with a text editor and a web browser. You'll also need a web server to run PHP code. You can use a paid hosting provider (see Chapter 8, Online Resources, for recommendations) or set this up on your own computer.

If you'd like to run a PHP-compatible web server on your own computer:

• On Windows, Microsoft's PHP on Windows installer is the simplest way to get started. Refer to http://www.microsoft.com/web/platform/phponwindows.aspx.
• On Mac OS X, PHP comes bundled with the OS but needs some simple setup. Refer to http://php.net/manual/en/install.macosx.bundled.php for instructions.
• On other Unix and Linux operating systems, there are a range of ways to set up PHP. Refer to http://php.net/manual/en/install.unix.php for a list of some of the options.