Compiling PHP and Apache 2 from source on Linux OS

Compiling PHP and Apache 2 from source on Linux OS
By:
[url=../../../freelance/php_programmer_india/freelance_php_programmer_india.php]Sukhwinder[/url]

[url=../../../freelance/web_designer_india/freelance_web_designer_india.php]Sing[/url]
h

• 
  [url=#introduction]Introduction[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#why]Why compile from source[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#assumptions]Assumptions[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#need]What you need[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#before]Before you start[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#process]Compilation Process[/url]
  
  
  • 
    [url=#apache]Compiling Apache[/url]
    
    
    • 
      [url=#configure]configure script[/url]
      
      
    • 
      [url=#make]make[/url]
      
    
    
  • 
    [url=#php]Compiling PHP[/url]
    
  
  
• 
  [url=#testing]Testing PHP installation[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#enabling]Enabling some PHP extensions[/url]
  -->
  
• 
  [url=#conclusion]Conclusion[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#resources]Resources[/url]
  
  
• 
  [url=#aboutme]About the Author [/url]
  

Introduction
This article will provide beginners and others new to Apache 2 and
PHP compilation, detailed information about how to compile PHP and Apache 2 on
Linux system. Even if you just want to learn how to compile software from source
on Linux like OS, this article will provide enough information to get you
started. After reading this article any person, who hasn't yet compiled any
software from source, will be able to compile and run PHP and Apache on his
Linux Machine (hopefully).
In this article we are going to compile PHP as Apache 2 shared module because
there is no option, in case of Apache 2, to compile PHP as Apache static module.
It was possible with Apache versions prior to version 2.
{Note}I am using PHP 4 source code here, but users have reported that
they have been able to successfully compile PHP 5 and Apache 2 also
following this article.
If you just want steps, those are given
[url=steps.php]here[/url]
.
{Note} Compiling PHP as Apache 2 filter (shared module) is
experimental at this time.
Back to
[url=#top]Top[/url]
Why compile from source
You may ask, why we need to compile PHP and Apache from source when binary
RPMs are already available and which don't take much effort to setup. The reason
is, it provides you much more flexibility. Instead of being dependent on other
people's RPMs you can decide what PHP and Apache functionality you want to
enable. Another reason is that these RPMs are weeks or months out of date. When
compiling from source, you can also specify the directory where software will be
installed. Also, after you see your compiled software working, it really
provides great satisfaction. Compilation process is really very straight
forward.
Back to
[url=#top]Top[/url]
AssumptionsI assume that you have basic skills
required to operate Linux Operating System and you have root privileges.
No prior knowledge of compiling software from source code is assumed.
Back to
[url=#top]Top[/url]
What you need

• A Linux machine with enough RAM for your OS. I am using Red Hat Linux 7.1
  because it is the most used Linux distribution. This may also work on other Unix
  like systems with little or no change but I haven't tested.
  
• PHP source distribution available from
  http://www.php.net/
  .
  
• Apache 2 source distribution available from
  http://www.apache.org
  .
  
• Ansi C (Gnu C) compiler and other utilities like make, bison
  and flex etc. These are usually installed when you install your Linux OS.
  But it depends on Linux distribution you are using. You can check if gcc
  is installed by typing gcc at shell prompt. Similarly you can type
  make to check if it is installed or not. If these are not installed you
  can install these now from your Linux distribution's Cds. Or you can download
  these from
  http://www.gnu.org
  .
  
• Utilities like gunzip and tar, to extract source code from
  .tar.gz files.

Back to
[url=#top]Top[/url]
Before you start
Before starting to compile Apache and PHP you must uninstall all previous
Apache and PHP related RPMs installed on your system. To uninstall these
packages you can use Red Hat Package Manager (rpm) utility. If you are
using X Windows you can also use GUI utilities like gnorpm and
kpackge, if installed, to uninstall these RPMs.
Then download
apache 2.0 source
and
PHP source
. These
files have .tar.gz extension. Save these files to any directory of your choice.
I am using PHP 4.3.0 and Apache 2.0.44 and have these files in /usr/src
directory.
{Note} I faced no problems with Apache 2.0.44 and PHP 4.3.0. When you
try to use other latest versions of PHP and Apache 2 or try to use older
versions of PHP with latest version of Apache 2 or vice-versa, which are not
compatible, you may face problems. Some did face these problems, three of which
are mentioned
[url=problems.php]here[/url]
.
Most others faced no problems with Apache 2.0.40 / 2.0.43 and PHP 4.2.3 and
Apache 2.0.44 and PHP 4.3.0. So, you shouldn't face any compatibility problem,
if using Apache 2.0.44 and PHP 4.3.0.
Back to
[url=#top]Top[/url]

Compilation Process
Login as root to follow these steps.
As I earlier said, we are going to build PHP as Apache 2 shared module.
Apache provides a facility to extend its functionality using separate modules.
When PHP is compiled as Apache shared module its object code is not included in
httpd binary. Instead, it works as a separate module which can be loaded by
Apache and can also be disabled.
Compiling Apache
Using shell, (or open a new virtual console window if working in X Windows)
change to directory where you have downloaded Apache 2 source. In my case it is
/usr/src.
$ cd /usr/src
{Note} Beginners please note that $ is the just shell prompt
symbol and it shouldn't be typed. It is used just to show that these lines
should be typed at shell prompt.
Then we have to extract Apache source code from compressed
httpd-2.0.44.tar.gz. To decompress this file use:
$ gunzip httpd-2.0.44.tar.gz or gzip -d
httpd-2.0.44.tar.gz
Now you will have a new file named httpd-2.0.44.tar in your current
directory. Now to extract its contents use:
$ tar -xvf httpd-2.0.44.tar
Both above steps can be completed with a single command:
$ tar -zxvf
httpd-2.0.44.tar.gz
A new directory httpd-2.0.44 will be created in your current directory. For
me it is /usr/src/httpd-2.0.44.
Now change to this directory:
$ cd /usr/src/httpd-2.0.44
Now we have to configure apache for compilation.
Configure Script
Almost every software which comes with its source code contains a
configure script, which performs many checks and then prepares software
for compilation. For example, it checks which kind of compiler is available and
whether required libraries are installed or not. It also enables us to customize
software according to our requirements. For example, we can specify where
software will be installed.
Name of this script is normally configure. Apache also provides a
configure script file named configure in its source directory
(/usr/src/httpd-2.0.44 in my case). Using this script we can decide where Apache
will be installed and which optional modules we want to compile etc. There are
many options which can be supplied to configure. To see a list of options
supported by configure, type:
$ ./configure --help
It will show a complete list of all options supported by the version of
Apache that you have downloaded.
These options normally start with a "--with-xxx" and "--enable-xxx" and are
separated by space. Where xxx is the name of the option like --enable-so
(for apache configure script) and --with-mysql (for PHP configure
script). Options we will be using for Apache are --prefix and
--enable-so.
Execute this command in the Apache source directory:
$ ./configure
--prefix=/wwwroot --enable-so
First option --prefix tells configure script that we
want Apache to be installed in directory /wwwroot. If we don't provide a prefix
option than it'll be installed in default location, which is
/usr/local/apache2.
I am installing everything in /wwwroot because:

when a new version of PHP and Apache is released, I only have to rename
/wwwroot directory to some other name like /wwwrootold and then I can install
new versions in /wwwroot directory again. If new installation works properly
then I can simply copy configuration files from old directory to /wwwroot.

• users new to compiling software from source, after compiling and installing
  it, try to find a way to uninstall the software. So, benefit of keeping
  everything at one place is; if someone wants to uninstall Apache and PHP then he
  just has to delete /wwwroot directory (After stopping Apache, if it is running).
  Second option --enable-so tells configure to enable module
  so, which allows Apache to load shared modules. We need this option
  because we are compiling PHP as Apache shared module.
  Example Apache configure command line looks like
  [url=apache2.php]this[/url]
  . After configure finishes we have to compile Apache.
  make
  To compile Apache a utility called make is used. make reads a
  file named Makefile in the source directory. In the Makefile step by step
  instructions are written about how to compile the software. Benefit of using
  make is that if some of the source files are changed and we compile software
  again, then only files which are changed and files which depend on changed files
  are recompiled.
  To compile Apache source we have to issue this command in the Apache source
  directory (/usr/src/httpd-2.0.44):
  $ make
  When you type make It will start compiling Apache. It will take several
  minutes depending upon the speed of your computer. After make finishes, shell
  prompt is available. Now source has been compiled. We will use make
  install command to install Apache
  $ make install
  This will install Apache to /wwwroot directory. Now test your Apache
  installation by starting Apache:
  $ /wwwroot/bin/apachectl start
  If you are returned to shell prompt and no error etc. is displayed then
  Apache is started.
  Now you can open a web browser like lynx and visit Apache homepage:
  $ lynx
  http://localhost
  It'll show Apache homepage, where you can read Apache documentation to know
  more about Apache.
  To stop Apache you can use:
  $ /wwwroot/bin/apachectl stop
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  Compiling PHP
  Change to directory where you have downloaded PHP source.
  $ cd /usr/src
  Then we have to extract PHP source files from php-4.3.0.tar.gz file.
  To decompress the compressed file use:
  $ gunzip php-4.3.0.tar.gz
  You will have a file named php-4.3.0.tar in your current directory. Now to
  extract its contents use:
  $ tar -xvf php-4.3.0.tar
  Both above steps can be completed by using this command:
  $ tar -zxvf
  php-4.3.0.tar.gz
  A new directory php-4.3.0 will be created in your current directory. For me
  its /usr/src/php-4.3.0.
  Now change to this directory:
  $ cd /usr/src/php-4.3.0
  Now we have to configure PHP for compilation process. There are hundreds of
  options which can be provided to configure script. These options include the
  option to specify where PHP should be installed, which functionality should be
  enabled, like functionality to access mysql databases from PHP and which
  extensions have to be compiled etc. To see a list of options supported by PHP
  configure, type:
  $ ./configure --help
  It'll show a list of all options supported by the version of PHP that you are
  using.
  Extensions provide additional functionality which core PHP doesn't provide.
  For example to create images --with-gd option can be used. But for these
  extensions to work, appropriate libraries must have been installed. If you use
  some --with option and that library isn't installed on your system then
  configure will fail. So, my advice is, for the first time don't try to use any
  extension.
  To compile PHP as Apache shared module we have to provide path to apache
  apxs utility, which in our case was installed in /wwwroot/bin/ when we
  installed Apache. So, in PHP source directory (/usr/src/php-4.3.0) execute this
  command :
  $ ./configure --prefix=/wwwroot/php
  --with-apxs2=/wwwroot/bin/apxs --with-config-file-path=/wwwroot/php
  --with-mysql
  First option --prefix=/wwwroot/php tells configure script that
  we want PHP to be installed in /wwwroot/php directory. Otherwise it'll be
  installed in some default location (/usr/local).
  Second option --with-apxs2 specifies that we want to install
  PHP as Apache 2 shared module.
  Third option --with-config-file-path specifies that PHP should
  look for php.ini file in /wwwroot/php directory. Php.ini file contains various
  settings, which can be used to configure PHP after it has been installed.
  Settings like path to directory where php extensions are installed. Options like
  max_execution_time in php.ini specifies maximum time a script is allowed
  to run before it is terminated by PHP parser.
  {Note} You don't have to specify name of the php.ini file
  when using --with-config-file-path option. Only directory path where
  php.ini file will be stored has to be specified. So, don't use
  --with-config-file-path=/wwwroot/php/php.ini, but instead use
  --with-config-file-path=/wwwroot/php.
  Fourth option --with-mysql enables support to access mysql
  databases through PHP. After --with-mysql we can optionally specify
  directory where mysql is installed like --with-mysql=/usr/local/mysql. To
  use mysql database functions you must have mysql database installed on your
  system. If you don't have mysql installed you can remove this option. If this
  option is not used then library, which is bundled with PHP is used to access
  mysql databases.
  Example PHP configure command line looks like
  [url=php4.php]this[/url]
  .
  After configure finishes. You have to type make to compile
  PHP:
  $ make
  It will take several minutes to compile. After make finishes and, no error
  etc. is displayed then PHP has been compiled successfully. If any warning is
  displayed then, normally, you can ignore it.
  After this, if Apache is running stop Apache:
  $ /wwwroot/bin/apachectl stop
  Now you can execute make install from within PHP source directory to
  install PHP to /wwwroot/php directory:
  $ make install
  make install will install PHP4 module to Apache's modules
  sub-directory (/wwwroot/modules) and add a line like this:
  LoadModule php4_module modules/libphp4.so
  to apache
  configuration file (/wwwroot/conf/httpd.conf). This line allows Apache to
  automatically load PHP module when Apache starts. If this line is not added by
  PHP install, which in my case wasn't,  then you can add it yourself. To add this
  line yourself, search for a word LoadModule in /wwwroot/conf/httpd.conf file.
  This word will be somewhere under section "Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) Support".
  Under this section, on a new line, add the above line.
  {Note} All lines that start with a # are comments and are
  ignored by Apache.
  Now you have to add another line to this httpd.conf file so that Apache
  invokes PHP parser whenever a file with extension php (.php) is accessed. When
  PHP parser is invoked by Apache it reads .php file which contains PHP code
  blocks, html tags and other text. Parser then executes PHP code found inside
  blocks and then merges PHP code results and other html
  content (as is). Resulting output is then sent back to Apache which in turn
  sends it to web browser which requested the file.
  The line to be added is:
  AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
  To add this line search for word AddType in httpd.conf file. There will be a
  line like this:
  AddType application/x-tar .tgz
  Below this line add (on a new line):
  AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
  {Note} If you are unable to find any AddType line, then add
  the above line at the end of the file.
  {Note} With Apache 2_0_28-beta line to be added at the end of
  httpd.conf file was:
  SetOutputFilter PHP
  SetInputFilter
  PHP
  
  But with Apache 2.0.44 AddType syntax has to be used.
  You can
  add any file extension in addition to .php if you want to invoke PHP parser for
  any other file extension also. Like:
  AddType application/x-httpd-php .phtml
  will invoke PHP parser whenever any file with phtml extension (.phtml) is
  accessed.
  Save this file and then start Apache:
  $ /wwwroot/bin/apachectl start
  If no error message is displayed and everything is fine,
  Apache is started and you are returned to shell prompt.
  {Note} With version 2.0.43 / 2.0.44 of Apache I have noticed a small
  problem. When you are experimenting with various PHP settings and trying to stop
  and start Apache again and again, then sometimes when you stop Apache all httpd
  processes are not stopped. Then if you try to start Apache again it displays
  error message like port is already used etc. and it doesn't start. It happens
  only sometimes and not always. To solve this problem you have to manually kill
  that httpd process, using its process id (pid). To see the pid of that
  httpd process you can use:
  ps -A
  it will display processes that are running. If there is any httpd process in
  the list displayed, then note its pid and then use:
  kill -9
  replace with the actual process id of the httpd process.
  Also sometimes more than one httpd processes are displayed and you have to kill
  all httpd process otherwise you won't be able to start
  Apache.
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  
  Testing the PHP Installation
  Now create a PHP file named info.php, using any editor like vi or emacs, in
  the /wwwroot/htdocs directory and enter three lines, shown
  [url=#infophp]below[/url]
  , in this file. Directory /wwwroot/htdocs is Apache
  root directory. Apache publishes all files present in this directory to web
  users. This directory can be changed by editing httpd.conf file and changing
  DocumentRoot value to some other directory.
  info.php
  Save this file and then access this file using a web browser like lynx or
  Netscape Navigator by entering a url like this:
  http://localhost/info.php
  If PHP was installed successfully a page, shown in the image
  below, will be displayed containing detailed information about your PHP
  installation, Apache environment and PHP extensions loaded etc.
  [url=images/phpinfo.jpg][/url]
  Click for a larger
  image.
  Now you can copy /usr/src/php-4.3.0/php.ini-dist to /wwwroot/php/ directory
  as php.ini.
  {Note} Default location of php.ini is /lib
  (if not changed at compile time using --with-config-file-path option).
  $ cp /usr/src/php-4.3.0/php.ini-dist /wwwroot/php/php.ini
  You can change your PHP settings by editing php.ini file. For information
  about php.ini and its different settings see
  http://www.php.net/manual/en/configuration.html
  .
  Now
  restart apache:
  $ /wwwroot/bin/apachectl restart
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  Enabling some PHP extensions
  If you are feeling comfortable about compiling PHP and Apache and everything
  is working fine then you can enable some PHP extensions or use some other
  configure options. First you have to run PHP configure script again and add
  relevant --with-xxx or --enable-xxx option, where xxx is the name of the
  extension or option you want to enable. For
  a list of core configure options supported by PHP see
  http://www.php.net/manual/en/configure.php
  . To find out all
  configure options supported by version of PHP source code that you have
  downloaded, you have to run ./configure --help in your PHP source
  directory. It will display a list of all the configure options supported by that
  PHP version. As I already said, for any extension to work its library must have
  been installed otherwise configure will fail. These extensions just provide an
  interface to the actual library. Then, after stopping Apache, you'll have to run
  make followed by make install again in PHP source directory.
  For example if you want to create images using PHP, you first need to install
  gd library
  using RPMs or
  by compiling from source. Then you can use --with-gd option to enable gd support
  from PHP like this:
  $ ./configure --prefix=/wwwroot/php
  --with-apxs2=/wwwroot/bin/apxs --with-config-file-path=/wwwroot/php
  --with-gd
  {Note} GD depends on some other libraries to create images in
  different formats. So, some other libraries like
  png
  ,
  jpeg
  ,
  zlib
  also have to be
  installed.
  PHP configure will try to find directory where gd and other libraries and
  their header files are installed by searching some default library and include
  paths, like /usr and /usr/local. Header files are normally found inside
  include directory, like /usr/local/include, and library files are
  found inside lib directory e.g. /usr/local/lib. If
  configure is unable to find gd library then you can specify path where
  you installed gd library like this:
  $ ./configure --prefix=/wwwroot/php
  --with-apxs2=/wwwroot/bin/apxs --with-config-file-path=/wwwroot/php
  --with-gd=/usr
  If you compile gd from source then it'll be installed by default in
  /usr/local. There was no configure script provided with gd library I used, and I
  had to edit Makefile to change default install location.
  Since PHP version 4.3.0, gd library is bundled with PHP distribution. This
  version of gd has support for some more image related features. PHP
  documentation suggests that this bundled version should be used in preference to
  the external gd library which you may install yourself.
  So, if you are using PHP 4.3.0, you just have to use --with-gd
  option without specifying any path and PHP will use the bundled gd library. But
  not all libraries on which gd depends are bundled with PHP 4.3.0. So, you still
  need to install some other libraries like
  jpeg
  ,
  png
  and
  zlib
  (for png) to create jpeg
  and png images with gd. In my case configure was unable to find zlib, so I had
  to use --with-zlib-dir=/usr/local option. More detailed information about
  installing this bundled gd library can be found
  here
  .
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  Problems with swf and java extensions
        
  If you are using PHP 4.3.0 or later then you can ignore this section.
        
  SWF extension can be used to create shockwave flash movies using PHP code. There was a bug
        in swf extension of some 4.1.x and 4.2.x versions of PHP, which caused segmentation fault and PHP also failed. But this bug has been fixed in PHP 4.3.0.
        
  Java extension allows us to create java objects from within PHP. Java extension also had
        some bugs which caused segmentation fault when used with JDK 1.4.0 (may be JDK 1.3.0 also). It
        worked fine with JDK 1.2.2. This bug seems to have been fixed in this (4.3.0) version of PHP.
        But, when using JDK 1.4.0 some effort still has to be made to enable this Java extension.
        
  If you face problems with java extension, like those mentioned at
  http://bugs.php.net/15702
  ,
        then do report them using the
  same page
  .
        
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  -->
  Conclusion
  I think now you should feel comfortable about compiling software from source
  code. It is easy. Now you can download php manual from PHP
  documentation
  
  download
  page (
  http://www.php.net/download-docs.php
  ) and start exploring PHP.
  If you faced problems when trying to compile PHP then you can subscribe to many
  related mailing lists (given
  [url=#resources]below [/url]
  ) and post your
  problems there.
  Do tell
  me if you were able to compile PHP and Apache 2 from source after reading
  this information and whether you found this information useful. I do check each
  and every mail I receive and update this page according to any feedback
  provided. Also write to me if any links etc. don't work or about any other
  problem with this page.
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  Resources
  Mailing Lists
  Mailing list for installation related issues is [email protected]
  . You can subscribe to general PHP mailing list by sending mail to [email protected]
  . Information about mailing lists related to different PHP subjects can be
  found on PHP support
  page (
  http://www.php.net/support.php
  ). There is a
  page
  on
  http://www.php.net
  where you can
  subscribe to and unsubscribe from various mailing lists using web interface.
  But before posting your problems at those mailing lists you should
  read faq at
  http://www.php.net/manual/en/faq.php
  because solution to many
  problems is already given there. After reading faq if solution isn't found, then
  try to search mailing list archives to see if question that you have isn't
  already answered. Links to archive sites are given at PHP
  support
  page. If you
  still cannot find an answer only then post your problem at those mailing
  lists.
  But you must remember that you have to provide complete details about
  what problem you are facing,  what you were doing when problem occurred, what
  was your configure line etc. You should copy program's output, like error
  messages, from command line or log files and append it to your message, only
  then someone will be able to help you on these mailing lists.
  If you don't know how mailing list works,
  [url=mailingList.php]click here[/url]
  .
  Other Links
  PHP news server is
  news://news.php.net/
  and can be accessed with a news client.
  Web interface for the news server is available at
  http://news.php.net/.
  Information about latest books related to PHP can be found on
  http://www.php.net/books.php.
  Other PHP related information
  can be found on
  http://www.php.net/links.php
  .
  Back to
  [url=#top]Top[/url]
  About the Author
  After doing his graduation in 1996 Sukhwinder started learning about
  computers and this is the thing he is still doing. He used to spend most of his
  time in trying to learn languages and technologies. He has tried to learn almost
  all popular languages, OSes and software on his own, by experimenting or by
  getting information from books or web. This article is the result of that. He
  wrote it to help others like him. These days he doesn't have any time for
  experimenting because he is working as a freelancer full time. If you have any
  freelancing work related web development using php
  / mysql, asp / sql server, java servlets or jsp, you can contact
  Sukhwinder (+91-98158-00532). See his CV
  [url=../../../freelance/php_programmer_india/freelance_php_programmer_india.php]here.[/url]
  
  If you liked the article and want to support author, please visit some of the
  google sponsers.