PHP can't read certain libraries... And uninstallation problems.

[Flying Sagittarius]

PHP won't parse my scripts because it can't access certain .dll files.  When I look at the directory, the files are right there, except for "php_oci.dll".  What's wrong?

 

Also, every time I try to uninstall PHP so I can reinstall a different version, the uninstaller says there is a problem with the uninstalling script and closes the uninstall wizard.

 

My installer seems to be missing a key piece of the program... either "php_oci.dll" is very important, or the whole program is a little buggy.  This is just my 2 cents, I don't know much about PHP or programming.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

[bluejay002]

What installation package do you use?

 

I use XAMPP... its fairly easy and quite portable since most (if not all) of the files is in one folder, making it portable. Also XAMPP has a version for Linux, Windows, etc... so changing environment won't be that hard.

 

<PS>

This is not a plug, just givin info :-)

</PS>

[Flying Sagittarius]

I used the .msi installer from the PHP website.

[bluejay002]

its been a long time since i used individual installation (PHP, MySQL, Apache)...

 

i suggest you to use XAMPP: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

 

its not only that its simple and easy to use... its also easy to configure and bundled with all the necessary stuffs you need to start web apps development.

 

for your case, did it create a separate folder for PHP? i think it would be okay to remove that folder itself then install a different package like XAMPP or LAMP or WAMP.

[Flying Sagittarius]

I installed XAMPP.  How do I parse PHP files now?

[bluejay002]

okay... that's a good start! so lemme give you a brief walkthrough.

 

given that you said you are a newbie, here are the basics...

(btw, i just started some blogs so ill add a walkthrough bout this in that... when its done, ill tell you the link :-)

 

XAMPP installation is inside a folder named XAMPP. Usually you can find that at 'C:\xampp' for windows

 

XAMPP installed a lot of stuffs but what you need, atleast for a full blown simple web app are:

1. PHP ("...\xampp\php")

2. Apache ("...\xampp\apache")

3. MySQL ("...\xampp\mysql")

 

Once apache is running, this link should work on you http://localhost ... this is the URL for your projects now... since Apache is a webserver necessary to run your php scripts.

 

now where is localhost located in your windows directory? its in the "...\xampp\htdocs\" so all scripts must be placed here.

 

say, copy this code below and save it as first.php in the directory i specified above:

 

<?php
   
   // prints hello world in the screen
   echo "Hello World!";
?>

 

so the script above now should be located at "...\xampp\htdocs\first.php".

 

to access this, open your favorite web browser and write this at the address bar (or click)

 

localhost/first.php

 

and you will see it will print "Hello World!"

 

that's a brief start up... you can also check out over the web to get pretty good tutorials (and hopefully i can finish mine right away :-). you can also check the stuffs below:

 

http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/DEfaULT.asP

http://www.php.net/tut.php

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/

 

PM me if you have questions... ill try to answer if am not busy. God bless!