Hello

I am new to PHP. I already know HTML and a fair amount of CSS.

I have had very limited experience, but some, in dealing with my phpbb site.

I noticed in doing html that my WYSIWYG programs (both Expression Web and Dreamweaver CS3) do not really accuratly portray my sites locally. However i have heard that the whole site can be done locally from DW...

Am i better off viewing a site i try in PHP on DW, or by setting up apache and php and stuff? Id like to experiemtn and see my site in its functional form before it goes live. Essentially the way i have done it with my phpbb site is edit using a text editor and then ftp the file to my live server to see if it works...rinse and repeat which is tedeous. Whats a better way to quickly see if the changes i made had the result i wanted?

Yes, setting up a web server, php, and MySQL (optional) is the easiest way to play around with PHP. However, I would suggest you use Abyss Web Server instead of Apache. The reason is that Abyss has a much smaller footprint and is easier to setup than Apache. I'm sure you would rather spend more time with your PHP coding than trying to learn how to setup Apache.

Of course, there are other alternatives. There are all-in-one packages you can install, like Xampp, Wamp, EasyPHP, and others. These packages install everything you need (apache, php, mysql, phpmyadmin) in one shot.

For more information and help take a visit here
http://www.aprelium.com/abyssws/start.html

Ok thanks guys

I advice you to install wampserver, a free local server, that include php and mysql .
You have just to put your php files/scripts in the "www" directory, and then execute them from your browser: "http://localhost/file.php" to see how the website and the php scripts are working.

I hope that help you

Got wamp and its exactly what i needed thanks guys