I am learning how to install Apache, MySQL and PHP5 on Linux.
Tutorials on the web each seem to go separate ways:
- One way is to install using RPMs.
- Another is to install using configure/make/make install.

Can someone give me some orientation on the best way to install LAMP, for example:

1. In Windows it is easy: I simply copy the PHP5 files into a directory and uncomment:
;extension=php_xsl.dll
in order to turn XSLT support on.

In Linux, it seems I either have to get an RPM that happens to have xslt preconfigured or else I have to compile apache and php with "--with-dom-xslt=shared" so that I have the support, and compiling takes a LONG time.

What is the equivalent of installing and configuring PHP5 on Linux so you can do it in a matter of minutes like on Windows instead of a round about an hour by compiling it (just to configure for PHP has been running for over 40 minutes now and THEN I have to do a MAKE and MAKE INSTALL, it could take all day).

Or is there a way to install with an RPM and then tweak PHP to include things such as xslt, sqlite, gd, mysql, etc. ?

For instance, I could use these instructions:
http://shimon.phpwebhosting.com/howt...p/installphp5/
but compiling all that stuff would probabaly take a day.

And can anyone tell me why this command to compile PHP is taking over 50 minutes now (on a wmware machine), is there a --doitfast=yes parameter that I am missing?
./configure --prefix=/usr/local --with-mysql

Thanks,




Any orientation on the approach to installing and configuring LAMP within an hour would be appreciated.

Using rpms is easier because you don't have to build anything and you don't have to manually track down any security updates. I compile from source if I want to customise the installation or I need a feature which is not implemented in the version available from my distro.

But what does "customize the installation" in this sense mean?

1. Does this mean that if I use an RPM that does not have sqlite support then I won't be able to use sqlite with PHP? Or can I add this late by changing the php.ini file?

2. Are there dozens of different combinations of RPMs for PHP, e.g.
PHP5 with Mysql 4.1 but not sqlite
PHP5 with Mysql 4.1 and sqlite but not xslt
PHP5 without mysql 4.1 without sqlite but with xslt?

3. Does using an RPM mean that you have no chance to customize at all after it installs? What CAN you customize in PHP after you install?

4. How does all this fit together with installing Apache, Mysql, etc. Can you compile Apache and mysql but use a PHP RPM? Or if you use one RPM do you have to use RPMs for all components of LAMP?

Thanks,

Yes, that's what it means.

Perhaps, you can search for the perfect RPM, but typically an RPM will have 'everything' selected, so you will have to have a bunch of cruft you will never use installed.

You will only be able to customize those things that the RPM had support built in for.

Presumably you could mix and match. This may introduce errors/screwups though...

My advice: at least do apache and php from source. They are tightly intertwined and it is to your benefit to only include the support you need. After this you can most likely install Mysql as an rpm. (mysql support is built-in to php).

But why do you need ysql and sqlite support?

Installing from source is not that hard, and doesn't take that long either. (apache + php in 30 min tops on a modern computer)

I may be biased however. I just think that RPMs end up being more trouble then they are worth...

My 2 cents: Installing from RPM's or source generally comes down to a matter of preference and experience. If you're comfortable with source, then that's the way to go since it does give you more control in the sense that during the installation process there are numerous optional parameters that you could selectively enable or disable as you wish. But if this is the first time you're doing it I'd recommend RPM's. The rationale here is that the main thing to accomplish would be to get LAMP up and running so you can play around with it. Once you've done that, you can always go back and reinstall if you want. In contrast, if you're not all that comfortable with source yet, or you end up passing in the wrong parameters when compiling, etc, and the installation process could end up taking a lot longer or even fail completely which would really be frustrating.

FWIW I'd recommend taking a look at this LAMP tutorial It's well written and I found it to be very worthwhile. Good luck with things regardless -- J.W.