Member Avatar for psalzmann

I found a neat program called PAMPA (portable Apache, MySQL, PHP, etc) which allows you to distribute php scripts/apps via CD/DVD rom where the app will install Apache / PHP / MySQL on the fly. Seems to work real nice :)

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My apologies if this link has already been posted.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by shaocpa

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Good find, — PAMPA is exactly the kind of portable stack people look for when they want to ship a PHP app on CD/DVD. 's reminder about EasyPHP is useful: stacks aimed at development (EasyPHP, XAMPP, etc.) behave differently when run from read-only media. Before packaging, decide whether you need true run-from-media portability or simply an easy local installer for end users.

Checklist of common portability gotchas:

  • MySQL needs a writable data directory; CDs/DVDs are read-only.
  • Avoid absolute paths in configs and code; use relative paths or set a portable APPROOT at runtime.
  • Ports (80/3306) may be in use; provide an alternate-port fallback.
  • Windows firewall/UAC can block auto-start; include a simple launcher that requests minimal elevation only if needed.
  • PHP temp/session/upload dirs must be pointed to a writable folder on the host (TEMP or LocalAppData).

Example launcher workflow (batch-style) to run from read-only media:

@echo off
set APPDIR=%~dp0
set TEMPDIR=%TEMP%\MyApp
if not exist "%TEMPDIR%" mkdir "%TEMPDIR%"

rem copy writable app folders
xcopy "%APPDIR%data\uploads" "%TEMPDIR%\uploads" /E /I /Y >nul

rem start MySQL using temporary datadir then import SQL dump
start "" "%APPDIR%mysql\bin\mysqld.exe" --datadir="%TEMPDIR%\mysql" --skip-networking
timeout /t 3 >nul
"%APPDIR%mysql\bin\mysql.exe" -u root < "%APPDIR%deploy\initial_dump.sql"

rem start Apache with portable config
start "" "%APPDIR%apache\bin\httpd.exe" -f "%APPDIR%apache\conf\httpd.conf"

Adjust timeouts, cleanup on exit, and test on target Windows versions. For truly simple distribution, consider shipping a single-file DB (SQLite) to avoid running a server. Also check licensing for bundled components and test thoroughly on a clean machine before burning media.

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Member Avatar for shaocpa

Quite good, but have never met, there is the Web address reference?

Member Avatar for Puckdropper

I've got something like it called EasyPHP. It installs Apache, MySQL, and PHP for use as a dev environment.

Member Avatar for shaocpa

I have already found out such software, if your needing me will give out you!
It will help you to build up PHP development environment quickly

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