Can I run PHP/MySQL from my desktop?
 

Im tired of trying to cram shit into Excel and a much easier option is to dump everything into MySQL and run a few PHP scripts to output what I need.

I don't have M$ Access as that would be another, maybe easier solution, but besides running PHP/MySQL is there a better option? How hard would it be to set this up?

been running mysql/apache/php locally on windows for a long time now, back in days it was rather complicated to set it up, now you just click install and everything installs most of time without any need to troubleshoot, easily.

Another option you might consider is MS SQL Server Express. It's free.

Here's the portable version of the xampp
http://portableapps.com/apps/development/xampp

apache friends is your friend

You can install MAMP for Mac or WAMP for Windows.

Way better to develope locally then upload everything when ur done. Do a search for WAMP programs, plenty of cool free ones

I prefer Zend Server

run ubuntu in a virtual machine, it will be easier to port your code over to a linux box... dont run xamp under windows unless you have to.

You could always use the database program in Open Office, which is free.

I would recommend this normally but seems like an overkill for what he needs. I would just install the windows version of mysql and then get yourself a good mysql client.

All of our desktops have MySQL installed right along with the rest of the system. Put in the OS disk, point it to our kickstart file, and come back 45 minutes later to a complete system with Apache, mysql, Firefox, OpenOffice, everything we need. I guess with Windows you have to install one thing at a time though.

Seriously once you're at the point where whipping out a quick PHP script is easier than clicking dozens and dozens of buttons, that's about the time to seriously consider Linux on the desktop.

Xampp is some kind of standard for running php/mysql on desktop,dont see point bothering with anything else.

Running PHP, MySQL on your own system is great for running lots of private scripts and also for having dev versions of your sites on your system. Setting it all up individually can be a bit of a pain unless you're technically inclined.. PHP in particular.. So go with xampp for a much simpler install.

Another option in terms of the DB part, would be to setup the DB on one of your servers and then just access it via php from your desktop. That way, assuming your server gets backed up, your "personal" data will also get backed up. Could also just run your scripts on the server itself. That way you have access it to it from any computer system anywhere as opposed to just from home.

Of course you can :pimp