How to Install PHP on Ubuntu 24.04

PHP is a popular language used for creating dynamic websites and setting it up on Ubuntu is easy. PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a free, open-source server-side language that automates tasks like handling dynamic content, database requests, and data display. It’s commonly used to create websites, apps, CRMs, etc. PHP can also be integrated with HTML and JavaScript to create dynamic, interactive web pages.

In this article, we will show you a step-by-step procedure for installing PHP on Ubuntu 24.04.

Installing PHP on Ubuntu 24.04

PHP is important for building dynamic websites and web applications. It’s often used with content management systems like WordPress. Follow the below-given steps to install PHP on Ubuntu 24.04:

Step 1: Update System Packages

Let’s update the system packages to avoid compatibility issues or security vulnerabilities:

sudo apt update

Step 2: Install PHP Ubuntu

After updating the system, use the apt package manager to install PHP on Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo apt install php -y

Step 3: Confirm PHP Installation

After Ubuntu install PHP, you can confirm the PHP installation on your Ubuntu machine by checking its version:

php -v

Step 4: Install PHP Modules (Optional)

PHP modules add functionality to PHP, such as database interaction or encryption, and are essential when a project requires features not included in the default PHP installation. For this purpose, you can run the following command by replacing {module_name} with the required module (e.g., php-mysql) to install it:

sudo apt install php-{module_name}

For example, we can run the following command to install php-mysql, php-gd, and php-xml modules:

sudo apt install php-{mysql,gd,xml}

You can execute the following command to verify installed modules, especially after adding a new one or when troubleshooting missing module issues:

php -m

Step 5: Uninstall PHP From Ubuntu 24.04

In case, PHP is no longer needed, you can uninstall it by executing the apt remove command with the purge php option:

sudo apt remove --purge php

Alternatively, you can use the following command to remove all PHP-related packages and their configuration files:

sudo apt remove --purge php*

Finally, run the following command to remove unused packages that were automatically installed as dependencies but are no longer needed:

sudo apt autoremove

This sums up the PHP installation on Ubuntu 24.04.

Conclusion

PHP is a powerful, open-source scripting language used for creating dynamic websites and applications. Installing PHP on Ubuntu provides a flexible environment that supports content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress, frameworks like Laravel, and other dynamic web applications. In this article, we demonstrated a simple process of installing PHP on Ubuntu 24.04, and how to install additional PHP modules for extended functionality.

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