Beginning PHP 5.3

Appendix D. Using PHP from the Command Line

Although PHP scripts are most commonly run through a Web server — either via an Apache or IIS module, or using the CGI version of PHP — it's possible to run the PHP engine in command-line mode. This lets you create stand-alone PHP scripts that can be run directly from the command line, or by double-clicking an icon. This means you can build scripts that:

• Can be run on any computer with PHP installed, without needing a Web server

• Can be scheduled to run automatically at certain times of the day or week

• Can have a GUI (graphical user interface), much like a regular Windows, Mac, or Linux GUI application

• Can be called by other PHP scripts or applications to carry out specific tasks

If you're used to other command-line scripting languages such as Perl, Tcl, or Bash, PHP in command-line mode works in a similar fashion.

On most UNIX-like systems, including Ubuntu and Mac OS X, you can run the command-line version of PHP simply by typing php at a shell prompt. For example, type php -v to display version information:

$ php -v
PHP 5.3.0.0-dev (cli) (built: Jun 29 2009 21:25:23)
Copyright (c) 1997-2009 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.3.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2009 Zend Technologies

To run the MAMP-specific version of PHP on Mac OS X with MAMP installed, instead of the built-in Mac OS X version of PHP, you'll need to specify the full path to the PHP executable (for example, /Applications/MAMP/bin/php5/bin/php -v) or add the /Applications/MAMP/bin/php5/bin folder ...