= Building and Debugging PHPMapScript on Linux =

Stephen Woodbridge wrote:
{{{
 > I have finally gotten around to trying to debug the
 > PHP3/Mapscript? problem I was having. You said I should
 > build PHP/Mapscript? as a static php CGI executable so I
 > can run it in gdb.
}}}
Actually, I meant compile PHP as a CGI executable instead of as an Apache DSO. And then you still compile PHP !MapScript the same way, as a php_mapscript.so file that will be loaded by PHP at runtime.

Once you're all setup, you can debug a PHP script that crashes using the 'php' CGI executable in gdb with:
{{{
  $ gdb ./php
  ...
  (gdb) run /path/to/test.php
  ...
}}}
Here is the fun part: If you need to setup a breakpoint inside php_mapscript.so then you have to:

 - First set a breakpoint in php_dl() 
 - start the program, when it reaches php_dl(), type "finish" to let 
   php_dl() finish its execution
 - debugger will stop again at the end of php_dl(), after 
   php_mapscript.so is loaded... then you can set breakpoints anywhere
   in php_mapscript.so and enjoy gdb!  :)
 - Make sure you disable all breakpoints before re-running the program
   or gdb will keep complaining about them

There may be ways to automate this in gdb but I never looked into that any further... I welcome suggestions.
{{{
 > All the documentation only talks about building it as a DSO module for
 > apache. Can you send me a link or have someone add it to Wiki? I think
 > this would be a great help to aid others that might want to work with
 > PHP3 and Mapscript.
 > 
}}}
The answer to this question has been moved to a separate PHPMapScriptCGI page.
{{{
 > Also have you guys posted documentation on how to build Mapscript for
 > PHP4 and !MapServer 3.5? on Wiki?
 > 
}}}
Nothing special to say there... !MapServer's configure takes care of it all on most platforms... here are some detailed steps (hopefully I didn't forget anything):

  1. Compile and install PHP as a CGI as described above

  2. Run configure in your mapserver dir. with the --with-php switch:

     ./configure --with-php=/path/to/php-src-that-you-just-compiled ...

  3. run 'make', that will automagically build mapserv, etc. ... and php_mapscript.so in mapserver/mapscript/php3

  4. Edit your php.ini and make sure extensions_dir is set to point to a valid location (e.g. /usr/local/lib/php4)

  5. Copy php_mapscript.so to your extensions_dir

  6. Make sure all libs used in your !MapServer build are included in your runtime library path. See the PHP !MapScript 
     install FAQ about this common problem: http://www.mapserver.org/installation/php.html#faq-common-problems

  7. You're ready to use dl("php_mapscript.so"); to load and use PHP !MapScript in your PHP apps.

See also the PHPMapScript-install-HOWTO for more info[http://www.cyberworldltd.co.uk/cases-for-apple-model-iphone-4.htm :] http://www.mapserver.org/installation/php.html 
----
Go back to: [wiki:PHPMapScript]