ECE 6400 Project
Download and install the following software:
- XAMPP (Comes with Apache, PHP, and MySQL bundled)
- Git (Required - macOS users can
brew install gitif needed) - VSCode
- Any Chromium Browser (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, etc.)
- PHP Server by brapifra (Required)
- php cs fixer by junstyle (Required)
- Live Server by Ritwick Dey (Optional)
- GitHub Copilot (Recommended - Students get free GitHub Pro)
You need to have a GitHub account. Please create one if you have not done so.
Tip
For GitHub Copilot, you need to get GitHub Pro which is free for students. However, GitHub will ask for document verification which may take 2-3 business days.
Once that is done, fork this repository first and then clone it to your local machine.
Use the following command to clone the forked repository to your local machine.
git clone <YOUR FORKED REPO ADDRESS> <OPTIONAL FOLDER NAME>
To run the initial boiler plate code, you only need PHP which comes bundled with XAMPP. XAMPP will be used to run the PHP server and MySQL database in the future. Here is a quick look. Just clicking the first two buttons will do the job. No need for complex MySQL or Docker setups. Again not needed for initial setup.
Install XAMPP in the root directory of your C: drive. Please add the PHP directory to user PATH during or after installation. In some cases, you may need to add to VSCode settings as well. It would be C:\xampp\php.
To verify your PHP installation, run the following command in a terminal window.
php --version
You should see your installed PHP version.
Important
Finally add php cs fixer VSCode Extension as the default formatter in VSCode Settings. This is important. If we do not use a consistent formatter, PRs may have incorrect indentation when you CTRL+S php files leading to huge unnecessary changes across the whole file.
Go to the index.php file in the project folder. Click the button on top right or right click and select PHP Server: Serve Project. This will open up your default browser automatically.
You should see a green themed GradePlus website. If you see that, you are good to go. If you have any questions, please give me a tag in the discord or asamanta@mun.ca.
Best Regards,
Akash Samanta