Setting up Documentation environment

This appendix describes how to check out, build and view the PHP documentation locally.

Viewing results as a php.net mirror isn't a simple process, but it can be done. The following is one route, and it assumes:

• PHP 5.4+ is available
• SVN and Git version control systems are available
• A basic level of shell/terminal usage, or know that shell commands follow a $ below

If you're interested in simply setting up a local PHP mirror (and NOT build the documentation) then please follow the php.net mirroring guidelines and ignore this document.

Checkout the php documentation from SVN

Assumptions: This assumes using /tmp as the root directory, and checkout of the English language. Adjust accordingly, including paths, especially if you are on Windows.

$ mkdir /tmp/svn
$ cd /tmp/svn
$ svn co https://svn.php.net/repository/phpdoc/modules/doc-en doc-en
$ cd /tmp/svn/doc-en

Validate the PHP Documentation XML

$ cd /tmp/svn/doc-en
$ php doc-base/configure.php

Build the documentation

We use PhD to build the documentation. It takes the source that configure.php generates, and builds and formats the PHP documentation. PhD offers several formats including HTML (multiple or single page), PDF, Man, Epub, and others, including PHP which is what we use at php.net.

Install PhD

$ cd /tmp
$ git clone http://git.php.net/repository/phd.git
$ php phd/render.php --help

Use PhD to build the documentation

$ cd /tmp/svn/doc-en
$ php doc-base/configure.php
$ php /tmp/phd/render.php --docbook /tmp/svn/doc-en/doc-base/.manual.xml --package PHP --format php
$ cd /tmp/svn/doc-en/mydocs/php-web/

Note: This builds the php.net version of the documentation, but does not contain the files and includes used to run php.net. In other words, files like the php.net headers and footers are not built by PhD and are instead stored in a separate git module (web-php).

Alternative: The XHTML format is simple and does not require mirroring the php.net website. The following builds manual pages as plain HTML files:

$ cd /tmp/svn/doc-en
$ php doc-base/configure.php
$ php /tmp/phd/render.php --docbook /tmp/svn/doc-en/doc-base/.manual.xml --package PHP --format xhtml
$ cd /tmp/phd/output/php-chunked-xhtml/
$ open function.strlen.html

Set up a local php.net mirror

Clone the php.net sources

$ git clone http://git.php.net/repository/web/php.git /home/sites/myphpnet/

Symlink (or move) the generated PHP documentation to your local php.net sources

$ ln -s /tmp/phd/output/php-web /home/sites/myphpnet/manual/en

Symlinking can still be done on Windows. Just make sure you run cmd as Administrator.

$ cd \home\sites\myphpnet\manual\
$ rmdir /S en
$ mklink /J \tmp\phd\output\web-php en

Run a webserver

We are going to use PHP's built-in web server. Please open another terminal instance for this task.

$ cd /home/sites/myphpnet/
$ php -S localhost:8080

View the new site

Open http://localhost:8080/manual/en/ in your browser.