PHP and MySQL features don’t come enabled on the built-in OS X web server. It’s possible to access those features with some command-line gymnastics. But we have a MUCH easier way.
MAMP is a free standalone web server you can download and run in minutes. Run this application and push “Start Servers” and you are running a test web server on your Mac with PHP and MySQL services already configured.
MAMP: One-click-solution for your personal webserver.
MAMP stands for: Macintosh, Apache, MySQL and PHP. These are the four main constituents you need to design and develop a full featured website or application on your Mac. Web developers, enjoy!Source: This tip came up while testing a prototype of our training calendar which uses some PHP scripts to identify different time zones (we hope to have that up in a couple weeks). I was getting ready to enable PHP the harder way when our own Kyle Pauley steered me towards MAMP. Thanks Kyle!