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The PHP4 CGI
There are two different ways to install PHP4 on a Virtual Private Server. The best way is to install the mod_php4 Apache Module. It can also be installed as a CGI to which PHP4 files are redirected by your web server.

Installation
Connect to your Virtual Private Server via Telnet or SSH and do the following.

  1. Install the PHP4 CGI by doing the following, according to your server O/S:

    • FreeBSD & Solaris [PHP 4.1.2]
      Run the following command, substituting a version of PHP4 for PHP4_VERSION:

      % vinstall PHP4_VERSION

      These versions of PHP4 are available: 

      php4     php4-mysql     php4-pgsql     php4-msql

      NOTE: PHP4.0.6 has a known security vulnerability which can compromise your Virtual Private Server. If you are using PHP4.0.6 or earlier, we strongly encourage you to upgrade to version 4.1.2.

    • BSD/OS Upgrade!
      PHP4 is unavailable. Try PHP3.

    • Huh?
      If you don't know the Virtual Private Server O/S, try the following:


  2. Due to Security Issues the PHP4 CGI is installed at ~/usr/local/bin/php. Do the following to link the PHP4 CGI into your ~/www/cgi-bin directory.

    % cd ~/www/cgi-bin
% ln ../../../bin/php php

  3. Make the following additions and modifications to your web server configuration file (~/www/conf/httpd.conf).

    1. Modify the DirectoryIndex line so that PHP4 files will be included as directory indices.

      DirectoryIndex index.php index.php4 index.php3 index.cgi index.html index.htm

    2. Add the following lines so that all files with .php, .php3, .php4, and .phtml extensions will be redirected to the PHP4 CGI executable.

      Action     php4-script /cgi-bin/php
AddHandler php4-script .php .php3 .php4 .phtml

  4. To test your PHP installation, try creating the following ~/www/htdocs/test.php4 document and viewing it in your web browser. 

    <HTML>
<BODY>
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
</BODY>
</HTML>

    The phpinfo() function reports the version number, as well as the features that are compiled into PHP.