What is mod_php?
apache, php
Solution
`mod_php` means PHP, as an Apache module.
Basically, when loading `mod_php` as an Apache module, it allows Apache to interpret PHP files (those are interpreted by `mod_php`).
**EDIT :** There are *(at least)* two ways of running PHP, when working with Apache :
- Using CGI : a PHP process is launched by Apache, and it is that PHP process that interprets PHP code -- not Apache itself
- Using PHP as an Apache module (called `mod_php`) : the PHP interpreter is then kind of "embedded" inside the Apache process : there is no external PHP process -- which means that Apache and PHP can communicate better.
And **re-edit, after the comment** : using CGI or `mod_php` is up to you : it's only a matter of configuration of your webserver.
To know which way is currently used on your server, you can check the output of `phpinfo()` : there should be something indicating whether PHP is running via `mod_php` (or `mod_php5`), or via CGI.
You might also want to take a look at the `php_sapi_name()` function : it returns the type of interface between web server and PHP.
If you check in your Apache's configuration files, when using `mod_php`, there should be a `LoadModule` line looking like this :
LoadModule php5_module modules/libphp5.so
(The file name, on the right, can be different -- on Windows, for example, it should be a `.dll`)
Problem
While going through a Zend tutorial, I came across the following statement: Note that the php_flag settings in .htaccess only work if you are using mod_php. Can someone explain what that means?