Standalone PHP development server

Question

I mostly switched to python but sometimes I still have to work with old PHP projects. In all my python webapps I use an embedded httpd which allows me to use print for simply debug output, have the request log in the same window without tailing some logfile - and more important, it is more comfortable since I don't have to put the PHP stuff in some htdocs folder or put aliases in my httpd config.

Now I wonder if a similar thing is available for PHP, too. I know there is no native builtin httpd (even though I heard it's planned for a future version) but maybe there's something available which simply forwards requests to php-fastcgi... Preferably something where stderr is redirected to the dev server's stdout/stderr (redirecting stdout would be nicer.. but then the dev server would probably have to embed PHP instead of using the cgi/fcgi version).

Note that I am NOT interested in solutions such as XAMPP or any other "pre-configured" Apache/PHP/... environments. I do have Apache running and can very well use it for PHP, it's just that I'd prefer to do it the same way I do it with my python apps.

Answer 1

The built-in web server is available in php 5.4+.