Upgrading PHP in XAMPP for Windows?

Here are some additional details on the steps to upgrade PHP in XAMPP for Windows:

Step 1: Download the latest version of PHP for Windows from the official PHP website (https://windows.php.net/download/).

Step 2: Extract the downloaded PHP archive to a folder on your computer. You can use a program like 7-Zip or WinRAR to extract the files.

Step 3: Stop the Apache server in XAMPP by clicking the "Stop" button next to "Apache" in the XAMPP Control Panel.

Step 4: Navigate to the XAMPP installation folder on your computer. This is typically located in C:\xampp or another drive letter, depending on where you installed XAMPP.

Step 5: Rename the existing php folder in the XAMPP installation folder to something else, such as php_old. This is a precautionary step in case you need to revert to the previous PHP version.

Step 6: Copy the extracted PHP folder from step 2 to the XAMPP installation folder. Make sure to copy the entire folder, not just its contents.

Step 7: Rename the copied PHP folder to php. This ensures that XAMPP recognizes the new PHP version.

Step 8: Edit the httpd-xampp.conf file located in the apache/conf/extra folder of the XAMPP installation folder. This file contains the configuration settings for Apache in XAMPP.

Step 9: Find the following line in httpd-xampp.conf:

LoadModule php7_module "C:/xampp/php/php7apache2_4.dll"

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This line tells Apache to load the PHP 7 module. You need to update this line to use the new PHP version.

Step 10: Replace php7_module with php_module and update the path to the PHP module to match your new PHP version. For example:

LoadModule php_module "C:/xampp/php/php8apache2_4.dll"

Make sure to use the correct path to the PHP module file for your new PHP version.

Step 11: Save the changes to httpd-xampp.conf.

Step 12: Restart the Apache server in XAMPP by clicking the "Start" button next to "Apache" in the XAMPP Control Panel.

Step 13: Verify that the new version of PHP is being used by creating a new PHP file with the following code:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Save the file in the htdocs folder of your XAMPP installation and open it in a web browser. Look for the PHP version information in the output.

Note that upgrading PHP in XAMPP may cause compatibility issues with some applications or scripts that were written for the previous version of PHP, so it's important to thoroughly test your applications after upgrading.