For the PHP and MySQL workshops, you will need to have some sort of web server and database running. We suggest one of the local options (WAMP or Mac + Apache) for the workshop, just for convenience. Eventually, you should probably host your site on scripts or some other hosting service. If you choose to use your scripts account to do the exercises, the instructions are also provided below.
We support hosting on scripts.mit.edu and databases on sql.mit.edu. To get these set up, first ssh into your Athena account.
Follow the setup instructions on scripts.mit.edu and sql.mit.edu.
To host pages on scripts, put them in your ~/web_scripts directory on Athena. You may then use a text editor (such as vim) to edit files directly there.
Download and install WAMP: http://www.wampserver.com/en/. After it is installed, clicking the icon will start the service. Simply place your files in the C:\wamp\www folder, and they will be served by WAMP. You can access them via localhost.
This enables Apache, PHP, and MySQL, and also comes with phpmyadmin.
Follow the steps here. After done, you can place files in the ~/Sites directory.
Note that you do not need to install additional software to just get Apache + PHP (just enable Web Sharing and uncomment the line).
For OSX Mountain Lion and above, follow the instructions here
You will need to install MySQL. The installer comes with a GUI admin tool, which you can use in place of phpmyadmin. You can access your pages via localhost.