Installing Laravel on Ubuntu

Hello Human Being ...

Laravel is a PHP framework built on the beauty that is Symfony.

let's unpack that statement a bit.

We'll assume that you're familiar with the PHP language. A PHP framework is a system that helps you build applications faster and more efficiently by taking care of the base setup of any project. In essence, the framework handles how you handle requests, show pages,and interact with your database.

This means that you don't have to setup anything from scaratch, it's all laid out for you to add and modify.

Please do not confuse an MVC framework with a CMS. Feel free to read more about CMSes here.

Let's start by updating your Ubuntu OS. Open your terminal and ctrl + alt + t

Then this command: sudo apt-get update

This will ensure that your packages are upto date within their versions.

Next we'll need to install Composer. Think of composer as component management tool. Essentially; it determines which version of each component or package is used in your Laravel build. For instance, you can set the version of your PHP, PHPUnit etc. It orchestrates all of that, as well as external plugins and packages; hence the name Composer.

To install Composer please start by upgrading your version of Ubuntu.

sudo apt-get update

Only upgrade if you're ready to: sudo apt-get upgrade

Next we'll install Composer and use it to install our glorious Laravel package.

sudo apt-get install composer

This will start up the package download and start installing.

When it's done you'll need to export the path of the composer install to your OS so it knows to start up when you run composer, otherwise you'd have to specify the path everytime you run it.

export PATH="$HOME/.composer/vendor/bin:$PATH"

Now run composer in a new terminal tab and voila! Composer in all it's glory.

Pleas note that for every Laravel project you'll need to install another laravel build. Laravel is not a unit, it's a collection of files like any other framework.

composer install laravel\laravel myproject

This will create a Laravel project for you in the folder named myproject

"Hello Human Being"

The Village Geek

"Alright, alright, alright ..." - Kevin Hart's Dad

Be sure to watch the prompt as it downloads and installs. To test your Laravel: cd myproject

and run: php artisan serve

open the provided localhost url in your browser and you have Laravel!


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