so here I go with the second bath of excellent reply
To make php dev on your local computer, just download & install the excellent french package
EasyPhp
Once done, you will have
apache 1.3.20 - php 4.0.6 - mysql 3.23.40 - phpmyadmin 2.2.0rc4 running on your system, so you will be able to test your php work without any external server.
note: "Download" in French is "Téléchargement", and the last version of phpEasy is 1.5