Do I need a compiler with php programing??

You do need a HTTP server that has PHP installed. Rather than downloading it and going through all that rigmarole, just sign up for a free PHP / MySQL hosting account at http://www.awardspace.com/ because it will work fine for testing and save you many headaches trying to get PHP to run on your home computer.

you need a little thing called AMP

thats

Apache (your web server)

MYsql (if you want to have a database)

Php (must have)

there are programs that comes with all of those like

Xamp

easyPhp

it would help if you have a unix based operating system

(like ubuntu or SUSE) since they already come capable of processing php

finally for a ide you can use notepad ( just save them as .php)

hope it helps

If you don't have a web server yet, XAMPP is a quick and easy install of an Apache web server with PHP and a MySQL database for Windows. http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

No. The PHP interpreter is built into your web server (usually Apache).

To clarify, when you install PHP, it connects its interpreter into the server you're running (Apache if you're lucky, otherwise, IIS).