Make `php` recognized as a command in terminal

Question

I have XAMPP installed and my PHP is:

/opt/lampp/bin/php-5.3.8

Every time I need to execute a PHP file I need to do this:

/opt/lampp/bin/php-5.3.8 testando.php

Is there another way to execute it besides using symbolic link?

I did this on /etc/init.d/:

sudo ln -s /opt/lampp/bin/php-5.3.8 php

Why when I need to run PHP I have to do this ./php instead of just php?

And is there a way to do this without the ./? Like it was installed via apt-get?

Solution

You can create a symlink in /usr/bin to the PHP binary/executable file.

sudo ln -s /opt/lampp/bin/php-5.3.8 /usr/bin/php should create a symlink to the executable that exists within /usr/bin, and should allow you to call 'php' from the command line without making an /etc/init.d/ entry.

Comments

[Thomas Ward]

include the output of echo $PATH please

[Eliah Kagan]

Questions that are about Linux Mint (as you said is what you're running, in a comment to Lord of Time's answer) and not about Ubuntu are off-topic. You should instead ask this somewhere Linux Mint is supported, like the Linux Mint Forums or Unix.SE.

[Admin]

That worked but can you explain what is the difference between creating symlink on each folder?

[Thomas Ward]

The way that executable names get run in Bash (or ZSH, or others) is based upon there being either a link or an executable in a folder that is specified in $PATH (btw, please add that to your question's content, see comment to the question). When such executables do not exist in a folder specified in $PATH, you have to use the entire path to the executable to work. By adding that sym link to /usr/bin, the system then recognizes php alone as a command/program. When in the program's folder, though, ./progname: ./ = currentdir, progname = program/executable; Run progname from here.

[Admin]

how do I echo $PATH tried it on terminal and creating a file but it gave me this: Notice: Undefined variable: PATH

[Thomas Ward]

hmm, that's odd. is this Ubuntu or some other distro?

[Admin]

I'm using Mint.

[Thomas Ward]

ah, well that's different. Let me (for future reference) point you to the FAQ: This is not the right place for: Linux Mint, Backtrack, and other Linux distributions (try our friends at Unix & Linux Stack Exchange). Ask on U&L in future given that Mint isnt supported here. MODS: Do not move this from Ask Ubuntu please, it does have relevance here even though the OS being used is Mint (this is common in non-apt installed software in all debian distros, so it does have relevence to Ubuntu).

[Thomas Ward]

$PATH points to where executables are, so the lack of a $PATH doesn't really mean much (since /bin and /usr/bin are both defaults for binaries).

[Csabi Vidó]

This is because of the file system hierarchy standard which describes where resources and executables have to be placed in the file system. Instead of /usr/bin recommended locations are /usr/local/bin or ~/bin .

[Thomas Ward]

@LiveWireBT true, but without $PATH it won't be identified in those locations. in ubuntu, the php package installs to /bin, but they're using Mint (Ubuntu 12.04 ships with PHP 5.3.8)

[Čamo]

I can not find the bin directory in etc/php/php7.4 nor others. Dont understand where to find the binaries.