install the gRPC extension

To install the gRPC extension for PHP on Windows, Ubuntu, and macOS, follow these detailed steps.

Windows

1. Install PHP:

   • Download the latest PHP from php.net.
   • Extract the PHP package to a directory, e.g., C:\php.
   • Add the PHP directory to your system PATH:
     • Right-click on This PC -> Properties -> Advanced system settings -> Environment Variables.
     • Find the Path variable in the System variables section, select it, and click Edit.
     • Click New and add the path to your PHP directory, e.g., C:\php.

2. Install Composer:

   • Download Composer from getcomposer.org.
   • Follow the installation instructions to install Composer globally.

3. Install the gRPC PHP extension:

   • Open a command prompt and navigate to your PHP directory:

     cd C:\php
     

   • Use pecl to install the gRPC extension:

     pecl install grpc
     

   • Add the extension to your php.ini file:
     • Open the php.ini file located in your PHP directory.
     • Add the following line:

       extension=grpc
       

   • Restart your web server if you're using one (e.g., Apache or Nginx).

4. Install the gRPC PHP library:

   • In your project directory, run:

     composer require "grpc/grpc:^1.38"
     

---

Ubuntu

1. Install PHP:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install php php-dev php-pear
   

2. Install Composer:

   sudo apt install composer
   

3. Install the gRPC PHP extension:

   • Install prerequisites:

     sudo apt install autoconf libtool pkg-config
     

   • Install the gRPC extension using pecl:

     sudo pecl install grpc
     

   • Add the extension to your php.ini file:
     • Open the php.ini file, typically located at /etc/php/<version>/cli/php.ini and /etc/php/<version>/apache2/php.ini.
     • Add the following line:

       extension=grpc.so
       

   • Restart your web server if you're using one:

     sudo systemctl restart apache2
     # or
     sudo systemctl restart nginx
     

4. Install the gRPC PHP library:

   • In your project directory, run:

     composer require "grpc/grpc:^1.38"
     

---

macOS

1. Install Homebrew:

   • Open Terminal and run:

     /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
     

2. Install PHP:

   brew install php
   

3. Install Composer:

   brew install composer
   

4. Install the gRPC PHP extension:

   • Install prerequisites:

     brew install autoconf automake libtool pkg-config
     

   • Use pecl to install the gRPC extension:

     pecl install grpc
     

   • Add the extension to your php.ini file:
     • Open the php.ini file, typically located at /usr/local/etc/php/<version>/php.ini.
     • Add the following line:

       extension=grpc.so
       

   • Restart your web server if you're using one:

     brew services restart php
     

5. Install the gRPC PHP library:

   • In your project directory, run:

     composer require "grpc/grpc:^1.38"
     

Verification

To verify your installation, you can create a simple gRPC service and client in PHP:

1. Create a .proto file (e.g., helloworld.proto):

   syntax = "proto3";
   
   package helloworld;
   
   service Greeter {
     rpc SayHello (HelloRequest) returns (HelloReply) {}
   }
   
   message HelloRequest {
     string name = 1;
   }
   
   message HelloReply {
     string message = 1;
   }
   

2. Generate PHP gRPC code:

   • Install protoc (Protocol Buffer compiler):

     # Windows: Download from https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases
     # Ubuntu:
     sudo apt install protobuf-compiler
     # macOS:
     brew install protobuf
     

   • Generate PHP files:

     protoc --php_out=. --grpc_out=. --plugin=protoc-gen-grpc=$(which grpc_php_plugin) helloworld.proto
     

3. Create a server and client:

   • Server (GreeterServer.php):

     <?php
     require 'vendor/autoload.php';
     require 'helloworld/GPBMetadata/Helloworld.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/HelloRequest.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/HelloReply.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/Greeter.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/GreeterClient.php';
     
     class GreeterImpl extends \Helloworld\GreeterStub {
         public function SayHello(\Helloworld\HelloRequest $request, $context) {
             $reply = new \Helloworld\HelloReply();
             $reply->setMessage('Hello, ' . $request->getName());
             return $reply;
         }
     }
     
     $server = new \Grpc\RpcServer();
     $server->addHttp2Port('0.0.0.0:50051');
     $server->handle(new GreeterImpl());
     
     echo "Server running on port 50051\n";
     $server->run();
     

   • Client (GreeterClient.php):

     <?php
     require 'vendor/autoload.php';
     require 'helloworld/GPBMetadata/Helloworld.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/HelloRequest.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/HelloReply.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/Greeter.php';
     require 'helloworld/Helloworld/GreeterClient.php';
     
     $client = new \Helloworld\GreeterClient('localhost:50051', [
         'credentials' => \Grpc\ChannelCredentials::createInsecure(),
     ]);
     
     $request = new \Helloworld\HelloRequest();
     $request->setName('world');
     
     list($response, $status) = $client->SayHello($request)->wait();
     echo $response->getMessage() . "\n";
     

4. Run the server:

   php GreeterServer.php
   

5. Run the client:

   php GreeterClient.php
   

You should see the output from the client indicating a successful communication with the gRPC server. This confirms that the gRPC extension for PHP is properly installed and working on your system.