Python's built-in SimpleHTTPServer (or http.server in Python 3) is fantastic for quick local development, but it has a critical limitation:

python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000  # Python 2
python -m http.server 8000       # Python 3

This server only handles static files (HTML, CSS, JS) and doesn't support server-side processing like PHP. When you try to access a PHP file, it will either download the file or display its raw source code.

Option 1: Use PHP's Built-in Server

For PHP development, the simplest solution is to use PHP's own development server:

php -S localhost:8000

This will handle PHP files properly while still serving static files. You can even specify a router script for advanced URL handling:

php -S localhost:8000 router.php

Option 2: Configure a Proper Local Server

For more robust development, consider installing:

• XAMPP (cross-platform)
• MAMP (Mac)
• WAMP (Windows)
• Docker with PHP/Apache or PHP/Nginx

Option 3: Proxy Approach (Advanced)

If you must use Python alongside PHP, you could set up a proxy:

from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
from socketserver import TCPServer
from urllib.request import urlopen

class PHPProxyHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
    def do_GET(self):
        if self.path.endswith('.php'):
            php_response = urlopen(f"http://localhost:9000{self.path}")
            self.send_response(200)
            self.end_headers()
            self.wfile.write(php_response.read())
        else:
            super().do_GET()

# Run PHP server in another terminal: php -S localhost:9000
TCPServer(('', 8000), PHPProxyHandler).serve_forever()

Use Case	Recommended Solution
Quick PHP testing	PHP built-in server
Static file serving	SimpleHTTPServer
Full web app development	XAMPP/MAMP/Docker
Special Python+PHP integration	Proxy solution

Never use any of these development servers in production. They lack security features and performance optimizations needed for public-facing applications.

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Python's built-in SimpleHTTPServer (or http.server in Python 3) is fantastic for quick static file serving, but it has no native PHP processing capability. When you run:

python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000
# or Python 3:
python3 -m http.server 8000

It will only serve raw PHP files as plain text, not execute them. This is because Python's HTTP server modules don't include a PHP interpreter.

For proper PHP development, consider these alternatives:

PHP's Built-in Development Server

The simplest solution is to use PHP's own development server:

php -S localhost:8000

This handles PHP files natively and is available in PHP 5.4+.

Docker-based Solution

For a more production-like environment with minimal setup:

docker run -p 8000:80 -v "$PWD":/var/www/html php:apache

This gives you a full Apache/PHP stack in one command.

If you must use Python's server but need PHP, you can set up a proxy:

1. Run PHP's server on port 9000
2. Run this Python proxy script on port 8000:

from http.server import SimpleHTTPRequestHandler
from socketserver import TCPServer
from urllib.request import urlopen

class ProxyHandler(SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
    def do_GET(self):
        if self.path.endswith('.php'):
            resp = urlopen(f"http://localhost:9000{self.path}")
            self.send_response(resp.status)
            self.end_headers()
            self.wfile.write(resp.read())
        else:
            super().do_GET()

TCPServer(("", 8000), ProxyHandler).serve_forever()

• Never use these solutions in production
• For serious development, consider proper stacks like XAMPP, MAMP, or Laravel Valet
• The proxy method has performance overhead
• PHP's built-in server has some limitations with URL rewriting

For most PHP development needs, using PHP's built-in server or Docker will provide the best combination of simplicity and functionality.