How to setup CodeIgniter in your localhost with WAMP server

I've been developing a couple of website using codeIgniter framework. I only learned about this framework early this year 2011. Basically, I've tried installing codeIgniter from localhost and on the host server itself.
How to make codeigniter work is very simple and easy. Below are the steps to kick start your first website using codeigniter.

1. Installing WAMP
First and foremost, before you can have your website running on your localhost you should get a copy of WAMP(Windows Apache MySQL and PHP). It is where you can manage your server settings and Apache/MySQL services. So start downloading Wampserver now!

As you can see there are 2 buttons to download between 32bits and 64bits that would be basing on your system type. To check what OS type is running click Windows logo on your keyboard + Pause/Break and a window will appear.

After download, double click the file and follow the instructions given. Everything will be installed automatically  with the latest releases of Apache, MySQL and PHP.

2. Testing WAMP
You can see the WAMP icon on your desktop after installation. Double click and start the web-server.

This is the WAMP icon.

You can see the green WAMP logo. This means the wampserver has started properly.

On your browser, type localhost and a page will display.

3. Download codeIgniter
The newest version is here.

Click on the Download button to start downloading the package.

After downloading, you are now ready to install codeigniter on your wamp server.

4. Unzip the file on drive C:/wamp/www

5. Setup project name
Rename CodeIgniter_2.1.0 on your desired project name. For example "myblog", then access the project on your browser with this url "localhost/myblog".

A welcome page will display.

Voila! You have successfully installed CodeIgniter and Wamp.

Get ready for the next tutorial and for getting to know more about CodeIgniter.

What is Codeigniter

CodeIgniter is one of the many PHP frameworks existing. It is an open source web application framework, use in building dynamic web sites based on Model-View-Controller development pattern. If you want a framework with a small footprint, with exceptional performance, and a framework that requires nearly zero configuration then Codeigniter is what you are looking for. It lets you focus more on your project design and it minimizes the amount of thorough coding for a given task.

The first released version of CodeIgniter was on February 28,2006 and currently they have the latest stable version released last November 1, 2011 which is CodeIgniter 2.1.0.
You can find list of versioning here(http://codeigniter.com/user_guide/installation/downloads.html), all source code is maintained at GitHub.


Server Requirements

• PHP version 5.1.6 or newer.
• Database supported: MySQL (4.1+), MySQLi, MS SQL, Postgres, Oracle, SQLite, and ODBC

Check the License Agreement here.

If you have been using lower version of CodeIgniter(like version 1.7.2) on your project, it is not merely advisable to update your CodeIgniter. There are big changes after they've released version 2.0.0. Check on the changelog for further information.

Credits
CodeIgniter was originally developed by Rick Ellis (CEO of EllisLab, Inc.). The framework was written for performance in the real world, with many of the class libraries, helpers, and sub-systems borrowed from the code-base of ExpressionEngine.

It is currently developed and maintained by the ExpressionEngine Development Team.
Bleeding edge development is spearheaded by the handpicked contributors of the Reactor Team.

A hat tip goes to Ruby on Rails for inspiring us to create a PHP framework, and for bringing frameworks into the general consciousness of the web community.