✅ Folder Structure

my-php-sql-app/
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
├── .env
├── index.php
└── elearn.sql #db file for the app

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🐳 Dockerfile (for PHP + Apache)

FROM php:8.1-apache

RUN apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y git && \
    docker-php-ext-install mysqli pdo pdo_mysql

COPY . /var/www/html/

EXPOSE 80

RUN a2enmod rewrite

CMD ["apache2-foreground"]

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📘 Explanation of Each Line

Line	Description
FROM php:8.1-apache	Uses an official Docker image that includes PHP 8.1 and Apache. This is the base for your PHP web server.
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y git ...	Updates package lists, installs git, and installs PHP extensions (mysqli, pdo, pdo_mysql) for MySQL/MariaDB database connectivity.
COPY . /var/www/html/	Copies all files from your current local directory into the Apache web root (/var/www/html) inside the container.
EXPOSE 80	Informs Docker that the container will use port 80 (Apache default HTTP port).
RUN a2enmod rewrite	Enables Apache’s URL rewriting module, required by many PHP frameworks like Laravel or CodeIgniter.
CMD ["apache2-foreground"]	Starts Apache in the foreground so the container stays alive and serves HTTP requests.

---

🧱 docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "${APP_PORT}:80"
    volumes:
      - .:/var/www/html/
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    environment:
      MYSQL_HOST: db
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}

  db:
    image: mariadb:10.6
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
      - ./elearn.sql:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d/elearn.sql
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "mariadb-admin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 30s
    ports:
      - "${DB_PORT}:3306"

volumes:
  db_data:

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📘 Explanation of Each Section

Section	Description
version: '3.8'	Specifies the version of Docker Compose file format being used.
services:	Defines the application services (containers) to be run.

---

🔹 web Service (PHP + Apache)

Key	Description
build: .	Builds the Docker image using the Dockerfile in the current directory.
ports	Maps ${APP_PORT} on your machine to port 80 inside the container.
volumes	Mounts your local project files into the container for live development.
depends_on	Ensures the database service (db) is healthy before starting web.
environment	Passes DB connection credentials to the PHP application using .env values.

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🔹 db Service (MariaDB)

Key	Description
image	Uses the official MariaDB 10.6 image from Docker Hub.
environment	Sets initial DB credentials from the .env file.
volumes

• Persists DB data with a named volume (db_data).
• Initializes the database with the SQL script elearn.sql. | | healthcheck | Checks if the DB server is ready using mariadb-admin ping. | | ports | Maps ${DB_PORT} on your host to port 3306 inside the container. |

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🔹 volumes

Name	Purpose
db_data	A named volume to persist database data across container restarts.

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🏁 Run the App

In the same directory:

docker compose up --build -d

Visit: http://localhost:8899

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🛑 Stop and Clean

• To stop your application (and keep the database data):

  docker compose down

  This will stop and remove the web and db containers, but the db_data volume will remain, so your database content will be preserved for the next time you start.

• To start your application again (after stopping it):

  docker compose up -d

  This will bring your containers back up, using the existing images and data.

• To stop your application and remove all associated data (a complete fresh start):

  docker compose down -v

  The -v flag tells Docker Compose to also remove any named volumes, including db_data. Use this if you want to completely reset your database to the state defined in init.sql.

• To check the status of your running containers:

  docker compose ps

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