How to start using PHpass?

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PHP

cryptography

Hi I am trying to store users' passwords securely and I know if I mess up its a big deal.I am new to Cryptography and I heard that using PHpass with Blowfish Crypt is the best? How would I start using it (as well as server setup(I'm currently using EasyPHP for dev))?

Also, and this is the big question, from the docs I understand that the salt is random. If so, how would I get the salt to make sure that the users' password is correct?

Also, the docs state that the database settings must be kept in a config file. What are the benefits of doing this?

Sorry for the newb questions but I am worried that I misunderstand the docs or Google and create a huge security gap.

Thanks in advance

Jacques

P.S. This is an open source project I am working on, so assume the attackers can get the source as well.