Getting started with asterisk on PC with Linux and use for I

All I want to do is to be able to receive a call from any DTMF phone and execute specific scripts (php scripts to Mysql) depening on numbers pressed from the phone dialing this number.
I was hoping to find a easier solution then Asterisk, so I’m open for alternatives.

The AGI interface for Asterisk will allow you to do what you want. PHP and numerous other languages are supported.

So would the development kit be enough to start with, or do you recommend another board ?

Also, which linux distribution do you recommend ?