For some website design is a real achievement for others its all in a days work. Whichever camp you reside in many catch the web development bug and the quest for more knowledge on the subject begins. All web designers need a platform to build their sites on and the obvious one for beginners and hardened pro’s alike is the Apache server model with MySql running on a Linux operating system or LAMP.
Most would be web developers own a Windows based pc and quickly find themselves faced with the problem of setting up a local development server locally for testing their scripts. A few years back installing a LAMP set-up (Apache server, MySql data server and php etc) was a real challenge on a Windows based pc. However thanks to groups of enthusiasts you can now install all three with ease and in some cases you can even install mail and ftp servers.
XAMPP by Apache Friends
Xampp (my personal favourite) is one such pre-compiled server combination web developers can use freely on Windows, Linux, Mac’s and many other os’s. There are several variants and version combinations you can download from the site, which is available in several languages. Once downloaded bundled server software installs easily and is pre-compile for use on a local server, so if you are running it on a publicly accessible web server you will need to follow the documentation closely to properly secure it from hackers. This kind of set-up is ideal for testing your custom website design and development.
WAMP (for Windows)
An alternative is WAMP, which is a more hands on configuration combining Apache server, MySql server and php available for Windows systems only. There is an active forum on the site to help you out of trouble should it arise during the install and configuration.
Easy PHP is another LAMP bundle that installs PHP, the web server Apache, the SQL server MySQL, as well as many development and debugging modules such as MySql database manager PhpMyAdmin and the debugging console Xdebug together with many other useful tools. Well worth a look. The site includes an active forum to help with any problems or configuration issues.
Older LAMP software bundles include Apache 2 Triad now no longer being actively developed though the site and forums are still available.
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