| Developer | vmware |
| Licence | Free |
| To download | Free download |
Apache Friends has developed a web server with open source cross-platform use (free, of course) called XAMPP. That’s why it got its name from the combination: X comes from Cross Platform, A comes from Apache, M comes from MySQL, P comes from PHP and the last P comes from Perl. Apache server is claimed as the lightweight and simple server which allows developers to build and build local HTTP server without any complication or hassle. If you want, it only takes a few clicks to use the server – and you’re good to go!
The basic understanding of XAMPP
There are many unique things about XAMPP. With this application, Apache acts as the server while MySQL is the database. PHP is essentially the Side Server scripting language which when combined allows executable and extractable files. This server can run and work well for Linux, Mac and Windows thanks to the cross-platform usability and features.
The basic benefits
If you take a look at the XAMPP packages, you will see some applications and services presented together to allow easy and quick deployment (not to mention also simple configuration), which covers Mercury, MySQL, Tomcat, PHP, Apache, the FileZilla FTP server, etc. much more. Is it easy to install and use? Yes it is. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to operate or have the server in your system.
Since this server is designed for developers, they can create their own local LAMP installation, designed for web application development. The default server installation includes some PHP applications, such as GD for GUI libraries, OpenSSL for secure layer sockets support, SQLite for database package, MySQL database, administration via PhpAdmin, etc. Creation and development are made easier – in easier ways than before.
Moreover, the server comes with an easy and simple control panel, allowing you to start or stop modules. Not to mention that the panel comes with a friendly interface and easy to use. When you start the server for the first time, prepare to get local access to the IP address with the default port number of 80. Don’t worry, you can always change the port number. Feel free to put web projects in the special htdocs folder. Just create a separate and different folder dedicated to each project and you should be able to access them easily.
The final verdict
Basically, this app scores 9.8 out of 10 overall performance rating. The good thing about this tool is:
- It is an efficient development tool designed specifically for developers. Tuning and adjustment are easy.
- The installation process is super easy and simple
- It comes with all the necessary features and capabilities
- It has a control panel with a GUI-based application for easy start and stop services. It also includes easy-to-update configuration files
So far, there are no flaws or drawbacks to this server. It works great in all operating systems like Mac, Linux and Windows. If you have tons of work related to PHP development, you should consider using this XAMPP.