how to: xampp for easy integrated test environment
Back in the day, the way to set up a test environment for PHP on your own desktop was to install the Apache Server, then MySQL (if you were going to set up a database), then PHP and phpMyAdmin (optional). It all had to be done in a certain sequence so that all the parts would play nice. Wait, you weren’t done - you still had to edit certain files to make sure localhost was found (port 80 or 8080?), insert your database variables, etc. After a couple of years spending the first week of the classes I taught online assisting my students in fixing their installation errors, I wanted to throw in the towel!
Along came Apache Friends with their one-stop product that installs all the components in one fell swoop and with four distributions to cover the major operating systems: Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and Solaris. Best of all, xampp is free. More importantly, we can get on with the coursework instead of wasting time debugging the installation and my multiple page Start instructions has been reduced to one simple page.
Simply go to Apache Friends, select your distribution and follow the instructions to download, extract and install.
Notes:
xampp for Mac OS X works on Intel-based Mac OS 10.4 (or higher) only. Otherwise, you can install mampp.
You may need to shut down xampp to allow other server environments you installed to work (e.g. Plone/Zope).
Is it really that simple?
Because in my experience, without exception, every software tutorial introduces at least one new line of jargon in each step.
Yes, it’s really that easy! I’ve been installing xampp for Windows and Mac (rather than mamp), and even in the corporate enterprise environment. Works like a charm.