XAMPP Server is a free open source cross-platform web server package. XAMPP is an AMP stack which allows installing Apache, MySQL, and PHP in your computer together with some other useful software. It has been designed to provide an easy installation experience. It is free and available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. It provides an easy way for developers to create a local web server for testing purposes. Since most actual web server deployments use the same components as XAMPP, it provides an easy way of transitioning from a local test server to a live server.
Components of XAMPP
1) Apache: Apache is the actual web server application that processes and delivers web content to a computer and it is the most popular web server online.
2) MySQL: Every web application, simple or complicated, requires a database for storing collected data. MySQL is open source and is the world’s most popular database management system. It powers everything from hobbyist websites to professional platforms like WordPress.
3) PHP: PHP stands for Hypertext Pre-processor. It is a server-side scripting language that powers some of the most popular websites in the world, including WordPress and Facebook. It is open source and relatively easy to learn. It works perfectly with MySQL, making it a popular choice for web developers.
4) Perl: Perl is a high-level, dynamic programming language used extensively in network programming, and system admin. It is less popular for web development purposes; Perl has a lot of niche applications.
Different versions of XAMPP include additional components such as phpMyAdmin and OpenSSL to create full-fledged web servers.
Installing XAMPP (Centos)
1) Download the XAMPP package
# wget http://www.apachefriends.org/download.php?xampp-linux-1.8.1.tar.gz
2) Extract it to /opt/ folder
# tar xvfz xampp-linux-1.8.1.tar.gz -C /opt
3) Edit the httpd-xampp.conf
# vi /opt/lampp/etc/extra/httpd-xampp.conf
4) Edit the last section of the file called httpd-xampp.conf file
<LocationMatch “^/(?i:(?:xampp|security|licenses|phpmyadmin|webalizer|server-status|server-info))”>
# Require local
Require all granted
ErrorDocument 403 /error/XAMPP_FORBIDDEN.html.var
</LocationMatch>
5) Restart all services by using lampp script
# /opt/lampp/lampp restart
Install XAMPP in Ubuntu
1) # sudo add-apt-repository ppa:upubuntu-com/web
2) # sudo apt-get update
3) # sudo apt-get install xampp
4) # sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start
Advantages
1) It is a great development tool.
2) It is very easy to install and contains all the tools needed.
3) It contains some demo applications, for helping new developers in their path to success.
4) XAMPP is available for Windows and Linux flavors.
5) XAMPP also features an easy control panel, start/stop panel, and port checker.
6) XAMPP also provides the individual start and stop commands for each application
7) ability to fast switch between PHP4 and PHP5. This helps developers to easily test their applications compatibility with the two versions.
If you need any further assistance please contact our support department.