XAMPP
XAMPP is a free and open-source cross-platform web server that is primarily used when locally developing web applications. It comes with a complete solution stack that includes an Apache HTTP Server, a MariaDB database system, PHP and Perl interpreters and many other programs commonly found on Linux web servers.
- Provides a full-fledged web server to any local development environment
- Includes an Apache HTTP server, MariaDB relational database system and common server-based interpreters
- Is completely free to use
- Is very easy to install and use
- Has cross-platform support
- Has everything you need to simulate an actual production Linux web server
- Is a little bloated, installing applications that most web developers do not really need
- No longer includes MySQL, but instead installs MariaDB
What do you do if you are developing a web application that will eventually run on a Linux web server but you do not have a Linux web server at your disposal? You install XAMPP, which runs a standard Linux web server on just about any computer system. XAMPP in effect simulates a production web server, and it has pretty much everything you need: Apache, MariaDB and common server interpreters. It is also ridiculously easy to get install and get running. Even someone who has limited Linux and networking experience will find the process easy. It also completely free to use, making it an easy choice for those developing web applications on a budget. There are very few negative aspects to using XAMPP. Though some may find it bloated, as it installs more than just a pure AMPP stack, but also auxiliary applications such as mail and FTP servers. It also no longer supports MySQL, in order to reflect a growing trend among Linux distributions. Instead, it installs the MariaDB relational database system. So, if you want to use MySQL instead of MariaDB, you will have to install it separately.
Alternatives to XAMPP
MAMP
WampServer
AMPPS
EasyPHP
Winginx
WNMP
