Yesideez Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 All I've ever done when writing PHP is write it on my machine and upload it to my web space when I need to test it. I'm considering getting some sort of environment installed on my machine but no idea what route to go down. I've heard of XAMP, WAMP and LAMP but unsure what the differences are exactly. From what I've read up on them users have their own opinions and it seems very much like "my computer is better than yours" scenario which really isn't any help. Then there's installing everything separately - Apache, PHP, MySQL, phpMyAdmin. My machine has more than enough space and ability to handle whatever I choose to throw at it, I'm just finding the decision to make a little difficult. One thing that's been steering me towards separate items is a problem I recall hearing about the mail() function in that it is prone to not behaving itself on an all-in-one install. Is there any real benefit to installing everything separately? Any help on this will be really appreciated as I'm completely lost! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
premiso Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 WAMP for windows i my favorite. On Linux (if using a debian based build) Just use apt-get, it installs everything very well. But LAMP is a linux based version. XAMP I used once and hated it. So if on Windows I would go with WAMP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhodesa Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 installing everything separately allows you to setup a specific environment....aka a specific version of PHP/Apache, or maybe you need Apache SSL. You can also get better performance out of installing the components. But if this is just something for you to test on, go with a bundle (like WampServer)...it will save you install and upgrade time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yesideez Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Thanks for the input so far. I'm running Windows and Linux (Ubuntu) so not sure yet which version to go with but I'm thinking I'll be putting it on my Windows partition. Yes, it'll be just for testing primarily and development. So far WAMP is looking like the option I should take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I've heard of XAMP, WAMP and LAMP but unsure what the differences are exactly. From what I've read up on them users have their own opinions and it seems very much like "my computer is better than yours" scenario which really isn't any help. WAMP means "Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP" and LAMP means "Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP". If you use Linux then use the distro's package manager. If you use Windows then the easiest is probably choosing one of the available bundles (I use Zend Server CE). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yesideez Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 I use Zend Studio for Eclipse here at work - would I be able to install Zend on my home machine and get it working with WAMP? The reason I'm thinking of setting up at home is I like the environment I'm running here. I write code, submit it to SVN and I can test it straight away from my browser without having to upload via FTP. I've been FTP'ing fine at home but since working here I'm finding the FTP thing every time I need to test changes a bit of a chore. (I went out and bought two TFTs for home because I'm using two here!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
premiso Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Under Ubuntu, using Apt-get is very easy to install mysql/apache/php and any extensions you want via the same method. I would go that route over LAMP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhodesa Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I use Zend Studio for Eclipse here at work - would I be able to install Zend on my home machine and get it working with WAMP? The reason I'm thinking of setting up at home is I like the environment I'm running here. I write code, submit it to SVN and I can test it straight away from my browser without having to upload via FTP. I've been FTP'ing fine at home but since working here I'm finding the FTP thing every time I need to test changes a bit of a chore. (I went out and bought two TFTs for home because I'm using two here!) just put your eclipse workspace in your htdocs folder....aka: htdocs/eclipse/ then any project you create in eclipse is available via http://localhost/eclipse/project_name/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I use Zend Studio for Eclipse here at work - would I be able to install Zend on my home machine and get it working with WAMP? If by "install Zend" you mean "install Zend Server" (notice the ambiguity that appears when people use "Zend" to refer to "Zend Studio", "Zend Server", "Zend Guard", "Zend Framework", etc. - use the full name!) then yes. In fact, Zend Server and Zend Studio plays well together with the built-in support for debugging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 I used to always install everything separate on my windows development box, but once I installed wamp server for the first time I refuse to do it any other way. It is just so easy and it is nice to have all services right there in your system tray. Linux and/or a production machine is a completely different story and you should use a package manager and configure each service as necessary for your environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg_alpha Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I use xampp, and as jcombs notes from his experience with wamp, it was also very easy. So easy in fact, I wish everything was that simple. Once installed, the default content in htdocs contains an xampp service panel where you can secure your xampp folder, set mySQL username / passwords, etc.. etc.. very easy to install and use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yesideez Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 Well, I've installed WAMP and have set it up (almost - still a couple teething trouble with MySQL root passwords but nothing that's causing any damage or posing a risk as only I use this machine) I've also set up some domains by editing the hosts file and Apache virtual hosts file and can now access all the sites which are stored on a separate hard drive. This I found a whole lot easier than adding users to MySQL (something I still can't manage easily) But - I'm getting there. Thanks guys for all your pointers, it really is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ober Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I use xampp, and as jcombs notes from his experience with wamp, it was also very easy. So easy in fact, I wish everything was that simple. Once installed, the default content in htdocs contains an xampp service panel where you can secure your xampp folder, set mySQL username / passwords, etc.. etc.. very easy to install and use. Ditto here. I used to install separately and that's how I build servers, but for a local dev box, why bother with all that hassle? I'm curious if anyone has experience with xampp vs. wamp and which is better and why? I've never used wamp and I'm curious if I'm missing anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I'm curious if anyone has experience with xampp vs. wamp and which is better and why? I've never used wamp and I'm curious if I'm missing anything. Last I checked, XAMPP was replaced with WampServer. Dunno if that's what you mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ober Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html Doesn't look like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Sorry, I must have mixed up stuff. Nevermind me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg_alpha Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Ditto here. I used to install separately and that's how I build servers, but for a local dev box, why bother with all that hassle? Exactly. I tried installing all the components separately to setup a localhost... Holy Christ, that was painful...(I mean, for people who are experienced and are thus comfortable doing it as separate installs and configurations, fine, but for people like me......) So for localhost setup, it's brilliant IMO. It's definitely meant as a developer's environment and not meant for actual live server hosting ( 1. I believe there is a stern warning about this over at Apache Friends, and 2. I don't build servers, nor do I plan to - I just want a simple localhost setup with minimal fuss and be done with it.) Ta-Da! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbin Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I install everything separately. It takes like 10 minutes tops... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg_alpha Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I install everything separately. It takes like 10 minutes tops... Not in my shoes it doesn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcombs_31 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 looks like xampp has more than you really need for a dev box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nrg_alpha Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 looks like xampp has more than you really need for a dev box. Depends on what you are developing I suppose...xampp lite is fine for my needs (so long as it has Apache, mySQL, PHP and PHPmyAdmin). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ober Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 looks like xampp has more than you really need for a dev box. How so? I mean yeah, I don't need an FTP server, but it's nice to have a mailserver and everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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