XAMPP

XAMPP is an open-source web server package that works on various platforms. It is actually an acronym with X meaning “cross” platform, A for Apache HTTP server, M for MySQL, P for PHP, and P for Perl. XAMPP was designed to help website developers, programmers, and designers check and review their work using their computers even without connection to the web. So, basically XAMPP may be used to stand as pages for the Internet even without connection to it. It can also be used to create and configure with databases written in MySQL and/or SQLite. And since XAMPP is designed as a cross-platform server package, it is available for a variety of operating systems and platforms like Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris.

XAMPP has four primary components. These are:

• Apache: Apache is the actual web server application that processes and delivers web content to a computer. Apache is the most popular web server online, powering nearly 54% of all websites.

• MySQL: Every web application, howsoever simple or complicated, requires a database for storing collected data. MySQL, which is open source, is the world’s most popular database management system. It powers everything from hobbyist websites to professional platforms like WordPress. You can learn how to master PHP with this free MySQL database for beginners course.

• PHP: PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. 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, relatively easy to learn, and works perfectly with MySQL, making it a popular choice for web developers.

• Perl: Perl is a high-level, dynamic programming language used extensively in network programming, system admin, etc. Although less popular for web development purposes, Perl has a lot of niche applications.