Web development: what is a web server package?

To develop a website you need several things: an operating system, a web server, a database and a database management system, and a programing language (a scripting language) interpreter. We are sure that you already have an operating system installed – otherwise your computer wouldn't work – but what about the rest of the components?

To get down to website development you should install a web server (e.g. Apache), a DBMS (e.g. MySQL), a scripting language (e.g. PHP). You may also need phpMyAdmin – a special tool for MySQL administration via your web browser. Seems a real hassle, doesn't it? But a web server package can help!

A web sever package (a solution stack) allows to install all components required for website development simultaneously. A web server package usually includes a web server, a database (DBMS), a programing/scripting language, sometimes phpMyAdmin or other similar tool, a web framework etc. A web server package may be designed for a particular operating system (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X), it may also be cross-platform.

The main advantage and benefit of a web server package is easy and convenient installation and easiness to use. You don't have to install all components of a solution stack separately and configure them for correct interaction with one another.

Besides, thanks to a web solution stack you don't have to pay any money for web hosting services and Internet traffic as you your site is hosted on your local computer. You can test your work on your own computer without any Internet access. Most solution packages allow to work with several websites.

However, you should keep in mind that officially most solution stacks are designed as development tools for website testing only. We would like to tell you about two popular free open-source solution stacks – XAMPP and AppServ.

XAMPP

XAMPP is an acronym where X stands for cross-platform, A – for Apache HTTP Server, M – for MySQL, P – for PHP, and the second P – for Perl. It is available for four operating systems – Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X.

XAMPP is a free and open-source package which is released under the terms of the GNU GPL (General Public License). But you should keep in mind that every single contained product in the compilation may have other license terms. XAMPP is very easy to install. You should download a exe, zip, or tar and run it. The latest version is 1.7.5-beta.

AppServ

AppServ is another popular web server package. The package consists of Apache web server, MySQL database management system, PHP, and phpMyAdmin. AppServ is not a cross-platform application, it was developed for Windows operating system.

Just like XAMPP, AppServ is a free and open-source package which is released under the terms of the GNU GPL. It is also easy to install and configure. The latest stable version is 2.5.7. AppServ 2.6.0 is the Rock function that contains PHP 6.0.0-dev and MySQL 6.0.4-alpha. You can also download two add-ons: Zend Optimizer 3.3.0 and UTF-8 Converter.

TAGS
web server package, solution stack, xampp, appserv, web server, website testing