Installation of XAMPP
What is XAMPP?
Installation of XAMPP – XAMPP is an abbreviation where X stands for cross-platform, A stands for Apache, M stands for MariaDB, P stands for PHP, and P stands for Perl.
X- Cross-platform
A- Apache [It is a web server software]
M- MariaDB [MYSQL]
P- PHP
P- Perl [Scripting language]
The XAMPP is one of the best apart of distribution that helps web developers create a local web server for testing and deployment purposes. It was designed to be one of the easiest ways to install and run a development server and it is the most complete package.
Therefore it is most actual web server deployments use the same components as XAMPP, it makes the process from a local test server to a live server possible.
XAMPP’s convenient deployment means a WAMP or LAMP stack can be installed quickly and simply on an operating system by a developer, with the advantage of the common add-in applications such as WordPress and Joomla! in which it can also be installed with similar ease using Bitnami.
MySQL has been replaced with MariaDB on 19 October 2015 and began with XAMPP versions 5.5.30 and 5.6.14, effectively altering the meaning of the acronym. it is regularly updated to the latest releases of Apache server, MariaDB, PHP, and Perl. It also comes with lots of other programs including OpenSSL, phpMyAdmin, MediaWiki, Joomla, WordPress, and many more. Self-contained, multiple instances of XAMPP that can exist on a single computer, and any given instance that can be copied from one computer to another. XAMPP is also offered in both full and standard versions. Officially, XAMPP’s designers planned for the use as a development tool, to allow website designers and programmers to test their tasks on their own computers without any access to the Internet. To make it easy, many important security features are disabled. XAMPP has the capability to serve web pages on the World Wide Web. A special tool is given to password-protect the most important parts of the package.
XAMPP also provides support for creating databases in MariaDB and SQLite among others.
How to Download and Install XAMPP in any Window
It is a step-by-step process to download and install XAMPP software for any windows operating system.
1st step) Download XAMPP
To download XAMPP software click here: https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html
2nd step) Then start Installation
XAMPP installation is very easy. The way of installation of this software is just like installing any other Windows software.
3rd step) Run the software
After completing the download process, then run the setup. A warning dialog box is pop up as shown below.
4th step) Change User Control Settings
If you are using Windows Vista and Windows 7, make assured that you have deactivated the User Account Control feature. To perform this, Select Control Panel > User Account > Change User Access Control settings. The diagram is shown below.
5th step) Save the Configuration
- After deactivating the User Account Control setting, click on the OK button.
6th step) Then click the Next button
In the rendering screen, click on the Next button.
7th step) Select the installation path
After clicking the Next button, modify the installation path if it is required. and click the Next button.
8th Step) Select the necessary services
Then in the next screen choose Apache and MySQL. It is optionally to select the FileZilla if required and click the Next button.
9th Step) Finish the installation
After successful installation, click on the Finish button.
XAMPP Basic Web Server Configuration:
The list of basic web server configurations which we are supposed to be aware of are
- htdocs: This is known as the web root directory. All the PHP codes will be placed in this directory.
- mysql: Basically, this directory contains all the information which are related to the MYSQL database and it runs by default on port number 3306.
- php: The php directory contains all the installation files. It also contains the important file named php.ini. In this directory, we can configure how PHP behaves on the server.
The Apache web server runs by default on port 80. If port 80 is taken by any other web server, we can use a different port. Note, If you have SKYPE, it uses the same port number 80. So you will close the SKYPE first then run the XAMPP on port 80.
XAMPP Control Panel
The XAMPP control panel is used to manage or configure the programs which are installed via XAMPP. To open this.
- First, click on the start menu
- All programs -> XAMPP -> XAMPP Control Panel
This section shows the list of installation services, modules, process IDs, and PIDs. The green tick means the modules or programs are successfully installed. The red mark indicates the programs are not installed as service.
The Action section is for,
- To start and stop the modules.
- To open the administrative window for Apache and MYSQL.
- Open Apache configuration files.
- At last, to view log files.
Then type the URL http://localhost/xampp/ in any browser.
If you see the above screen then you will be sure that the XAMPP was installed successfully. In this panel the left side contains some useful information these are:
- The version in which the PHP is installed.
- Security configuration of XAMPP.
- Access to phpMyAdmin
