Software Review: XAMPP

My first experience in 2010 configuring PHP on a Windows laptop was a bit of a nightmare. I not only had to run the executable file, I had to grapple with every line from php.ini. And that's not to mention running code and then testing database connections.

So image my relief years later when I discovered XAMPP, a package that would set up an Apache server, just like that.

After all the steps I'd taken to install PHP on that first laptop, not having to do it all over again, over and over, on the subsequent machines that I owned, was palpable. I soon became a big fan.

And today, I'm going to show my appreciation through this software review.

The Premise

XAMPP is basically a package comprising of an Apache server, and optionally, MySQL (recent versions use MariaDB instead). Thus if you need to run PHP or Perl quickly, this is a great solution. In fact, "XAMPP" is an acronym that stands for "Cross-platform Apache MySQL PHP Perl".

You double-click to run the installer. Subsequently, whenever you want to run PHP or Perl code, you start up the server.

The Aesthetics

Meh, it's orange and grey. The whole thing looks basic. Nothing to shout about from an artistic viewpoint, really. But at the same time, there's something about the simplicity of it all that's really attractive.

The Experience

Overall, using XAMPP was a pleasure. Compare this to the hassle of setting up and maintaining your own Apache server? Not even close. Come on.

The Interface

Starting this thing up is easy. Configuring it, also easy.

Gone are the days of hunting for the exact file. XAMPP opens that file up for you and gently warms you to be careful when changing it.

What I liked

XAMPP condenses the horribly complicated process of setting up an Apache server with a database, regardless of whether it's on a Windows or Mac platform, into a few simple steps. What's not to love? It's almost a bit too simple, if I'm being honest. But too simple is usually better than not simple enough.

Sensible conventions. Things like the default deployment path, port number, and such, aren't outlandish. I can get behind "htdocs" as a root path, even if I've been trained to recognize other conventions such as ASP.NET's "wwwroot".

Looks charmingly retro. Now, this could be seen as a negative, but this section is titled "what I liked", so here it is.

What I didn't

It would've been nice if some configurables were changeable through either a desktop or web interface rather than having to open up the config text file. On the other hand, the need to change these things doesn't come up all that often, so...

In the MacOS version, the executable is manager-osx which isn't really intuitive. 

Conclusion

If you need a quick-and-dirty Apache setup tool, who you gonna call? That's right - XAMPP! This tool has been around for the last  couple decades, and hasn't ever really gone out of fashion. That's because XAMPP doesn't pretend to be anything more than just an Apache server setup tool, and in that it's a godsend for PHP and Perl devs.

My Rating

8 / 10

An XAMPP-lary piece of work!
T___T