xampp and development

Hey there,

XAMPP is reasonably OK for quick and easy development, but you are somewhat limited to the versions of the components you get. Because it's a one-click install, you may not get to choose the exact version of Apache / MySQL [MariaDB] / PHP etc. I know with WAMPServer (similar package) you do get a bit of flexibility in that you can switch between different versions of the components, but you're still limited to whatever versions are available for WAMP.

Depending on your needs and how complex your app is, it's very possible that XAMPP/WAMP will be more than suitable - it's certainly the quickest and easiest way to get your Dev stack up and running.

However, if you really need to mirror your production server (exact same versions etc), then custom building your stack would be the way to go - this gives you most flexibility, but is also more complex to set up. If you choose this route, then you'll probably want to look at Docker. It allows you to compartmentalise your indivual services (PHP / WebServer / DB etc)

I was thinking of just installing the apahce, php mysql and phpmyadmin components as full installs and then configuring the various config files
Looks relatively straightforward
I assume one can change the php versions being used by editing the config files to point to a different php directory within apache?

I am not familiar with Docker but I have done the above previously

Yeah - you can install all of the parts individually, although like the WAMP install, you won't have full flexibility. You can certainly install different versions of PHP into different folders and the use configs to select which version.

There's certainly a learning curve to Docker, but it does offer you the most flexibility and power.

Another powerful option if you're familiar with Linux admin is to install your stack on the Linux SubSystem that comes with Windows 10. This is effectively a full Linux kernel right on your Windows machine. Again - more complex that the windows installers unless you know a little about Linux SysAdmin

So it looks like xampp is the way to go initially
In xampp, how do I select different versions of php
I assume I use and configure the : httpd-xampp.conf

Awesome
I will try WAMP

What type of dev environment you choses relates to many factors.

If your designing for high speed, high traffic sites, you'll use an actual Linux machine deployed on the net, so once your project is finished...

1) Your runtime environment is already set, as you did all your dev where your site will live after deployment.

2) If #1 is true, there's no site migration step + the many complexities involved.

3) Also if you must support Apache + HTTP/2, your only option is to run Linux, either in a local VM or on a public machine/IP...

As HTTP/2 requires using an Apache MPM which is unsupported on Windows.

Thanks all

Hi,

Wampserver is a lot better and easier to set.
I come with everything you need to start.
It come with xdebug which is very cool, it display PHP errors in a great way so it is easier to fix code.

What I like is to be able to switch easily between PHP version when updating the code to new PHP version for testing code (you can install more than one PHP version so you can switch).

Here is the page to download different version and put it in your favorite:
https://wampserver.aviatechno.net/