WHAT IS 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 webpage developers, programmers, and designers check and review their work using their computers even without connection to the web or internet. 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.

To use XAMPP, only one zip, exe or tar file is needed. Users just need to download this file and run the application. There is also not much configuration and tinkering to be done in terms of settings and its components. The XAMPP package is also updated on a regular basis to synchronize with the updates made on the different platforms involved in the package like Apache, PHP, Perl, and MySQL.

Aside from being cross-platform, XAMPP is also a freeware. This means users on different operating systems can download this server package free of charge. Not to mention that there is no configuration necessary to setup the system. After downloading and extracting the free application, users can immediately use XAMPP. Users also do not have to worry on removing the application. If XAMPP is not needed by the user anymore, removing it should not present any problem. One just needs to delete the XAMPP directory and all the files concerning this server package will be deleted. Or if XAMPP was installed using the Windows installer version, one just needs to go to the “uninstall” feature of the operating system to get rid of the server package.