Xampp – testing a dynamic website (freeware) August 16, 2013 by Q
Download Link for XAMPP!
From the beginning i would like to specify that we won’t be talking about static websites . Just to be clear , you won’t need Xampp if you’re having a site that contains only html , css and javascript . Those are executed on the client side (which is most of the time a browser or a code interpreter) . So even if a site with javscript is dynamic , it is dynamic on the client side. But today i will be discussing about the server side .
What it means to be executed on the server side?
Well usually when you submit a URL (Uniform Resource Locator – for example google.ro) , that URL is send to the server as a request . So you type google.ro and the request is send to the server , the server finds what file corresponds to that URL and if it’s a html file than the file is being redirected to you . But if it is not a html file than that file is send from the server to a code interpreter that converts that php , asp or java in html (by using a very complicated routine) . And the converted html file is being sended to you . That means dynamic on the server side .
And executed on the server side simply means that a file (with scripting language code) is being converted in raw html so that it can be displayed by the browser . The browser doesn’t understand more than html , css and javascript . So , everything else must be displayed after that “conversion”.
Below you have a video (only the part 1) that helps you to set your local development environment :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys9lUk1gztE
What is a server?
Imagine a server like a huge hard-disk with an operating system that has a powerful connection to the internet . Basically any computer can be transformed into a server . But that isn’t a feasible way to do things .
Just think about it ! A server needs to be online all the time . Because John from Australia will be very disappointed if it enters at 2 p.m. on google.ro and google.ro chrashes . So a personal computer wouldn’t be a great idea . And even if you want to transform a computer into a server , you would have to maintain certain physical conditions for that computer .
What are Xampp features?
First of all it reunites everything you need to test your dynamic (server side) site. It includes a html server (most common html servers are Apache and IIS from microsoft) – Apache and it also provides a way to communicate with your database through phpmyadmin file .
Normally when you want to test a full feature website you’ll need :
-html server
-database management
-ftp transfer
Just think about Xampp as a suite that does that for you . That’s the primary feature of Xampp .
Second of all , due to the fact it is permitted in all common OS , you will have zero problems related to compatibility or transfer between different operating systems .
And last but not the least , it has a interface for usage quite intuitive .