Choosing a WAMP platform for developing sites for Windows
At the time of my youth, only one single WAMP complex was popular in the Russian-language segment of the Internet . This, you guessed it, is the good old Denwer. He firmly settled on my computer back in 2003. Other alternatives, if they existed at that time, were known in narrow circles and were not so popular.
Let's look at what we can use today, after so many years. I suggest reviewing, testing and comparing 14! software systems designed for developing sites for Windows.
Latest version: 1.7
Russian language: yes (partially)
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.ampps.com/
Basic kit:
AMPPS is not just a WAMP assembly, it is a whole library of applications where you can quickly install, rotate and pick each of them without leaving the box office. All this economy is painstakingly cataloged and described in detail.
An undoubted advantage of this assembly is the support of many common CMS, blog platforms, web forums, message boards, photo galleries and so on. There are over 200 available applications in total! The set of components included in the package also does not lag behind life, all modules are quite fresh and, what is noteworthy, here we can find such exotic things as Python and MongoDB.
Of the minuses, I want to note a partial Russian translation, which is present only in the scripts directory, and even then not everywhere. After restarting Apache, the tray menu refused to work, restarting Windows did not help. Another disadvantage is the lack of portability. In my opinion, AMPPS is more useful for beginners to learn scripts than for serious developers. I was not very comfortable working with this software package; there are better options.
Latest version: 2.5.10
Russian language: No
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.appservnetwork.com/
Basic kit:
Apache and MySQL are installed as services. There is no control program, only a page of dubious design with a link to PhpMyAdmin. At its core, AppServ is a graphical installer for Apache, PHP, MySQL, and nothing more. If Denwer itself launches the components, then here they are simply installed as services and managed by Windows itself.
Latest version: 2010-10-11-07
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.denwer.ru/
Basic kit:
Denwer ... good old Denwer. We see the same meager set of not very fresh components (cut down to the very eggs), a black window and no GUI. The advantages of this package include its extremely small size and a good “knowledge base” on the forum, accumulated over many years. In fact, server management is carried out through the execution of .BAT scripts to start and stop modules, as such there is no control program at all.
Denwer is extremely simple and understandable, and therefore has the largest army of fans among the "dummies". The most complete description of this platform will be the following phrase said by one of the users: “Denver performs the basic tasks all right, and the more lotions the more troubles (nobody uses them for all 100).”
Latest version: 5.3.9
Russian language: Yes
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.easyphp.org/
Basic kit:
A fairly simple and unremarkable assembly. We are offered the usual tray-menu with no frills, uncomplicated settings and an intricate start page without the Russian language. This software package did not make any impression on me, it works well. EasyPHP is quite suitable as a replacement for Denwer with a “version with windows” (if the start page does not scare).
I note that EasyPHP manages the server on its own, it does not pop out any frightening black windows, the server starts and stops quite quickly.
Latest version: 2.0.2.0
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://eleanor-cms.ru/server
Basic kit:
EleanorServ at first seemed to me a dark horse, or rather a kind of specialized server for the eponymous Eleanor CMS. After reviewing, it turned out that this is a regular WAMP kit.
In this assembly, I liked the menu design, which turned out to be quite attractive, which is very rare among such programs. I also liked the control panel, or rather the start page, which has a rather unusual performance.
After creating a new domain, the control panel simply disappeared . It turned out that there was an error in the domain manager, and it opened an incorrect address, but these were trifles. Another disappointment was the inability to open the domain folder from the tray menu, I had to look for where I installed EleanorServ ...
In general, I liked EleanorServ, especially the ability to start / stop the server directly from the browser.
Latest version: 1.5.0
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://nimpbox.ru/
Basic kit:
Here we see an ugly implementation of a control panel with elements of pornography, but there is a rather interesting tray menu. The strangest thing in this assembly is as many as 4! tray icons with exactly the same menu. I managed to get the server to work far from the first time. As it turned out, Nimp can only work from the root of the disk, which is without a doubt another fatty disadvantage of this software package.
During the use of this assembly, something constantly crashed, FileZilla never stopped itself (had to be killed through the task manager), and Memcached did not start at all. The author of the program said that “this assembly is perfect for highly loaded sites in corporate and city networks,” the program is clearly far from being used in a corporate environment.
The “trick” of this platform is that Nginx works as a frontend and is designed to distribute static content, while Apache works as a backend to generate dynamic content. In general, my impression of this assembly remained twofold, it gradually changed from sharply negative at first to normal acceptable in the process of working with the program.
Latest version: 4.5.2
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://open-server.ru/
Basic kit:
In contrast to other participants in our review, Open Server has the most pleasant and thoughtful interface, and has powerful capabilities for configuring and administering components. Undoubted advantages include support for configuration profiles, switching of HTTP / MySQL / PHP modules, task scheduler (cron), convenient management of domains and aliases, and for dummies there is an explanatory user manual.
A nice feature of Open Server is the ability to use the program as a portable personal start menu. You can install the server on a USB drive, transfer your portable programs there, create bookmarks for frequently visited sites, and wherever you are, you will have a convenient quick access menu to your favorite sites and programs.
Latest version: 1.8.2
Russian language: No
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.server2go-web.de/
Basic kit:
From this muck I spit for a long time and spent several minutes searching for and killing child processes. It turned out that when you start the Server2go program, the web server just starts and that's it. EVERYTHING - in the literal sense of the word, there is no control program, no monitor, the server can neither be stopped, nor even just restarted. All that this software package has is a start page where you can see harmless information similar to PHP Info output.
The impression is extremely negative, although it would seem: the server starts, PhpMyadmin opens, and what else is needed? No, a server that cannot be stopped is not for me. Burn it in hell!
Latest version: 8.5.4
Russian language: Yes
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.uniformserver.com/
Basic kit:
Uniformserver is another handicraft on my knee and I cannot say at least anything good about it. A crooked Russian translation, a huge ugly logo in the tray menu, the menu itself is completely not thought out, and because of the crooked translation it is generally impossible to understand anything. All this assembly can do is start up and open PhpMyadmin. Using the menu you can still get to the logs and configuration files. The only pleasant surprise was to find Cron there.
Latest version: 8.5
Russian language: No
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.usbwebserver.net/
Basic kit:
Simple and easy WAMP kit. The control panel is simple, it can be hidden in the tray. Unfortunately, there is no Russian language. The assembly can be recommended to undemanding users and beginners. There are no features or buns that I could talk about in this software package.
In its functionality, USBWebserver resembles Denwer, except that Perl is missing. In the control panel, you can start / stop modules, open logs, there are still a couple of useful functions and settings, that’s all. I would recommend this assembly as a GUI replacement for Denwer for those who need similar functionality, but want to have a control panel with buttons and tricks.
Latest version: 2.27
Russian language: No
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://vertrigo.sourceforge.net/
Base kit:
A good and functional software package, quite famous, easy to learn. It has a convenient menu, good ability to configure PHP and Apache. I really liked the assembly, at one time I used Vertrigo for quite some time.
But not everything is so rosy in our kingdom, of course, there are also disadvantages. The most important and significant minus - Vertrigo is not portable, it can not be installed on a USB flash drive and used on different machines. Among other problems, I want to note the difficulties with creating a domain or an alias, as well as the lack of the Russian language.
Latest version: 2.2d
Russian language: Yes
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.wampserver.com/
Basic kit:
Like XAMPP, this assembly is widely known in the west. Perhaps the reason for this is the support of a large number of languages, the ability to install any version of Apache, MySQL and PHP as an add-on and an attractive home page, which cannot be said about the control program itself.
The assembly works well, it has a scary, but understandable menu. There is nothing in it that makes this local web server stand out from the crowd. To be honest, I was very surprised to see such squalor in the design of the program after visiting a stylish and colorful home page.
Latest version: 0.4.0.4
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://winginx.ru/
Basic kit:
This assembly boasts the presence of MongoDB and Node.js, as well as the rapidly gaining popularity of the Nginx web server. I was also pleased with the presence of a normal tray menu and settings section, but in the process it turned out that the settings window has 3 tabs where there are only 1-2 options (why?).
Quite strange in Winginx is working with logs. To view them, we are offered a menu for selecting files of the form error.log, access.log, and so on, however, it is impossible to understand which module these logs belong to: Nginx, PHP, and maybe Node.js?
Although Winginx has a control program, the command of the web server itself, like in Denwer, is via .BAT files. I made this conclusion on black windows popping up out of nowhere during server start or stop.
It is possible that someone (primarily beginners) will find it very useful to automatically install scripts (PhpBB, WordPress, Joomla, etc.) when creating a domain, especially when you consider that the scripts are configured to work with Nginx (rewrite the rewrite rules yourself pretty hard). However, I personally never use such functions and prefer to perform the installation myself, because you never know what and how it is installed there and what surprises may await you in the future.
Latest version: 1.7.7
Russian language: No
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html
Basic kit:
XAMPP is a very popular software package abroad. I think the popularity is due to the fact that this assembly is quite reliable and has versions for all major operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and even Solaris.
The start and stop of the modules is fast enough, the welcome page is not confused and understandable, albeit in English. In general, a pretty good software package (with a bunch of goodies in the desktop version) in which there is nothing superfluous or repulsive. Black windows do not attack from around the corner, the control panel is quite ordinary, but of little use.
Of the minuses of this software complex, I can point out just this control panel, or rather the absence of this control itself, there is nothing in it but starting and stopping the server. There is no convenient menu with a list of sites, there is no web server settings section, and there are no useful tools. You will have to manually configure the working environment in this assembly.
Best results: EasyPHP, Open Server, Winginx.
Test # 1 - False Launch
The essence of the test is to intentionally spoil the Apache configuration in order to check whether we will receive any warning or all indicators will turn green and nothing will work. Agree that to use the assembly, which deceptively reports a successful launch and makes you an idiot, is not enough desire. If the server does not give any signals or works secretly, then the test will also be considered failed.
Test No. 2 - Difficult Paths
The essence of the test is to intentionally install the server in a folder with a complex name, in our test we will use a folder with the name "C: \ test \ Mys $ ka! ._- () zlo {} + ~% & 2% Files". If PhpMyAdmin (it is taken just for convenience, since it is in every assembly) does not open, then the test will fail accordingly. Each person is an individuality, folders are sometimes called the most unexpected names. The name of the folder selected for the test is correct for Windows and should be processed correctly.
Test 3 - SSL out of the box
The test is extremely simple - we start the server and try to open PhpMyAdmin using the SSL protocol.
Legend: "+" means the test passed successfully, "-" means the test failed.
Best results: AMPPS, Open Server.
Having examined and tested so many software systems, the question arises - what, in the end, should be chosen for everyday work? It is not so easy to answer this question, each assembly will be good for a certain type of task.
For beginners, I suggest using Denwer as the simplest and most time-tested WAMP kit. To all other web developers, as well as to those newcomers who lack Denwer functionality, I recommend using Open Server.
If you need to quickly get acquainted with any well-known script, forum, photo gallery or guest book and do not want to bother with installing it and finding a suitable platform, then you can try AMPPS. Of course, provided that the script you are interested in is supported by this development.
In case someone needs to use such rare modules as a local mail server, Node.js, MongoDB, etc., then I think everyone will be able to choose a suitable option among the other participants in our review.
PS The opinion of the author is based on superficial communication with each assembly and may not reflect some advantages or hidden shortcomings of any of the platforms that were not revealed during the work.
PPS I want to warn commentators who advocate for a virtual machine with Linux on board and do not recognize anything else as an alternative. In part, I agree with you, when transferring a site to real hosting, some problems may arise: streams, fs rights, symlinks, console, etc.
However, look at it from the other side. Similar problems are special cases and they arise quite rarely. In reality, the opposite is true - the layout designer on the Smarty engine absolutely does not need to know something about streams, symlinks and the console, and CMS developers have learned how to set the correct write permissions on downloaded files for over 100 years.
As a result, I want to say - WAMP platforms have the right to exist and the use of virtual machines in most cases is completely unjustified.
More WAMP builds (from comments):
Z-WAMP
UwAmp
Bitnami WAMP Stack
Let's look at what we can use today, after so many years. I suggest reviewing, testing and comparing 14! software systems designed for developing sites for Windows.
1. AMPPS
Latest version: 1.7
Russian language: yes (partially)
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.ampps.com/
Basic kit:
- Softaculous AMPPS 1.7
- Apache 2.2.22
- MySQL 5.5.22
- PHP 5.3.10 and 5.2.17
- PERL 5.10.1
- Python 2.7.2
- MongoDB 2.0.4
AMPPS is not just a WAMP assembly, it is a whole library of applications where you can quickly install, rotate and pick each of them without leaving the box office. All this economy is painstakingly cataloged and described in detail.
An undoubted advantage of this assembly is the support of many common CMS, blog platforms, web forums, message boards, photo galleries and so on. There are over 200 available applications in total! The set of components included in the package also does not lag behind life, all modules are quite fresh and, what is noteworthy, here we can find such exotic things as Python and MongoDB.
Of the minuses, I want to note a partial Russian translation, which is present only in the scripts directory, and even then not everywhere. After restarting Apache, the tray menu refused to work, restarting Windows did not help. Another disadvantage is the lack of portability. In my opinion, AMPPS is more useful for beginners to learn scripts than for serious developers. I was not very comfortable working with this software package; there are better options.
2. AppServ
Latest version: 2.5.10
Russian language: No
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.appservnetwork.com/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.8
- PHP 5.2.6
- MySQL 5.0.51b
- phpMyAdmin-2.10.3
Apache and MySQL are installed as services. There is no control program, only a page of dubious design with a link to PhpMyAdmin. At its core, AppServ is a graphical installer for Apache, PHP, MySQL, and nothing more. If Denwer itself launches the components, then here they are simply installed as services and managed by Windows itself.
3. Denwer
Latest version: 2010-10-11-07
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.denwer.ru/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2
- PHP 5.3.3
- MySQL 5.1.40
- phpMyAdmin 3.2.3
Denwer ... good old Denwer. We see the same meager set of not very fresh components (cut down to the very eggs), a black window and no GUI. The advantages of this package include its extremely small size and a good “knowledge base” on the forum, accumulated over many years. In fact, server management is carried out through the execution of .BAT scripts to start and stop modules, as such there is no control program at all.
Denwer is extremely simple and understandable, and therefore has the largest army of fans among the "dummies". The most complete description of this platform will be the following phrase said by one of the users: “Denver performs the basic tasks all right, and the more lotions the more troubles (nobody uses them for all 100).”
4. EasyPHP
Latest version: 5.3.9
Russian language: Yes
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.easyphp.org/
Basic kit:
- PHP 5.3.9
- PhpMyAdmin 3.4.9
- Apache 2.2.21
- MySQL 5.5.20
A fairly simple and unremarkable assembly. We are offered the usual tray-menu with no frills, uncomplicated settings and an intricate start page without the Russian language. This software package did not make any impression on me, it works well. EasyPHP is quite suitable as a replacement for Denwer with a “version with windows” (if the start page does not scare).
I note that EasyPHP manages the server on its own, it does not pop out any frightening black windows, the server starts and stops quite quickly.
5. EleanorServ
Latest version: 2.0.2.0
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://eleanor-cms.ru/server
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.19
- PHP 5.3.6
- MySQL: MariaDB 5.2.6
- PhpMyAdmin 3.4.2
- SlimFTPd 3.1.81
- DNS Unbound 1.4.10
EleanorServ at first seemed to me a dark horse, or rather a kind of specialized server for the eponymous Eleanor CMS. After reviewing, it turned out that this is a regular WAMP kit.
In this assembly, I liked the menu design, which turned out to be quite attractive, which is very rare among such programs. I also liked the control panel, or rather the start page, which has a rather unusual performance.
In general, I liked EleanorServ, especially the ability to start / stop the server directly from the browser.
6. Nimp
Latest version: 1.5.0
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://nimpbox.ru/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.17
- Nginx 0.9.3
- MySQL 5.5.8
- PHP 5.3.5
- Sendmail 31
- phpMyAdmin 3.3.9
- Sypex Dumper 2.0.8
- FileZilla 0.9.37 beta
- Memcached 1.2.4
Here we see an ugly implementation of a control panel with elements of pornography, but there is a rather interesting tray menu. The strangest thing in this assembly is as many as 4! tray icons with exactly the same menu. I managed to get the server to work far from the first time. As it turned out, Nimp can only work from the root of the disk, which is without a doubt another fatty disadvantage of this software package.
During the use of this assembly, something constantly crashed, FileZilla never stopped itself (had to be killed through the task manager), and Memcached did not start at all. The author of the program said that “this assembly is perfect for highly loaded sites in corporate and city networks,” the program is clearly far from being used in a corporate environment.
The “trick” of this platform is that Nginx works as a frontend and is designed to distribute static content, while Apache works as a backend to generate dynamic content. In general, my impression of this assembly remained twofold, it gradually changed from sharply negative at first to normal acceptable in the process of working with the program.
7. Open Server
Latest version: 4.5.2
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://open-server.ru/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.22;
- Apache 2.4.2
- Nginx 1.2.0;
- MySQL 5.1.63;
- MySQL 5.5.24;
- PostgreSQL 9.1.2;
- PHP 5.2.17 (IMagick 2.2.1, Zend Optimizer 3.3.3, IonCube Loader 4.0.7, Memcache 2.2.4);
- PHP 5.3.13 (IMagick 2.3.0, Xdebug 2.2.0, IonCube Loader 4.0.14, Memcache 2.2.6);
- PHP 5.4.3 (Xdebug 2.2.0);
- SlimFTPd 3.181;
- Fake Sendmail 32;
- NNCron Lite 1.17;
- Memcached 1.2.6;
- Adminer 3.3.4;
- HeidiSQL 7.0;
- Webgrind 1.0;
- PHPMyAdmin 3.5.1;
- PHPPgAdmin 5.0.4;
- PHPMemcachedAdmin 1.2.1;
In contrast to other participants in our review, Open Server has the most pleasant and thoughtful interface, and has powerful capabilities for configuring and administering components. Undoubted advantages include support for configuration profiles, switching of HTTP / MySQL / PHP modules, task scheduler (cron), convenient management of domains and aliases, and for dummies there is an explanatory user manual.
A nice feature of Open Server is the ability to use the program as a portable personal start menu. You can install the server on a USB drive, transfer your portable programs there, create bookmarks for frequently visited sites, and wherever you are, you will have a convenient quick access menu to your favorite sites and programs.
8. Server2go
Latest version: 1.8.2
Russian language: No
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.server2go-web.de/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2
- PHP 5.3.2
- SQLITE
- MYSQL 5.1.46
- PERL 5.8
From this muck I spit for a long time and spent several minutes searching for and killing child processes. It turned out that when you start the Server2go program, the web server just starts and that's it. EVERYTHING - in the literal sense of the word, there is no control program, no monitor, the server can neither be stopped, nor even just restarted. All that this software package has is a start page where you can see harmless information similar to PHP Info output.
The impression is extremely negative, although it would seem: the server starts, PhpMyadmin opens, and what else is needed? No, a server that cannot be stopped is not for me. Burn it in hell!
9. Uniformserver
Latest version: 8.5.4
Russian language: Yes
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.uniformserver.com/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.4.2
- PHP 5.4.0
- MySQL 5.5.24
- phpMyAdmin 3.5.1
Uniformserver is another handicraft on my knee and I cannot say at least anything good about it. A crooked Russian translation, a huge ugly logo in the tray menu, the menu itself is completely not thought out, and because of the crooked translation it is generally impossible to understand anything. All this assembly can do is start up and open PhpMyadmin. Using the menu you can still get to the logs and configuration files. The only pleasant surprise was to find Cron there.
10. USBWebserver
Latest version: 8.5
Russian language: No
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.usbwebserver.net/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.21
- MySQL 5.5
- PHP 5.3.9
- PhpMyAdmin 3.4.9.0
Simple and easy WAMP kit. The control panel is simple, it can be hidden in the tray. Unfortunately, there is no Russian language. The assembly can be recommended to undemanding users and beginners. There are no features or buns that I could talk about in this software package.
In its functionality, USBWebserver resembles Denwer, except that Perl is missing. In the control panel, you can start / stop modules, open logs, there are still a couple of useful functions and settings, that’s all. I would recommend this assembly as a GUI replacement for Denwer for those who need similar functionality, but want to have a control panel with buttons and tricks.
11. Vertrigo
Latest version: 2.27
Russian language: No
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://vertrigo.sourceforge.net/
Base kit:
- Apache 2.2.22
- PHP 5.3.10
- MySQL 5.5.20
- SQLite 3.7.10
- Smarty 3.1.7
- PhpMyAdmin 3.4.9
- Xdebug 2.1.3
- SQLiteManager 1.2.4
A good and functional software package, quite famous, easy to learn. It has a convenient menu, good ability to configure PHP and Apache. I really liked the assembly, at one time I used Vertrigo for quite some time.
But not everything is so rosy in our kingdom, of course, there are also disadvantages. The most important and significant minus - Vertrigo is not portable, it can not be installed on a USB flash drive and used on different machines. Among other problems, I want to note the difficulties with creating a domain or an alias, as well as the lack of the Russian language.
12. Wampserver
Latest version: 2.2d
Russian language: Yes
Portable version: No
Homepage: http://www.wampserver.com/
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.21
- Php 5.3.10
- Mysql 5.5.20
- XDebug 2.1.2
- XDC 1.5
- PhpMyadmin 3.4.10.1
- SQLBuddy 1.3.3
- webGrind 1.0
Like XAMPP, this assembly is widely known in the west. Perhaps the reason for this is the support of a large number of languages, the ability to install any version of Apache, MySQL and PHP as an add-on and an attractive home page, which cannot be said about the control program itself.
The assembly works well, it has a scary, but understandable menu. There is nothing in it that makes this local web server stand out from the crowd. To be honest, I was very surprised to see such squalor in the design of the program after visiting a stylish and colorful home page.
13. Winginx
Latest version: 0.4.0.4
Russian language: There is a
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://winginx.ru/
Basic kit:
- Nginx 1.2.0;
- PHP 5.3.13;
- PHP 5.4.3;
- Node.js 0.6.17;
- MySQL 5.1.62;
- MongoDB 2.0.5;
- memcached 1.2.6;
- phpMyAdmin 3.5.0;
- Adminer 3.3.3;
- RockMongo 1.1.1;
- phpMemcachedAdmin 1.2.1;
- Xdebug 2.2.0.5, Zend Guard Loader 5.5, ionCube 4.0.14
This assembly boasts the presence of MongoDB and Node.js, as well as the rapidly gaining popularity of the Nginx web server. I was also pleased with the presence of a normal tray menu and settings section, but in the process it turned out that the settings window has 3 tabs where there are only 1-2 options (why?).
Quite strange in Winginx is working with logs. To view them, we are offered a menu for selecting files of the form error.log, access.log, and so on, however, it is impossible to understand which module these logs belong to: Nginx, PHP, and maybe Node.js?
Although Winginx has a control program, the command of the web server itself, like in Denwer, is via .BAT files. I made this conclusion on black windows popping up out of nowhere during server start or stop.
It is possible that someone (primarily beginners) will find it very useful to automatically install scripts (PhpBB, WordPress, Joomla, etc.) when creating a domain, especially when you consider that the scripts are configured to work with Nginx (rewrite the rewrite rules yourself pretty hard). However, I personally never use such functions and prefer to perform the installation myself, because you never know what and how it is installed there and what surprises may await you in the future.
14. Xampp USB Lite
Latest version: 1.7.7
Russian language: No
Portable version: Yes
Homepage: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-windows.html
Basic kit:
- Apache 2.2.21
- MySQL 5.5.16
- PHP 5.3.8
- phpMyAdmin 3.4.5
XAMPP is a very popular software package abroad. I think the popularity is due to the fact that this assembly is quite reliable and has versions for all major operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and even Solaris.
The start and stop of the modules is fast enough, the welcome page is not confused and understandable, albeit in English. In general, a pretty good software package (with a bunch of goodies in the desktop version) in which there is nothing superfluous or repulsive. Black windows do not attack from around the corner, the control panel is quite ordinary, but of little use.
Of the minuses of this software complex, I can point out just this control panel, or rather the absence of this control itself, there is nothing in it but starting and stopping the server. There is no convenient menu with a list of sites, there is no web server settings section, and there are no useful tools. You will have to manually configure the working environment in this assembly.
Comparison
| Portable | Russian language | GUI availability | Useful GUI | View Logs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMPPS | - | + | + | - | + |
| Appserv | - | - | - | - | - |
| Denwer | + | + | - | - | - |
| EasyPHP | + | + | + | + | + |
| EleanorServ | + | + | + | + | + |
| Nimp | + | + | + | + | - |
| Open server | + | + | + | + | + |
| Server2go | + | - | - | - | - |
| Uniformserver | - | + | + | - | + |
| USBwebserver | + | - | + | - | - |
| Vertrigo | - | - | + | + | + |
| Wampserver | - | + | + | + | + |
| Winginx | + | + | + | + | + |
| Xampp USB Lite | + | - | + | - | - |
Testing
Test # 1 - False Launch
The essence of the test is to intentionally spoil the Apache configuration in order to check whether we will receive any warning or all indicators will turn green and nothing will work. Agree that to use the assembly, which deceptively reports a successful launch and makes you an idiot, is not enough desire. If the server does not give any signals or works secretly, then the test will also be considered failed.
Test No. 2 - Difficult Paths
The essence of the test is to intentionally install the server in a folder with a complex name, in our test we will use a folder with the name "C: \ test \ Mys $ ka! ._- () zlo {} + ~% & 2% Files". If PhpMyAdmin (it is taken just for convenience, since it is in every assembly) does not open, then the test will fail accordingly. Each person is an individuality, folders are sometimes called the most unexpected names. The name of the folder selected for the test is correct for Windows and should be processed correctly.
Test 3 - SSL out of the box
The test is extremely simple - we start the server and try to open PhpMyAdmin using the SSL protocol.
Legend: "+" means the test passed successfully, "-" means the test failed.
| False start | Difficult paths | SSL out of the box | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AMPPS | + | + | + |
| Appserv | - | + | - |
| Denwer | - | + | + |
| EasyPHP | + | + | - |
| EleanorServ | + | + | - |
| Nimp | + | - | - |
| Open server | + | + | + |
| Server2go | - | + | - |
| Uniformserver | + | - | - |
| USBwebserver | + | - | - |
| Vertrigo | + | + | - |
| Wampserver | + | + | - |
| Winginx | - | - | - |
| Xampp USB Lite | + | - | + |
Conclusion
Having examined and tested so many software systems, the question arises - what, in the end, should be chosen for everyday work? It is not so easy to answer this question, each assembly will be good for a certain type of task.
For beginners, I suggest using Denwer as the simplest and most time-tested WAMP kit. To all other web developers, as well as to those newcomers who lack Denwer functionality, I recommend using Open Server.
If you need to quickly get acquainted with any well-known script, forum, photo gallery or guest book and do not want to bother with installing it and finding a suitable platform, then you can try AMPPS. Of course, provided that the script you are interested in is supported by this development.
In case someone needs to use such rare modules as a local mail server, Node.js, MongoDB, etc., then I think everyone will be able to choose a suitable option among the other participants in our review.
PS The opinion of the author is based on superficial communication with each assembly and may not reflect some advantages or hidden shortcomings of any of the platforms that were not revealed during the work.
PPS I want to warn commentators who advocate for a virtual machine with Linux on board and do not recognize anything else as an alternative. In part, I agree with you, when transferring a site to real hosting, some problems may arise: streams, fs rights, symlinks, console, etc.
However, look at it from the other side. Similar problems are special cases and they arise quite rarely. In reality, the opposite is true - the layout designer on the Smarty engine absolutely does not need to know something about streams, symlinks and the console, and CMS developers have learned how to set the correct write permissions on downloaded files for over 100 years.
As a result, I want to say - WAMP platforms have the right to exist and the use of virtual machines in most cases is completely unjustified.
More WAMP builds (from comments):
Z-WAMP
UwAmp
Bitnami WAMP Stack