What Is XAMPP? How to Install and Use It

XAMPP is an acronym made from the first letters of several software packages. XAMPP offers many useful applications for both Windows and Linux. You can create a free server and carry out professional website tasks. XAMPP is popular today and widely used. To learn more about what XAMPP is, how to install and use it, read the article below from Mona Media today.

What is XAMPP?

XAMPP stands for the first letters of several software packages. Specifically:

• X: Stands for the operating systems it runs on, such as Linux, Windows and macOS X.
• A: Apache, an open-source web server used on Web Server provided by the Apache Software Foundation. This application is widely used and distributed around the world.
• M: MySQL/MariaDB is a modern database management system. This application is being used by PHP programming language, MySQL is used on web services.
• P: The first P is PHP, a language used to implement professional web design.
• P: It stands for Perl. Perl is a scripting language used to manage and program dynamic websites.

XAMPP's biggest advantage is that there are no license fees. This open-source software is completely free, lightweight and easy to use.

XAMPP is made up of several programming languages. It is also web server software under the GNU General Public License, used on many operating systems. All five major platforms today, Cross-platform, Linux, Windows, Solaris and macOS, use XAMPP.

Software currently bundled with XAMPP

The latest XAMPP version is 7.2.11. It bundles up to 11 different software packages, including:

1. Apache 2.4.3
2. MariaDB 10.1.34
3. FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.41
4. Tomcat 7.0.56 (with mod_proxy_ajp as connector)
5. OpenSSL 1.1.0h
6. XAMPP Control Panel 3.2.2
7. Webalizer 2.23-04
8. PHP 7.2.8
9. PHP MyAdmin 4.8.2
10. Mercury Mail Transport System 4.63
11. Strawberry Perl 7.0.56 Portable

Uses of XAMPP

XAMPP is used in many fields, from learning to upgrading and testing websites. Developers today rate the language stack and XAMPP highly.

Websites written in PHP use XAMPP to make development simpler and easier.

XAMPP is also used for web development through Localhost. Localhost combines the words “local” and “host” (a personal computer and a server). Localhost works like a web server. This web server includes Apache, MySQL, PHP and phpMyAdmin.

XAMPP runs on any operating system and simulates a server. You get a complete server that is simple and easy to use and manage. Users can switch their server on or off whenever they like. We explain the XAMPP installation in more detail in the sections below.

Detailed XAMPP installation guide

Installing XAMPP on Windows or Linux is not very hard. However, you need to follow the proper steps for downloading and installing XAMPP on each system. The installation process on each operating system is as follows:

Installing XAMPP on Windows

1. Find the XAMPP file for your Windows version.
2. Click the XAMPP file with the .exe extension to download it.
3. In the XAMPP installer window, choose Set up. If you are installing XAMPP for WordPress, select MySQL, Apache and phpMyAdmin. After selecting, click Next.
4. Next, choose the installation folder and click Next again.
5. Wait a few minutes for XAMPP to install. Finally, click Finish and XAMPP is installed.

Installing XAMPP on Linux

On Linux, install XAMPP with these steps:

Step 1: Find the XAMPP application for Linux and download it.

Step 2: Go to the download folder and find the file “xampp-linux-x64-7.2.8-0-installer.run” to install. Run the installer file as shown below:

• cd thu_muc_chua_file_cai_dat/
• sudo chmod +x xampp-linux-x64-7.2.8-0-installer.run
• Install with sudo privileges: sudo ./xampp-linux-x64-7.2.8-0-installer.run

Then click Next to install XAMPP on Linux.

Step 3: In the Setup window, click Next, then Finish. XAMPP is now installed on Linux.

Things to note when installing XAMPP

When installing XAMPP, pay attention to these points:

• Before installing XAMPP, remove all software already used to run localhost, such as PHP and MySQL.
• If your Windows server already has IIS installed, you should not install XAMPP as well. It is unnecessary on a Windows server that already has IIS, and the two may conflict with each other.
• If you use Skype, you need to free port 80, which Skype uses. Follow these steps: open Skype, choose Tools and go to Connection Options. Then untick “Use port 80 and 443.
• You should turn off and a firewall on Windows while installing XAMPP so that XAMPP can run.
• Turn off Windows UAC so access permissions are not restricted.

How to use XAMPP for beginners

XAMPP makes it easy to organize folders as you use it. However, Windows and Linux work differently.

How to use XAMPP on Windows

Start localhost by going to the folder c:xampp. Then open the file xampp-panel.exe to show and use the control panel. Once the panel is open, click Start to run Apache and MySQL. When both turn green, the web server has started.

To organize folders, go to C:xampphtdocs. Once there, create a folder and name it.

Open the link for C:xampphtdocs with the folder name you just chose. Any file you copy into that folder will then be updated.

Create a MySQL database on localhost with XAMPP

1. Go to http://localhost/phpmyadmin and find Databases.
2. In Databases, choose Create database and click the Database name field. Enter the name of the database, choose utf8_unicode_ci and click Create.
3. The database name will appear in the menu on the left. That shows the MySQL database was created successfully.

How to use XAMPP on Linux

Start XAMPP from the command line with: sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start

The manager starts when you type: sudo /opt/lampp/manager-linux-x64.run

Try creating the content of a PHP page with this syntax:

<html>

<head>

<title>PHP-Test</title>

</head>

<body>

<?php echo ‘<p>Hello World</p>’; ?>

</body>

</html>

If the browser window shows “Hello World”, your XAMPP installation and configuration worked.

Besides this, you may also need to upgrade PHP for XAMPP. We will cover that process in later guides on using XAMPP on Linux. We hope the information about what XAMPP is, how to install and use it was useful to you. We wish you a successful XAMPP installation on your system!

See more: What is Localhost? How to set up Localhost with XAMPP and WampServer