Best Local Server Software?

[Yozora]

What local server software do you think is best? I've been using XAMPP for Windows & MAMP for Mac so far, but it was more because they were the first ones I found than anything else.

For those who don't know, local server software is super useful for testing out websites on your computer, without needing to upload it to a web server, especially things like PHP scripts and Wordpress installations which won't work at all without a server.

 

[GigaGreg]

Xamp and mamp are both for windows and mac os x. There are loads more, but I think that these two are the best.

 

[ogah]

i use uniform server, for me this server software is better than xampp

 

[Peter]

It depends on what software you need in order to test your website. If your website uses PHP and MySQL, and will be located on an Apache server that is what you should have installed, and to avoid surprises it's best to use versions that are as close as possible to what the public server have installed.

 

[Genesis]

I'm curious. Are you using a dedicated computer for it, or a separate laptop/desktop?

What has been holding me back has been the safety and security of Gigarank and other Websites where I have a higher degree of security clearance. Having XAMPP and MAMP unless one is a security specialist may add a measure of risk. That is how I argue it for myself any way. When I get XAMPP I'd like it to be a stand alone dedicated computer for a home server. Perhaps Linux only as well. I'll still take all precautions, but it would feel less vulnerable than mixing everything up on a desktop computer.

 

[fyzz08]

I also use xampp. Never heard about uniform server. Will be trying it.

 

[Snowflake]

I only know about those two also... But this thread is good. Never heard of that one you mentioned ogah.

 

[ogah]

http://www.uniformserver.com
http://sourceforge.net/projects/miniserver
uniform server no need installation, just extract the downloaded file, can run it from usb drive
have GUI for setup virtual host, so we don't need to edit hosts file and apache configuration to make virtual host

 

[jaran]

I only use easyPHP for local webserver. Its support module as joomla and WP instalation.

 

[ogah]

google also have localserver included in their SDK.
if you want host your script in google cloud server, you can test with SDK before deploy/upload to google's server.
but it run at port 8080, we can not set to port 80 in localserver.
so your localserver url must use the port number like http://localhost:8080 or http://localhost:8080/yourscript.php

 

[Yozora]

Great suggestions everyone! I'll have to try out Uniform Server sometime.

@Genesis I Googled around and applied every tutorial for securing them I could find, I run them both in virtual machines, and never when I'm connected to public wifi. That's worked so far. I'd love to get a dedicated machine for them someday though.

 

[caseypaite]

I didn't use any AMP prepacked for the purpose but configure and install them manually. But it seems more practical to just use any of the XAMP packages available and use a more user friendly control panel that came with the packages. But then i still prefer to do it myself.

 

[_Hoh_]

In case you use linux, try LAMP

 

[xdude]

I have tries several of these and settled on EasyPHP. Just like the name suggest it's easy to install and use. Before I found this I used to install Apache,PHP and mySQL manually in my Desktop.

 

[helpremember]

The only one I've ever used is Bitnami MAMP, but I've been very happy with it and haven't had a reason to look for anything else. I would recommend it for anyone who has never tried using a local server but wants to give it a go. I didn't know much about it at first and had no problem getting it up and running. If you want to try running more than one version, script or app be sure to use the module versions of the apps.

 

[smalpierre]

I'm curious. Are you using a dedicated computer for it, or a separate laptop/desktop?

What has been holding me back has been the safety and security of Gigarank and other Websites where I have a higher degree of security clearance. Having XAMPP and MAMP unless one is a security specialist may add a measure of risk. That is how I argue it for myself any way. When I get XAMPP I'd like it to be a stand alone dedicated computer for a home server. Perhaps Linux only as well. I'll still take all precautions, but it would feel less vulnerable than mixing everything up on a desktop computer.

For local testing, install WAMPServer (Windows only I'm pretty sure). When it's running, you can click the icon in the taskbar and make sure at the bottom it says "Put Online". What this means is that the webserver is currently in offline mode, which prevents access from anywhere other than localhost (your computer). Even computers on the local network won't be able to see it.

Also - if you're behind a router (most people are) even if it is currently online you have to log into the router and set up port forwarding to enable people from the outside to see it.

This will make it so that you can open files in your editor, change and save - and they are instantly viewable to test by pointing your web browser to localhost.

This is faster and easier to develop, especially if you're using a database and making changes there. When you're satisfied - just dump the whole thing on the hosted server

 

[silenceangel]

i'm using XAMPP and UniServerZ

 

[kodonokami]

before I was using wamp then I started using Xampp. I find it much better because have more things that wamp

 

[GigaBot]

I always used XAMPP and I'm absolutely pleased with it.

 

[jarvmeizters]

I'm using xampp, pretty happy with it, but Uniform Server seems interesting, will try it asap.