Installing Apache/PHP
We will need to turn our desktop machine into an Apache web server running PHP. This will take care of the server part of client/server. The goal is to simulate the production environment. By closely imitating the production environment, we will catch any problem before the program is released to the world.
The easiest way to install Apache and PHP on Windows is by using XAMPP project’s XAMPP package. The XAMPP project packages Apache, MySQL, and PHP into one, easy-to-install directory. In addition, the XAMPP package installs FileZilla, FTP server and client, Mercury mail server, Webalizer web log analysis software, and phpMyAdmin — a web GUI to administer MySQL.
To install XAMPP, download it from the official XAMPP site at http://www.apachefriends.org/ en/xampp.html. The XAMPP package comes in either as an installer, zip archive, or an executable self-extracting zip file. The installer is a quick and easy way to install XAMPP so we will recommend...