Several months ago, I installed the latest and greatest version of Apache web server. In addition, I installed PHP and MySQL. Well, I found that effort a little trickier to tackle on my box. Fortunately, an acquaintance recommended using XAMPP from Apache Friends.

I found XAMPP easy to install, a time saver, and to use - just download, extract and start.

Available for the following platforms:

XAMPP for Linux
The distribution for Linux systems (tested for SuSE, RedHat, Mandrake and Debian) contains: Apache, MySQL, PHP & PEAR, Perl, ProFTPD, phpMyAdmin, OpenSSL, GD, Freetype2, libjpeg, libpng, gdbm, zlib, expat, Sablotron, libxml, Ming, Webalizer, pdf class, ncurses, mod_perl, FreeTDS, gettext, mcrypt, mhash, eAccelerator, SQLite and IMAP C-Client.

XAMPP for Windows
The distribution for Windows 98, NT, 2000, 2003, XP and Vista. This version contains: Apache, MySQL, PHP + PEAR, Perl, mod_php, mod_perl, mod_ssl, OpenSSL, phpMyAdmin, Webalizer, Mercury Mail Transport System for Win32 and NetWare Systems v3.32, Ming, JpGraph, FileZilla FTP Server, mcrypt, eAccelerator, SQLite, and WEB-DAV + mod_auth_mysql.

XAMPP for Mac OS X
The distribution for Mac OS X contains: Apache, MySQL, PHP & PEAR, SQLite, Perl, ProFTPD, phpMyAdmin, OpenSSL, GD, Freetype2, libjpeg, libpng, zlib, Ming, Webalizer, mod_perl, eAccelerator, phpSQLiteAdmin.
WARNING: This version of XAMPP is still in the first steps of development. Use at you own risk!

XAMPP for Solaris
The distribution for Solaris (developed and tested with Solaris 8, tested with Solaris 9) contains: Apache, MySQL, PHP & PEAR, Perl, ProFTPD, phpMyAdmin, OpenSSL, Freetype2, libjpeg, libpng, zlib, expat, Ming, Webalizer, pdf class.
WARNING: This version of XAMPP is still in the first steps of development. Use at you own risk!

Here is the download link for XAMPP and it is free of charge.