Chapter 2

Setting Up a Development Server

A local development server lets you test PHP pages before uploading them to a public website. This is safer and faster because mistakes stay on your own computer while you practice.

Packages such as WAMP, MAMP, and LAMP include Apache, PHP, and MySQL. They create a practice environment where you can write code, run scripts, test forms, and connect to databases.

Uploading every small change to a remote server slows learning. A local server helps you experiment, fix errors, and understand how the parts connect before publishing work online.