Web Design – C Chin Photo

XAMPP – Local Web Development Environment

Mar 112010

XAMPP is a localized web development environment that allows you to install everything needed to start designing and developing web sites and applications locally. XAMPP is an easy to install Apache distribution containing MySQL, PHP and Perl from Apache Friends. There are currently four distributions; Linux (tested for SuSE, RedHat, Mandrake and debian), Windows (for 200, 2003, XP and Vista), Mac OS X and Solaris (tested for Solaris 8 and 9). The distribution is free of charge under the GNU General Public License.

Downloads can be found at:
ApacheFriends: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html
Sourceforge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/xampp/

Here at C Chin Studios, we’ve tested the Windows and Mac installations and found it to be simple and stratight forward. Add-ons, such as WordPress, can be installed into this environment to allow use locally. When you don’t have access to the internet, or its inconvenient, XAMPP is an excellent alternative to keep you going. Keep in mind that many features have been intentionally disabled to make things easy. Features such as security settings have been left off. One should be cogizant of these settings so when one moves work to an internet enabled site, they are correctly set.

There are a variety of other localized development distributions including MAMP, JAMP, PAMPA, Z:WAMP, VertrigoServ, EasyPHP, Repos Server, WAMP Server and WLMP.

In addition to the how-to install article on Apache Friends, there have been numerous article written by other on how to best install XAMPP. Some of our favorites include;

Debian Help: http://www.debianhelp.co.uk/xampp.htm
Drupal.org: http://drupal.org/node/161975
Six Revisions: http://sixrevisions.com/tutorials/web-development-tutorials/using-xampp-for-local-wordpress-theme-development/
WordPress.Tv: http://wordpress.tv/2009/11/12/installing-wordpress-locally-using-wampserver/

Having a localized development environment allows you easy, full control to design, develop and test web sites and applications. Just remember that XAMPP is intended only for localized develoment, though it can be switched to a production mode environment with modifications.

Videoblogging

Web Design 5 Responses »

Feb 162010

In today’s “New Media” world, it seems people love streaming video and the like. We’ve all heard that a successful website, or one that draws a lot of attention, is one that has video content. Last night, I went to see a presentation by The Bui Brothers who advocated this, after all, its how they make their living(videos that is).

With the proliferation of free video hosting, such as YouTube, everyone is becoming a filmmaker. After all, its a quick, direct way to communicate or to get a message across. Most people who are part of the “New Media” age have at least one device that can take a video; an iPhone, a point and shoot camera, a DLSR, a video camcorder, a netbook, a notebook, a PC with a videocam, etc…

In terms of video editing, there’s lots of low cost or free programs. For example, if you have a Mac, it comes with iMovie and Garage Band. The combination of these two programs allows you to make some decent edits and compose a custom music score to go with your video. For something a little more robust, there’s Final Cut Pro on the Apple. In the PC world, the’s Premiere Elements, Premiere, Sony Vegas and a host of other programs for video editing and sound editing.

So what’s the bottom line? If you have video on your website, it’ll likely help attract the traffic you want to your website. For those of you who don’t like writing, what better way is there to get content for your website? Look out or my first video blog entry coming soon.