Install Xampp on Ubuntu or Linux

1. Download XAMPP.
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-linux.html

2. Install XAMPP
Click on the Applications menu, then accessories and finally Terminal. While I hate having to jump through hoops with the stupid terminal, trust me this will simplify your life.

In the terminal prompt type:

sudo tar xvfz xampp-linux-1.6.1.tar.gz -C /opt

This will install Apache web server with PHP and the MySQL database server.

3. Start the server
In the terminal type:

/opt/lampp/lampp start

screen:

Starting XAMPP 1.6.1…
LAMPP: Starting Apache…
LAMPP: Starting MySQL…
LAMPP started.

4. When it is done, click on Firefox and go to http://localhost/ in the address bar. If you see the Orange XAMPP logo, congratulations you have it setup. But not so fast, you still need to setup the tools to manage the system!

5. Security
With any server install, especially on that is accessible to the public; you need to make sure that the system is locked down from hacking. XAMPP again makes it easy to secure the server.

In the terminal type:

/opt/lampp/lampp security

Follow the step-by-step directions to setup all of the passwords and security on the server.