XAMPP is free. It is available for Mac, Windows, and other platforms.

  1. Download
  2. Install
    • Mac: open the DMG-Image, drag-and-drop to the Applications folder
    • Windows: …
  3. Start
    • Open the XAMPP control panel
    • Click buttons to start Apache, MySQL, ProFTPD
    • The Apache server should now be running.
  4. Test
    • Browse the Apache server home page:
    • http://localhost
    • localhost always means “the web server running on my computer”
    • localhost is the same as:
    • http://127.0.0.1
  5. Secure
    • Insecurities in the default XAMPP package:
    • MySQL administrator (root) has no password
    • MySQL daemon is accessible via network
    • ProFTPD uses password “xampp” for “nobody”
    • PhpMyAdmin is accessible via network
    • MySQL and Apache running under same user (“nobody”)
    • Windows: …
  6. Use
    • Use with Dreamweaver:
    • Create a Site Definition
    • Local folder, same as usual: some folder where you keep the working copies of your files
    • Remote folder is “remote” in the sense that you “upload” to the “remote” folder using FTP, however, the “remote” folder is actually on your computer
    • Remote Folder Location: the folder containing XAMPP default home page
    • FTP Address: localhost
    • Username: nobody
    • Password: xampp
    • Subfolder: …?