TECHNOLOGY

LAMP is an open source Web development platform that uses Linux as the operating system, Apache as the Web server, MySQL as the relational database management system and PHP as the object-oriented scripting language. (Sometimes Perl or Python is used instead of PHP.)

LAMP — comprise more than two-thirds of the servers, databases, and scripting languages on the web today. It's getting more difficult each day to be a web developer without knowledge and at least a rudimentary level of skill with these tools.

Linux

Clearly, the most important element of the LAMP combination is the Linux distribution installed on the server. With dozens of distributions available, the choice can be a bit perplexing. Of the available distributions, however, Enterprise Linux has grabbed the strongest niche in enterprise-grade LAMP web servers for several reasons.

Apache

The second element of LAMP web development is the Apache server, another open source tool with a rich and mature code base. Created in the early 1990s, the HTTP daemon (httpd) package today operates nearly 65% of the web servers worldwide.

MySQL

The third element of the LAMP tool set is the MySQL database, another robust open source tool that has revolutionized the way webpages, graphics, tables, and data sets of all sorts are served up on the web. Web-based databases in general, and MySQL in particular, have made it possible to build and present fully dynamic websites, capable of presenting content in real time. They've also helped to further the goal of separating content from formatting, speeding the load time of sites while making them far more manageable than in the past.

PHP

PHP has, in just a few short years, become one of the predominant scripting languages on the web. It's another integral element of LAMP development,and can be found everywhere from personal homepages to content management systems (such as Drupal) to large-scale corporate intranets. With a relatively easy syntax and open source licensing, webmasters and developers around the world have migrated to PHP from the more difficult and syntactically challenging scripting languages like Perl.