For anyone that’s had to install a WAMP (Windows Apache Mysql PHP) environment with any level of regularity, it sure gets old doesn’t it?

It seems that no matter what I do to standardize the process every install ends up different with its own nuances and required troubleshooting.

I can’t go for too long without itching the desire to re-install my dev environment in an effort to make sure it’s “clean”. I suppose that sort of mindset comes after using windows for so long and seeing things slowly self-corrupt over time. In any event, I’ve been putting off a re-installation of the environment on my laptop simply because of the amount of time involved in doing so.

I’ve been so busy with development that I simply can’t afford to take my system down and rebuild it. If only there was an easier way… and that’s when I remembered a site that I had bookmarked a while back called apachefriends.org.

Apache Friends’ main project it is an Apache, Mysql, PHP installer called Xampp. Xampp not only installs on a Windows environment but also on Linux, Solaris and OS X.

Well an installer should take no time at all so I backed up my current environment, gave it a shot and haven’t looked back since. Thanks Apache Friends!