note 89462 modified in tutorial by danbrown

Rather than WAMP as suggested above you can use XAMMP which is a very useful tool which is easy to install and run. You can use this on Windows/Linux/Mac based machines (including vista) to locally test your applications. The secuirty on the server is limited at first and if you set up port forwarding to allow users from the 'outside world' to see you applications you will required to address a few security issues. But all in all this tool is great to use for Windows users who want to test locally and like a simple install. URL: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html --was-- Rather than WAMP as suggested above you can use XAMMP which is a very useful tool which is easy to install and run. You can use this on Windows/Linux/Mac based machines (including vista) to locally test your applications. The secuirty on the server is limited at first and if you set up port forwarding to allow users from the 'outside world' to see you applications you will required to address a few security issues. But all in all this tool is great to use for Windows users who want to test locally and like a simple install. URL: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html http://php.net/manual/en/tutorial.php