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Running a local server on your own pc can help both your design and development process, like running a wordpress install locally to develop a new theme. With these solutions you can run your own apache server with php and a mysql database right from your own pc (or mac or ubuntu box).

Apache Friends XAMPP

I’ve been using xampp for a few months now. It comes for a variety of platforms (Linux, Windows, Mac, Solaris), has a simple control panel, and also includes, along with the usual apache/php/mysql combo, the SQLite database, filezilla server and more. The installation is easy and you have the option of running apache and mysql as services. (although every time i have tried to run mysql as a service it produced errors in my windows xp pc)

WAMP5

Another easy to get running solution, i used wamp5 for a while but run into some problems with utf encoding and mysql. Wamp’s strong point over Xampp is it’s customization options, you don’t even have to dive into the configuration files to load/unload apache modules. If you have no need for utf encoding it is highly recommended.

>e-novative> WAMP

e-novative’s WAMP comes with an easy installer and a web based administration. A simple backup function is included to keep your work safe.

Installing Apache/PHP/MySql yourself
Depending on your level of expertise you can opt to install each package yourself. This is the most customizable solution, but i’ve generally kept away from this due to the complexity of keeping everything on track. If you’re adventurus enough to try this yourself, take a look at this article from devarticles.com.