With the constant advancements in technology choosing a right option for building powerful and dynamic web applications is surely a tedious task. As we know, Linux, Apache web server, MYSQL database, Perl, Python or PHP posses a powerful platform comprising their own features. Won’t it be great, if there exists a platform which makes use of the above-said items together? LAMP technology is one such technology which has gained popularity over the recent years. With its power packed potential resources, it’s surely the most popular choice of web development among the web developers.

 

 

What is LAMP?

 

Linux based web servers comprises of an arrangement of four software components that form a software stack. These components are arranged in layers to build a powerful web application platform. This grouping empowers the websites and web applications to run on the top of this hidden stack. LAMP software is an open-source platform which uses Linux as its operating system, Apache as a web server, PHP as the object-oriented scripting language and MySQL as the relational database management system. Most of the Linux distributions fabricate the LAMP stack components in default.

 

Linux

 

Linux sets the foundation of the stack model and doesn’t require any specific distribution to put up a LAMP stack on a server. The commonly used distributions include Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian as they offer a wide range of online guide to support users.

 

Apache

 

The next layer is occupied by the most popular open-source web server on the internet. It has a modular design which includes a support to bind up with the web programming languages and modules for a wide range of extensions.

 

MySQL

 

You should note that MariaDB is replacing MySQL in many LAMP deployments as there are cases where you will be using software that explicitly requires MySQL.

 

PHP

 

PHP sits on the top of the stack and it effectively simplifies the creation of dynamic web pages.

 

Working Of LAMP Stack

 

Apache web server is responsible for handling the web page requests coming in from the browsers. If it is a PHP file request, web server passes the request to PHP which loads the file and executes the code within the file. PHP communicates with the MySQL to fetch or store if the code makes any reference to the data stored in the database. PHP can effectively create HTML required by the web browser to render the web page using the code in the file and data from the database. As soon as PHP completes running the code in the file, it passes the resultant data to the Apache web server to send back to the browser. These operations are included by default in the Linux operating system beneath the server.

 

How LAMP Stack Benefits Your Business?

 

The most effective way to develop a simple to complex enterprise level web application is by using a LAMP as it holds customization, flexibility, and cost-effective, powerful security features.

• All the components in LAMP stack are open source software that is readily available in free
• You can develop and deploy LAMP-based projects without paying any license fees for distributing the software
• The use of PHP and MySQL facilitates quick error fixing and perform modifications as users have complete access to the source

 

 

Development and Deployment Simplicity

 

Powerful web applications can be built using LAMP technology with a simple code and it is easy to modify or extend the application as per your business requirements. Most of the hosting services provide standard LAMP based environments and can be deployed easily with no license fees and through Linux distribution such as Debian, Fedora etc

 

Flexibility

 

Unlike other technology suppliers, the LAMP stack does not limit your development options. It offers a complete flexibility to build and deploy applications considering your unique business needs.

 

Customization

 

As LAMP components are the open source they provide great customization features with a wide range of additional modules and functionality

 

Security

 

LAMP technology is secure and stable. It possesses a powerful security feature to mitigate vulnerable attacks and if any error occurs it can be fixed quickly in a financially savvy approach.

 

Support Community

 

A large number of experienced and good-minded people in the community are ready to offer a prompt support during the phase of development, deployment and so on.

 

Economically Savvy

 

Compared to other software packages, LAMP stack is economically savvy as it can be acquired at a comparatively low price.

In short, LAMP shines as an appropriate substitute to commercial packages and it operates as layered software programs that bestow an indispensable platform to develop and implement web-based applications and servers. A wide array of LAMP stack alternatives are available which includes LNMP or LEMP (Nginx web server instead of Apache), WAMP (Windows as OS instead of Linux), WIMP(Windows and Microsoft’s Internet Information Services web server) etc. All of these possess similar principles to use as an entirely open source solution, and the support for effortlessly installable versions with Linux distributions is an undeniable reward.