The LAMP reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

LAMP

LAMP is an acronym for the free software combination Linux, Apache, MySQL and one or more of Perl, PHP and Python.

This term was boosted into technology sector vernacular primarily by the editors of O'Reilly & Associates and MySQL AB. These four to six components are commonly used together for the development and deployment of dynamic web sites. The term itself surfaced and became fashionable in early 2001 even though these tools (and their relatives) had been used in conjunction with each other for years prior.

Although each tool is developed separately and is intended to operate independently of the others, they are very well suited for the task of complex web development when used together.

Each element of the LAMP acronym provides an essential layer of functionality:

• Linux is the operating system;
• Apache is the web server;
• MySQL is the DBMS (database management system [or, database server]);
• PHP is an object-oriented web scripting language;
• Perl is a powerful, general-purpose, object-oriented scripting language;
• Python is yet another powerful, general-purpose, object-oriented scripting language.

The three P languages are sometimes merged into the artificial word PHPherlthon which should represent any of the three mentioned programming languages. PHPherlthon seems to have appeared first in an ONLamp article on the Apache Toolbox from 2000. Since then it slowly propaged through the web and is now used on quite a few LAMP related web pages. Sometimes, it's also spelled PHPerlthon, which seems to be a more intuitive merger of the three names.

Together, these tools allow one to set up a web server and have it serve useful content within hours, with the software cost being either zero or negligible. Because of this, these tools (and their relatives) are bundled with most current Linux distributions.

The software that currently runs Wikipedia could be characterized as a LAMP application. Wikipedia's MediaWiki software is developed primarily under Linux, using the Apache HTTP Server, with its content being stored in a MySQL database, and the program logic being implemented in PHP.

Table of contents

1 Relatives 2 Other LAMPs 3 External links

Relatives

LAMP does not encompass the whole spectrum of useful tools for the development of web-based technologies using free or open-source software. Other useful components include:

• Operating systems:
  • FreeBSD
  • NetBSD
  • OpenBSD
• Web servers:
  • thttpd
  • Caudium
  • AOLserver
  • Xitami
• Database servers:
  • PostgreSQL
  • SAP DB
• Scripting languages:
  • Tcl
  • JavaServer Pages, a Java-based web scripting language;
  • Pike (object-oriented)
  • Ruby (object-oriented)

When the object-relational database of choice is PostgreSQL rather MySQL the acronym LAPP is sometimes used.

This described combination installed with Microsoft Windows is called WAMP.

Other LAMPs

LAMP is also the name of a (now obsolete?) movie player for Linux, the Linux Animation and Movie Player.

External links

• ONLamp.com, O'Reilly & Associates' web site dedicated to the LAMP paradigm

• lampware.org, .org dedicated to the LAMP community

This is the "LAMP" reference article from the English Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.