Filed under: Developer, Internet, Features, Linux, Open Source, How-Tos
Flipping the Linux switch: Linux web tools, Pt. 2 - Using LAMP for testing
by Kristin Shoemaker Jun 13th 2008
There was a toss up this week about whether it would be better to dig right in to the Linux HTML editors, or to wax poetic about setting up LAMP so that those choosing to go the content management system (CMS) route could test any changes they made with such editors on their local machines.We ultimately decided to tackle setting up a LAMP testing ground. This will certainly not be necessary for every single person out there who just wants to put up a web site. If your site is not using PHP-driven content that interacts with or requires a database backend, and you just plan on designing static web pages, there is absolutely no need to do any of this.
If you are perfectly content to upload your site and integrate any supporting elements (once again, things like databases) live and on the web and make changes there, where it is possible that everyone can see your style sheet testing or things may be temporarily broken, you don't need to do this either.
Some people, though, really like to get things on their CMS tweaked to near perfection before releasing their content on the world. Other people need to know exactly what a dynamic site is going to look and act like before it goes live. The combination of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP) makes this possible.
EasyPHP
There are very few software products that I abhor. It's a short list, they know who they are, and it hasn't changed in years. At the top? Internet Information Server (IIS), Microsoft's poorly conceived and even more poorly executed web server platform. I don't understand what makes someone choose Microsoft's IIS over the open source Apache and, after seeing 
There's no shortage of CMS or "portal" building tools out there. Drupal is one I've come to trust and its feature set is hard to beat. But many require a certain amount of heavy lifting or at least tweaking to get running. Enter 
Sushi Cat is one of the cutest Flash games I've ever run across. You play a blue cat with a major talent for eating and, fortunately for you, every level is filled with delicious sushi! The controls are simple: you aim and drop from the top of the screen using the mouse, trying to hit as much sushi as you can on the way down. Eat enough sushi, and you can go on to the next level.
Your score depends on how much sushi you eat, and which bucket the cat lands in when it finally reaches the bottom of the screen. The more ...
