XAMPP vs WAMP – What’s the Difference (Pros and Cons). XAMPP vs WAMP – What’s the Difference (Pros and Cons). If youwould like to know which local server works the best for your websites or applications (e commerce or cloud storage). So we have prepared a comparison of XAMPP vs Wamp Server.
Introduction
A server locally hosted on your laptop or computer, it is called a local server. They assist developers to test a websites for bugs and errors before going live. XAMPP and WAMP are local servers.
The battle between these two local servers has been a long standing one. Both have some similarities, including free downloading, MySQL, PHP, Apache Server, etc. They also empower you to develop and run web applications locally on a PC or laptop. These similarities make it quite difficult to choose the one best suited for your requirements.
Hence, let’s explore the difference between the two in detail and compare XAMPP vs WAMP – What’s the Difference (Pros and Cons).
What is XAMPP
Moreover, XAMPP has a hassle free installation and less complicated use. It enables you to install and use Content Management systems (CMS) like WordPress and Joomla, along with the advantages provided by Filezilla. Apart from its supported platforms, it has several features that include OpenSSL, Webalizer, OpenLDAP, Mercury Mail and so on.
However, it has fewer installation requirements and no components for configurations. What makes it popular among developers is its seamless transitioning from local hosting to live online hosting.
Features of XAMPP
The features of XAMPP are:
- It is supported by multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- It is an open source local server.
- It comprises fewer prerequisites for installation and configuration.
- It has Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and Perl.
- It constitutes modules and extensions that prove to be highly beneficial for beginners.
- Users find its interface straightforward and effortless to use.
Pros of XAMPP
- The first and the biggest advantage of XAMPP is that it is easy to configure and use.
- It is a Mult Cross Platform, which means you can use it both in Linux and Windows.
- It comprises several other crucial modules, like phpMyAdmin, OpenSSL, MediaWiki, WordPress, Joomla, etc.
- It comes in both full and standard versions.
- It enables users to start and stop the entire web server and database stack with just one command.
Cons of XAMPP
- XAMPP has only one disadvantage. Users usually find the configuration and setting of XAMPP relatively arduous.
What is WAMP
Moreover, there is nothing convoluted about the set setup. It only requires components, like an operating system, programming language, database and the web server. Since it works on Apache webservers, it is usually good with Windows. Users can use MySQL to save the data of your website. The entire bundle is implied as to the stack server.
Features of WAMP
WAMP constitutes the following features:
Pros of WAMP
- Installing and configuring the WAMP server is quite effortless.
- Like XAMPP, it is also a multi cross platform, which means that it is available in Windows and Linux.
- In WAMP, coding PHP and creating databases on the Windows Platform is effortless.
- It includes several modules that involve OpenSSL, phpMyAdmin, MediaWiki, etc.
- It is available for both 64 bit and 32 bit systems.
- Like XAMPP, you can also begin and stop the entire web server and database with only one command.
Cons of WAMP
- Installing WAMP is not easy to install when compared to XAMPP.
XAMPP vs WAMP Comparison
Here is the comparison between both the server.
Platform
XAMPP is cross platform, which means it runs successfully on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Whereas WAMP only runs on Windows OS.
Modules And Extensions
License
Both the local servers are licensed under the GNU General Public License. The other difference is that XAMPP is an open source platform, while WAMP is not. However, users can download and use it for free.
Size
XAMPP is lightweight as compared to WAMP. Its size is not larger than 160 MB. On the other hand, WAMP is of 300.6 MB size.
Support
While XAMPP supports PHP and PERL, WAMP only supports PHP.
Ease Of Use
Since XAMPP has a better interface with the start button than WAMP, it is considered the best for beginners as well.
Therefore, with these comparisons, we can say that both XAMPP and WAMP have their slights and advantages. Besides, both are also reliable for you to successfully develop websites, local hosting and eventual deployment. XAMPP is suitable for multi language developers, whereas you can consider WAMP if you have an accurate understanding of PHP and work with Windows on your PC.
Security
The difference between XAMPP and WAMP is security. If your project does not contain sensitive information then choose XAMPP is the better choice. XAMPP can be used to host local websites but have a security measures in mind.
On the other hand if your project requires security as top priority, then choose WAMP. It was created to keep security in mind (must be Windows operating system).
When it comes to the XAMPP vs Wamp security debate, Wamp is the clear winner.
XAMPP vs WAMP - Key Differences
The crucial differences between XAMPP and WAMP are:
- XAMPP is a cross platform software package that supports macOS, Linux, and Windows. On the other hand, WAMP is a local server that only supports Windows Operating System.
- XAMPP is more resource consuming than WAMP because of heavy amount of internal component softwares like Tomcat , FileZilla FTP server, Webalizer, Mercury Mail etc.So if you do not need high features better to go with WAMP.
- XAMPP is easy to install and configure. However, it may differ for different platforms. On the contrary, WAMP is easy to install and download and lightweight as well.
- XAMPP uses MariaDB, an RDBMS used for storing and retrieving operations on data. Whereas WAMP uses MySQL, which is also an RDBMS for storing and retrieving operations on data.
- The programming ans scripting language XAMPP use for development are Perl and PHP. On the contrary, WAMP uses PHP programming or scripting language for web development.
- Both the local server uses Apache webserver.
- XAMPP is more sturdy and resource taking as compared to WAMP.
- XAMPP comprises SSL features, whereas WAMP does not constitute SSL.
- XAMPP is available in a 32 bit system. On the other hand, WAMP is available both in 64 bit and 32 bit systems.
Great effort! We have learned XAMPP vs WAMP – What’s the Difference (Pros and Cons).
XAMPP vs WAMP – What’s the Difference Conclusion
From the above mentioned comparisons, differences, advantages and disadvantages, there is no doubt that both servers are well organized and highly reliable. For the web developers perspective, they are considered to be a lot more beneficial as it allows them to examine websites before making them live. However, some developers like to use WAMP as it uses PHP programming language and Windows OS and is considered suitable for beginners due to its high visibility.
It also provides additional features for expert programmers. On the other hand, programmers can also take the help of XAMPP to make an exclusive and unique website. Therefore, we advise you to select the server according to the needs of website development and whichever goes well with your expertise.
