Apache, an open source web server software, has overtaken all competition more than a decade ago and has been the leader since. It took almost 75% of the market share 2005 and currently is at 49% after a few new entrants in the market came in. However, it still remains the top web server software.

This achievement is quite remarkable given that Apache competed with big names like Microsoft, Sun and NCSA. Aside from being free, Apache is very reliable, secure and efficient. It is by default installed in Linux distributions and is the server of choice for web hosting companies. You may not have been aware of it but most of the websites you access are running in Apache.

Most people do not really do anything much with Apache because after it is configured properly, it is pretty much running on autopilot. The default configuration in CentOS, Fedora or RedHat Linux distributions are normally sufficient. It is therefore very easy for an IT student to setup his own webserver and develop web applications at home or at school.

PHP, a very popular web programming language, integrates seamlessly with Apache and together with Linux and MySQL, they form the LAMP platform for web applications. Other languages like Perl, Python, Ruby, also work very and are popular languages for certain applications.

A variation of the LAMP platform is the XAMP platform where X represent operating systems other than Linux. The beauty of XAMP is that it allows the developer to start using this platform without having to change the operating system to Linux. Thus, the aspiring software developer can start creating web applications in a familiar operating system.

For more information about Apache, please visit www.apache.org.