LAMP (software bundle)
Encyclopedia
LAMP is an acronym for a solution stack
of free
, open source
software, referring to the first letters of Linux
(operating system
), Apache HTTP Server
, MySQL
(database software
) and PHP
(or sometimes Perl
or Python
), principal components to build a viable general purpose web server
.
The GNU
project is advocating people to use the term "GLAMP" since what is known as "Linux" is known to GNU as the GNU/Linux
system.
The exact combination of software included in a LAMP package may vary, especially with respect to the web scripting software, as PHP may be replaced or supplemented by Perl
and/or Python
. Similar terms exist for essentially the same software suite (AMP) running on other operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows
(WAMP
), Mac OS
(MAMP
), Solaris (SAMP), iSeries (iAMP), or OpenBSD
(OAMP).
Though the original authors of these programs did not design them all to work specifically with each other, the development philosophy and tool sets are shared and were developed in close conjunction. The software combination has become popular because it is free of cost, open-source, and therefore easily adaptable, and because of the ubiquity of its components which are bundled with most current Linux distribution
s.
When used together, they form a solution stack of technologies that support application server
s.
computer operating system
kernel. A major emphasis of Linux development is security, which makes it an appealing choice for a web-server application. Like the other LAMP components, Linux is free open-source software
which means the source code is provided with operating system, which can be edited according to specific needs. Also, because Linux-based operating systems are Unix-like, a Linux server is more natively-compatible with other server-oriented platforms, such as Solaris and BSD, than non-Unix-like systems like Microsoft Windows
.
/open source web server
, the most popular in use.
ed, multi-user
, SQL
database management system
(DBMS) now owned by Oracle Corporation with more than eleven million installations. Alternatives at this level of the stack do also exist, for example by using PostgreSQL
(LAPP)
MySQL has been owned by Oracle Corporation since January 27, 2010 through the purchase of Sun Microsystems
. Sun had acquired MySQL originally on February 26, 2008.
programming language
originally designed for producing dynamic web page
s. PHP is used mainly in server-side
application software
. Perl and Python can be used similarly.
s appeared for other combinations of operating system, web server, database, and software language.
The equivalent installation on a Microsoft Windows
operating system is known as WAMP
with an alternative (running IIS
in place of Apache) called WIMP.
The equivalent installation on a Macintosh operating system is known as MAMP
.
The equivalent installation on a Solaris operating system is known as SAMP.
The equivalent installation on a FreeBSD
operating system is known as FAMP.
The equivalent installation on a iSeries operating system is known as iAMP.
A version where Apache has been replaced with the more lightweight web server NGINX
is known as LEMP.
A version where MySQL has been replaced by PostgresSQL is called LAPP.
Solution stack
In computing, a solution stack is a set of software subsystems or components needed to deliver a fully functional solution, e.g. a product or service....
of free
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
, open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
software, referring to the first letters of Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
(operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
), Apache HTTP Server
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
, MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
(database software
Database Software
Database Software was a software publisher based in Cheshire, England. Software published by the company includes the Red Arrows game for the ZX Spectrum and the office suite Mini Office II, as well as games and educational software for children....
) and PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
(or sometimes Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
or Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
), principal components to build a viable general purpose web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
.
The GNU
GNU
GNU is a Unix-like computer operating system developed by the GNU project, ultimately aiming to be a "complete Unix-compatible software system"...
project is advocating people to use the term "GLAMP" since what is known as "Linux" is known to GNU as the GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux naming controversy
The GNU/Linux naming controversy is a dispute among members of the free and open source software community over how to refer to the computer operating system commonly called Linux....
system.
The exact combination of software included in a LAMP package may vary, especially with respect to the web scripting software, as PHP may be replaced or supplemented by Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
and/or Python
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
. Similar terms exist for essentially the same software suite (AMP) running on other operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
(WAMP
WAMP
WAMPs are packages of independently-created programs installed on computers that use a Microsoft Windows operating system.WAMP is an acronym formed from the initials of the operating system Microsoft Windows and the principal components of the package: Apache, MySQL and one of PHP, Perl or Python....
), Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
(MAMP
MAMP
The acronym MAMP refers to a set of free software programs commonly used together to run dynamic web sites on servers running the Apple Macintosh operating system, Mac OS X:* Mac OS X, the operating system;* Apache, the Web server;...
), Solaris (SAMP), iSeries (iAMP), or OpenBSD
OpenBSD
OpenBSD is a Unix-like computer operating system descended from Berkeley Software Distribution , a Unix derivative developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It was forked from NetBSD by project leader Theo de Raadt in late 1995...
(OAMP).
Though the original authors of these programs did not design them all to work specifically with each other, the development philosophy and tool sets are shared and were developed in close conjunction. The software combination has become popular because it is free of cost, open-source, and therefore easily adaptable, and because of the ubiquity of its components which are bundled with most current Linux distribution
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...
s.
When used together, they form a solution stack of technologies that support application server
Application server
An application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...
s.
Software components
According to its proponents, the LAMP stack offers a great number of advantages for developers:- Easy to code: Novices can build something and get it up and running very quickly with PHP and MySQL.
- Easy to deploy: PHP is easy to deploy as files can be edited directly on the server and saved in the document root. By comparison, Java Servlets require that the developer compile the web application into a WAR file and deploy it with a servlet engine such as Apache TomcatApache TomcatApache Tomcat is an open source web server and servlet container developed by the Apache Software Foundation...
. - Cheap and ubiquitous hosting: Many inexpensive web hosts provide PHP and MySQL services.
Linux
GNU/Linux is a Unix-likeUnix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
computer operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
kernel. A major emphasis of Linux development is security, which makes it an appealing choice for a web-server application. Like the other LAMP components, Linux is free open-source software
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
which means the source code is provided with operating system, which can be edited according to specific needs. Also, because Linux-based operating systems are Unix-like, a Linux server is more natively-compatible with other server-oriented platforms, such as Solaris and BSD, than non-Unix-like systems like Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
Apache
Apache is a free softwareFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
/open source web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
, the most popular in use.
MySQL
MySQL is a multithreadThread (computer science)
In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...
ed, multi-user
Multi-user
Multi-user is a term that defines an operating system or application software that allows concurrent access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leaving the...
, SQL
SQL
SQL is a programming language designed for managing data in relational database management systems ....
database management system
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
(DBMS) now owned by Oracle Corporation with more than eleven million installations. Alternatives at this level of the stack do also exist, for example by using PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...
(LAPP)
MySQL has been owned by Oracle Corporation since January 27, 2010 through the purchase of Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
. Sun had acquired MySQL originally on February 26, 2008.
PHP, Perl, or Python
PHP is a reflectiveReflection (computer science)
In computer science, reflection is the process by which a computer program can observe and modify its own structure and behavior at runtime....
programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
originally designed for producing dynamic web page
Dynamic web page
A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh information , for each individual viewing. It is not static because it changes with the time , the user , the user interaction , the context A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh...
s. PHP is used mainly in server-side
Server-side scripting
Server-side scripting is a web server technology in which a user's request is verified by running a script directly on the web server to generate dynamic web pages. It is usually used to provide interactive web sites that interface to databases or other data stores. This is different from...
application software
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
. Perl and Python can be used similarly.
Variants and equivalents on other platforms
With the growing use of LAMP, variations and retronymRetronym
A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
s appeared for other combinations of operating system, web server, database, and software language.
The equivalent installation on a Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system is known as WAMP
WAMP
WAMPs are packages of independently-created programs installed on computers that use a Microsoft Windows operating system.WAMP is an acronym formed from the initials of the operating system Microsoft Windows and the principal components of the package: Apache, MySQL and one of PHP, Perl or Python....
with an alternative (running IIS
Internet Information Services
Internet Information Services – formerly called Internet Information Server – is a web server application and set of feature extension modules created by Microsoft for use with Microsoft Windows. It is the most used web server after Apache HTTP Server. IIS 7.5 supports HTTP, HTTPS,...
in place of Apache) called WIMP.
The equivalent installation on a Macintosh operating system is known as MAMP
MAMP
The acronym MAMP refers to a set of free software programs commonly used together to run dynamic web sites on servers running the Apple Macintosh operating system, Mac OS X:* Mac OS X, the operating system;* Apache, the Web server;...
.
The equivalent installation on a Solaris operating system is known as SAMP.
The equivalent installation on a FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
operating system is known as FAMP.
The equivalent installation on a iSeries operating system is known as iAMP.
A version where Apache has been replaced with the more lightweight web server NGINX
Nginx
nginx is a Web server and a reverse proxy server for HTTP, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP protocols, with a strong focus on high concurrency, performance and low memory usage. It is licensed under a BSD-like license and it runs on Unix, Linux, BSD variants, Mac OS X, Solaris, and Microsoft Windows.- Overview...
is known as LEMP.
A version where MySQL has been replaced by PostgresSQL is called LAPP.