MAMP is a single distribution of Apache, MySql, and PHP that totally rocks. I have been using it for testing web sites on my new mac pro (more about that another time). Its cool to see how far some things have come since I last went on a coding binge a couple of years ago. Yes, there are many more moving parts but things are looking up in terms of development speed. I spent the last year in an all MS shop and guess what? It still sucks…as bad as ever. Visual Studio has lots of promise. but isn’t that always the case with MS? Its always ‘going to be great’…in the next rev. Anyway, I am thrilled to be learning some mac development…lots more later.
Yes, the dashboard widget is killer as you can start the server and switch from PHP 4 and 5 quickly. Additionally, I really dig being able to specify my “Sites” directory as the Apache document root.
No idea if you’re interested, but there’s a very similar system for Ruby On Rails on the Mac called Locomotive - it’s got that all-in-one thing that MAMP has.
Would love to spend more time learning Ruby, but work demands are making me lean more towards JSP at the moment. Pah.