I have been doing client side programming and want to get started with server side programming. In that regard I obtained this book from Wrox and am at the very first chapter. From what I gather I will need to install the Apache server, MySQL and PHP on my machine. This will enable me to test code locally and not have to get on line each time. Makes sense to me. I don't intend for my machine to be a server available to the world only to be used for testing. On page 8 of the book there are three AMP installers recommended. Which of these installers would be the most suitable for my purpose? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

XAMPP is by far the simplest to setup and easiest to use http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

It installs Apache, MySQL (with phpMyAdmin) and a few other goodies.

At first, I tried installing individual Apache and MySQL installations; bad idea!

i completely agree. I downloaded the self installer, not the zip because it does everything for you. You get right to learning.