w complete our series comparing Linux to Windows. This article lists and briefly describes several additional advantages of Linux. We would not be surprised if Linux buffs come up with still other advantages that are not mentioned here.

When you seriously get into Linux you become a member of a special community. Whenever you have a Linux problem you can go to an on-line forum. It usually isn’t very long before someone has the answer.

You have full access to the complete Linux operating system. You can learn how things actually work. If you enjoy working with some relatively sophisticated, mathematical issues Linux is for you. And remember, what seems to be geeky and oh-so theoretical can have very practical applications.

Plenty of jobs are available to Linux specialists, especially if they are skilled in other LAMP components (the web server Apache, the database management system MySQL, and the web programming language PHP) discussed in previous articles. Don’t fool yourself, you can’t get a job just by reading these advantages and running all the tutorials. But as the Chinese saying goes; a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and this step is a big one.

Linux is international. Among the government organizations that have switched to Linux are the German Agency for Labor, the French Ministry for Education, the American Library of Congress, the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, the Swedish Armed Forces, the Municipal Government of Berlin and Munich, Germany, the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the New Zealand Ministry of Health, the United States Postal Service, the Federal Government of Brazil, Mexico City, the American National Security Agency which is developing its own security enhancements to Linux, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency, the Federal Ministry of Education in Nigeria, the United States Navy, and the Northern Territory of Australia. The list goes on.

Last, but not least you can have enjoy yourself with Linux. I’m not really talking about the games that come with Damn Small Linux or those that you can download. Linux offers different ways of doing things than does Microsoft Windows. You may like the Linux way of doing things and you may not. If you don’t like the Linux way, go back to Windows. You won’t be alone. But if you do like it, keep up the good work. Just remember, the sky is the limit even if you start with a 50 Megabyte version such as Damn Small Linux.

By: Levi Reiss

PHP is the most widely used web scripting language. It enables even relatively inexperienced programmers to develop dynamic web sites for virtually any web application under the Sun (this is an inside joke which will be explained below.) This article introduces PHP and its companions. First we will discuss a bit of PHP history.

PHP originally meant Personal Home Page when first created in 1994 right around the time that graphical web browsers started to bloom. It is a good thing that the name was changed. This programming language does a lot more than prepare personal home pages, which it happens to do very well. PHP now stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. You may think that the letters are in the wrong order, but this is an inside joke. Many PHP fans have a weird sense of humor.

PHP is part of the LAMP suite of open-source (free) software. The L stands for Linux, a Unix-based operating system that is a direct competitor to Microsoft Windows. To run LAMP on Windows computers you will perform two separate downloads, one for Linux and one for Easy PHP encompassing the remaining LAMP components. You can run these three components on virtually any Windows computer, even one that seemed ready for the garbage heap. To test your web programs you need a browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox but you don’t need a live Internet connection.

The A in LAMP stands for Apache, the most widely used web server. You can run Apache alongside PHP, testing your PHP programs in a live environment.

The M in LAMP stands for MySQL, the most widely used database management system. Sun Microsystems recently purchased MySQL for more than one billion dollars. But don’t worry; this product remains free of cost for small and medium-sized systems. When your system gets big enough, you won’t mind paying the relatively small cost of the professional version of MySQL.

PHP runs on the server, the computer managed by Apache. Let me remind you that you don’t need two computers to run PHP and develop and test your website. When the time comes for other people to access your website you will have to host the site on the Web. This means naming your site and dealing with a web-hosting company. You will have to pay for your site name and in most cases you also pay for hosting your domain. The web hosting company may charge extra for Linux and MySQL services and support. Many webmasters claim that Linux offers a more professional environment. Others prefer the more familiar Microsoft Windows. It will be your choice.

By: Levi Reiss