Are there any major problems with me installing and using php/mysql on a winxp pro machine? I've always used linux but don't have access to that at my work. I don't know ASP so that is out of the question. Thanks!

Both have Windows installers, so go ahead and enjoy.

Nope I've done development on a L.A.M.P. system and moved the entire site over to a Window box for production. There are some minor differences in the way things work (I believe MySQL has a problem with mixed case table names on Windows and PHP handles paths differently on Linux and Windows) but overall, it's pretty seamless.

If you are just looking to do development on Windows I would suggest something like http://sourceforge.net/projects/miniserver/ It's very easy to install and delete later on.

HTH,
=C=

There is one small issue depending on the versions of both you install.

If you are going to install PHP4, get the 4.0.xx branch of the MySQL server. PHP4 does not have support for the 4.1.xx branch because MySQL changed the way passwords are handled.

If you are using PHP5 with MySQL 4.1.xx, you need to use the mysqli extension versus the standard mysql extension (which is not even included in PHP5), so be sure to note that as well.

It depends on the depth of coding you do. Usually, it is not a problem, but Apache environment variables are a little different from IIS, so this is a place where you might need to take care of.

You could try phptriad. It installs all very fast.

I'm using php in IIS and mysql as service. The latest versions install and configure automatically.

we use php/mysql under windows 2003 without any probs.

We keep a copy of the installed software locally so if we setup additional machines we can install the same version to avoid any problems.

there is no problem in using php and MySql in windows XP i am personaly using it
i simply use Easyphp ( a software for windows ) , Easyphp contains Apache + Mysql + php+ phpmyadmin and it work absolotly fine on winXP and all other windows , i have been using it from ages and u can also use SQLYog as the front End for Mysql . good softwars .

Another installer is XAMPP (http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html). I've used this in the past for my development machine - it is not recommended for production use. It includes the following packages :

Apache 2.0.52
MySQL 4.0.21
PHP 5.0.2 + PHP 4.3.9 + PEAR
PHP-Switch win32 1.0 (by Apachefriends, use the "php-switch.bat")
MiniPerl 5.8.3
SQLite 2.8.15
PHPMyAdmin 2.6.0 pl1
ADODB 4.52
Mercury Mail Transport System for Win32 and NetWare Systems v4.01a
FileZilla FTP Server 0.9.3
Webalizer 2.01-10
Zend Optimizer 2.5.3

no problems here:

mysql 4.0.18 > apache 2.0.49 > php 4.3.6