Developing PHP/MySQL sites on Windows with XAMPP

I've recently been working on a PHP/MySQL site. My usual development technologies are Flex/.Net over IIS running on Windows 7 so I had to find the best way of running a WAMP system.

After attempting to install everything separately (Apache, then trying to throw PHP in there, MySQL etc) I stumbled upon XAMPP.

This is pretty much a one-click install of an Apache, PHP, MySQL system for Windows. It also comes with FileZilla server, Mercury and Tomcat and phpMyAdmin for dealing with your databases. it was very easy to install, switch Apache to port 8080 to avoid IIS conflicts and get developing.

Coupled with the excellent Eclipse for PHP developers install, setting up a Windows machine to start developing with these technologies is very quick and easy.

Additionally, the XAMPP package is also available for Mac, Linux and Solaris if you so desire.