How to Install XAMPP on Ubuntu Linux

To proceed please make sure you have the following requirements:

• Linux Ubuntu operating system - This tutorial has been written using Ubuntu 9.10 - Karmic Koala.
  
• XAMPP Linux Version installer - You can go to the XAMPP Linux Page and use the actual download link. 

At the time this tutorial was written, the latest XAMPP version for Linux was 1.7.3a. If the download link won't work, go to the XAMPP Linux page.

This installation using the latest release will enable you to make PHP-based websites (to be tested locally using Linux XAMPP) that have the following important features:

• PHP 5.3.1
  
• Apache 2.2.14
  
• MySQL 5.1.41
  
• phpMyAdmin 3.2.4

Step 1: Run the Installer in Linux Ubuntu

First things first. After you download the XAMPP installer for Linux, you need to check the integrity of the installer by checking the MD5 Checksum of the downloaded installer and comparing it with the correct one. If they are not the same, the installer you have downloaded may be "corrupt" or "incomplete;" hence, it will not run properly when installed.

You can get the "correct value" of the MD5 checksum on the XAMPP Linux Page: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-linux.html

See the screen shot below of where you can find the "correct value" of the MD5 checksum (inside the box):

Now, using the Linux terminal (Applications - Accessories - Terminal), go to the Ubuntu download directory: cd Downloads, actual command: (Important: In this tutorial, the bold blue font phrase is the actual terminal "command" entered while the rest are part of the Linux prompt):

codex-m@codex-m-desktop:~$ cd Downloads

Log in as root, type this in the terminal, and then enter your Linux password:

sudo -s -H

Actual command:

codex-m@codex-m-desktop:~/Downloads$ sudo -s -H  

Next, type in the terminal: md5sum xamppinstallername.tar.gz

Replace xamppinstaller.tar.gz with the actual file name of the downloaded archived installer. In this case, that would be xampp-linux-1.7.3a.tar.gz

Below is the actual terminal command and its result (red is the actual md5sum):

root@codex-m-desktop:/home/codex-m/Downloads# md5sum xampp-linux-1.7.3a.tar.gz

89c13779cf6f0925d5c1c400d31a1cc3  xampp-linux-1.7.3a.tar.gz

And here is the correct value based on the XAMPP Linux page (screen shot earlier) :

89c13779cf6f0925d5c1c400d31a1cc3

The Md5sum matches, and the installer is OK.

The next step assumes you are still on the Ubuntu Download Directory (my path is: /home/codex-m/Downloads) and still logged in as root. Into the terminal, enter the command below:

root@codex-m-desktop:/home/codex-m/Downloads# tar xvfz xampp-linux-1.7.3a.tar.gz -C /opt

Double check that the syntax is correct before proceeding, and then press enter. Linux will extract the files in the archive and place them in the /opt/ path on your Linux computer.

After this is done, reboot your computer with:

root@codex-m-desktop:/home/codex-m/Downloads# sudo reboot 

The third step in this process is to verify your installation. Log in in as root again, and then try starting XAMPP. You should not see any errors. (Below is an example of a successful installation; remember the bold part is the actual command to start XAMPP):

root@codex-m-desktop:/home/codex-m# /opt/lampp/lampp start

Starting XAMPP for Linux 1.7.3a...

XAMPP: Starting Apache with SSL (and PHP5)...

XAMPP: Starting MySQL...

XAMPP: Starting ProFTPD...

XAMPP for Linux started.