These days there's much more involved in making a good, solid web application than just the platform you serve from. Joshua Thijssen knows this and humorously points it out in a new post about a "LAMPGMVNMCSTRAH-stack" (that's fifteen different technologies for those counting).

Back in the good old days - and in internet-time, this actually means just a few years ago - people were quite happy with their LAMP stack: Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. With this quartet, or a variation on it like PostgreSQL instead of MySQL, we could do everything: create a blog-site, setup an e-commerce web shop, making a guestbook, you name it and it was there.. But times have changed... radically.

He talks about this "brave new world" developers live in today where they can't know everything that happens in every facet of the application (he likens it to the responsibilities of generals vs infantry in the army).

As a programmer, you simply cannot pretend that you and you alone are running a system. You are part of a whole, and even though you might be the most important part, or the controlling part, you still need to work with other components in order to get the job done. If you forget this, no matter how good your part is running, the whole system will fail because you either decided to do too much yourself, or did not correctly utilize the rest of the system.

Wondering what his acronym stands for? LAMPGMVNMCSTRAH is short for "Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, Gearman, Memcached, Varnish, Ngnix, MongoDB, CouchDB, Solr, Tika, Redit, ActiveMQ, Hadoop."

If you're a user of Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) and are needing to get a full LAMP stack up and running, you're in luck. Omar Abdallah has put together a guide to help with just that.

I wont cover what's new in php 5.3 since it would be another article, however it contains alot of improvements including PHP Namespaces, Late Static Bindings, lambda functions, closures...etc. I would strongly recommend using it. I'll be explaining how to install LAMP stack with PHP 5.3.6 without compiling. It's fairly easy using the dotdeb repository.

He steps you through adding the dotdeb package locations to your plist file and pulling down the GPG key for the connection. The rest is a simple "aptitude install" command away, pulling in the apache2, mysql, php5, mcrypt, curl, gd and phpmyadmin packages.

In a recent post to his blog Wojciech Sznapka shows you how to set up your local development environment so that you're not having to configure a VirtualHost (assuming you're using Apache, of course) each time you want to work on a new project.

If you are developing PHP application on your own PC, you probably have some vhost based configuration of your Apache. With some tricks, you can turn your Linux box into powerful development server without configuring vhost for every app. [..] We can ommit two lasts steps [of a typical setup process], limiting preparation of the environment only to place source code somewhere in filesystem. To achieve this we need mod_vhost_alias module for Apache2 and simple DNS server which will resolve local domain names for us.

His tip uses the mod_vhost_alias module for Apache and the dnsmasq tool to make the basic DNS server to resolve these custom domains. A few configuration changes later (included) and you're set to restart apache and be on your way.

Company	National Geographic
Location	Washington, DC
Title	LAMP Web Developer for ActionAtlas.org
Summary	We are looking for a top-tier PHP, CSS, MySQL developer with at least 10 years of in-the-trenches experience in the LAMP environment to work on a dedicated 6 month basis, with the possibility of extension. This motivated and committed developer will be a part of site and project that has the capacity to make a real difference in the world. Candidate Requirements: A PHP guru Skilled in CSS and cross-browser front-end presentation A MySQL and SQL maven A Javascript, AJAX and jQuery expert Apache expert Zend Framework Unix/Linux administration Preferred Skills: Doctrine experience MVC environment Detail oriented and used to working with SVN Bing Map API GIS experience a big plus To apply:  Send resume and portfolio links to fbiasi@ngs.org

Company	Grow LLC
Location	New York, NY
Title	Senior LAMP developer
Summary	Healthcare company based in New York City is looking to fill a Senior PHP Developer Position. They are seeking a Senior PHP Developer with a good reputation and ideally 5 years of experience building commercial, enterprise PHP and MySQL web applications in a production LAMP environment to join their team. You will join a team working to launch many anticipated product releases to commercialization, deliver complex web software products, and build software applications. This is an on-site permanent position, based in midtown Manhattan. For serious consideration please submit your resume and a portfolio link please. Requirements: 5+ years professional experience in object oriented PHP5 and MySQL application development A B.S. in computer science or related discipline, more advanced technical degree preferred Expertise in building applications using PHP5, MySQL, SQL, MVC, and AJAX Must be comfortable with object oriented programming concepts and principles and building Zend Framework applications Extensive experience with MySQL In-depth knowledge of software engineering processes Ability to learn quickly and take ownership of tasks, process, and products Excellent communication (written and verbal), time management, troubleshooting, analytical, and interpersonal skills Positive, enthusiastic, energetic, detail oriented, and self-motivated Ability to work independently and as a team member in a dynamic work environment Team player who thrives in a start-up environment is a MUST Must be authorized to work in the US Preferred Skills: Zend Framework Experience Proficiency in LAMP environment For more Information or to submit your resume for consideration contact Tyler Lim at tyler.lim@growstaffing.com

Company	Worldwide Travel Directory
Location	New York City, NY (Downtown)
Title	LAMP Consultant
Summary	A worldwide travel directory is seeking a sharp and well-qualified LAMP consultant to work on an online reservation system. This is an outstanding temporary opportunity for a highly analytical IT professional with substantial e-commerce experience, to join a advanced and growing atmosphere! Please consider this position by applying today for immediate consideration. NOTE: Position is contract but could become long-term/permanent for the right fit. Company Description Worldwide Travel Directory Job Description In this short-term, temporary position, the LAMP Consultant will work on an online reservation for a worldwide travel directory. Candidates must come from an e-commerce background and have 5+ years of programming experience with Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, and PHP. Required Skills 5+ years of programming experience with Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, and PHP Substantial e-commerce experience Excellent written and verbal communication skills Strong ability to work autonomously Highly analytical Experience with all phases of application development from initial design through deployment Ability to interpret and analyze existing code base Desired Skills Experience in developing mobile apps Prior exposure to online booking and travel development. i.e. Expedia, Travelocity, or similar For more information or to submit your resume, contact Michael J. Pisano at MPisano@execu-search.com.

In response to a question he got about the choice of a laguage (PHP or Python) for a web application, Terry Chay has responded pretty simply:

I still need to write another article on Python, but the short answer is I think if it's web, PHP is probably the better choice.

He does have a few other things to consider that might make the choice swing the other way though - budgetary concerns that might push you to something a bit cheaper (like Python and the Google App Engine) or if you'd want to keep things the same throughout the whole application and is more flexible than just a web language.

PHP may be the best web language out there. But it certainly isn't the only one. It's one approach, one that stresses configuration over convention, stupidity over smarts, practicality over elegance.

The ThinkPHP blog (and Mayflower) are asking for your input on the current state of PHP architecture and what trends are out there.

What is the state of the art of PHP Architecture? Our CTO, Johann-Peter Hartmann, wants to know about it. Furthermore we want to know about the relevance of business goals during architecture creation. It would be great if you could help us filling out this survey, of course we'll publish it later. Please answer questions based on real-world experience and not what you would like to see

The survey asks about what architectural methods you know of, which are put into use in your work and how some of the requirements are defined. They also ask a little bit about planning - what tools you use for your plans (like a whiteboard, UML or good old pencil and paper).

Paul Reinheimer has posted five reasons he thinks that companies should make the switch from LAMP over to WIMP (Windows, IIS, MySQL, PHP).

I'm always looking for better ways to get my job done, save my employer money, and expand my skill set. So whenever I get a chance I'm looking at the competition of the tools we're currently using to see if there's tricks to learn, or reasons to switch. I've been keeping an eye on IIS on various Windows servers for a while, more recently I've been looking at SyBase and SQL Anywhere, as well as CouchDB for data storage (but more on those two later).

He sees these five reasons as possible motivation for your development group (especially if you're already using Windows) to make the switch to this new development structure:

• Use the expertise you already have in-house
• Avoid duplication of Servers
• Avoid duplication of Staff
• Integrate tightly with current technologies
• There's features out there not available on LAMP

A few of these apply no matter what your situation is, especially things like using the knowledge you already have and avoiding duplication wherever possible.

In this new article from Developer.com they take a look at some of the different web application stacks (including LAMP) and offer some advice as to which might be the right fit for you and your application.

Critically examining the underlying architecture for a web application is an important step in defining the end product. That explains why one of the first questions that developers ask each other is: "what stack are you using?"

They evaluate:

• LAMP Stack
• WISA Stack
• Java Web Stack
• SQL Anywhere for the Data Tier

They make recommendations for three kinds of users - start-up/hobbyist, SMB developers and enterprise-level developers.