For Web-dev, can the PHP Processor be installed on a regular Windows XP machine, such that viewing PHP files through a browser executes the PHP script? (NOT Windows Serv
XAMPP will do the work for you, but beware that most php servers runs on some kind of unix so often it is close but not really the same.
I'm thinking on basic differences like paths, path delimiters, symbolic links etc etc
Feel free to do a search on "WAMP vs LAMP" for more info.
/Johan