I use both WAMP and XAMPP. WAMP under windows and XAMPP under Linux. I have Ubuntu installed in my Virtual Server and XAMPP is running under Linux.

Both WampServer and XAMPP is available for Windows. Both allows you to create web applications with Apache, PHP and the MySQL database. It also comes with PHPMyAdmin to easily manage your databases.

AMP packages can be installed using installer packages. Once you installed any one of these applications you have the possibility to add as many Apache, MySQL and PHP releases as you want.

Configuring WAMP or XAMPP is very easy and any one can do it with out any issues. All what you need to do is that download the latest package from respective sites and install it. Wamp can be downloaded from here http://www.wampserver.com/en/ and XAMPP can be downloaded here http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

Don’t try to install both applications under same environment, you may have issues while sharing ports.

Step-By-Step Guide to Install WAMP How To Install WAMP
Step-By-Step Guide to Install XAMPP http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

1) SQLite is a software library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine. SQLite is the most widely deployed SQL database engine in the world. The source code for SQLite is in the public domain. http://www.sqlite.org/

2) HSQLDB (HyperSQL DataBase) is the leading SQL relational database engine written in Java. It has a JDBC driver and supports nearly full ANSI-92 SQL (BNF format) plus many SQL:2008 enhancements. It offers a small, fast multithreaded and transactional database engine which offers in-memory and disk-based tables and supports embedded and server modes. Additionally, it includes tools such as a command line SQL tool and GUI query tools.

The product is currently being used as a database and persistence engine in many Open Source Software projects and in commercial projects and products. In its current supported versions it is extremely stable and reliable. It is best known for its small size, ability to execute completely in memory, its flexibility and speed.

This feature-packed software is completely free to use and distribute under our licenses , based on the standard BSD license. Completely free of cost or restrictions and fully compatible with all major open source licenses. Java source code and extensive documentation included.

Our group was formed in 2001 to continue the closed Hypersonic SQL Project. We have actively developed and released 9 new versions of the database since April 2001. Current code has little in common with the Hypersonic SQL original. The latest version features the most extensive set of SQL features ever in an open-srouce database engine. The project enjoys a high ranking among all SourceForge projects, over 1,200,000 direct downloads, and hundreds of millions of copies distributed as part of other software packages. http://hsqldb.org/

3) Firebird is a relational database offering many ANSI SQL standard features that runs on Linux, Windows, and a variety of Unix platforms. Firebird offers excellent concurrency, high performance, and powerful language support for stored procedures and triggers. It has been used in production systems, under a variety of names, since 1981. http://www.firebirdsql.org/

If you’re a beginner then i suggest you to start with “Starkers – Blank Canvas WP Theme” from Elliot Jay Stocks. If you want to build rich theme then go for hybrid or carrington. It’s up to you to choose.

Here are the wordpress frame works.

So, What we need to do to stay focus on the development? The answer is, you should have right tools and resources before you start designing and stay focused to shortened up your development time-line. The objective of this post to stay focused on theme development and avoid repetitive work using available open source tools which are absolutely free.

I assume, you have computer with internet connection. Below are my preferred list which i’m currently using. Always, I used to check whether is there any plug-ins or extensions available for firefox or chrome browsers, if not i start looking for open source tools. Most of the time, i found good plug-in/extensions. The good thing is you don’t have to install separately as client and it’s free of cost.

I use one of the free mind mapping tool to organize my projects. You can download it here. http://freemind.sourceforge.net/

Below is the high level minimum requirement to start develop wordpress themes.  This has to further enhanced according to the needs.

Now we know what are all the tools required to start the development. Go and and download the tools one by one and install in your pc. You can complete all the installation with in two hours time. Please do note that this is required only first time. If you have software’s already installed then you can skip those sections.

HTML editor is a application for creating html and xhtml web pages. Though the mark-up can be written in any on the text editors such as textpad, pspad and  notepad++ etc, specialized HTML mark-up editors offer more features and functionality. Most of the HTML editors support CSS and JavaScript.

Here are some WYSIWYG editors you can use.

This program is not only fast in loading time, but also small in size (so small that it can be copied in one floppy disk).

While it can serve as a good replacement for Notepad, it also offers many powerful features for programming languages such as HTML, C/C++, Perl and Java.

• Syntax Highlighting for HTML, C/C++, Perl, Java, Matlab and LaTeX. Also, it can be extended for other programming languages based on custom syntax files.
• Other features include undo/redo, user tools, macros, spell checker and more.

You can download it here, http://www.crimsoneditor.com/

2. SeaMonkey

The SeaMonkey project is a community effort to develop the SeaMonkey all-in-one internet application suite (see below). Such a software suite was previously made popular by Netscape and Mozilla, and the SeaMonkey project continues to develop and deliver high-quality updates to this concept. Containing an Internet browser, email & newsgroup client with an included web feed reader, HTML editor, IRC chat and web development tools, SeaMonkey is sure to appeal to advanced users, web developers and corporate users.

You can download it here, http://www.seamonkey-project.org/

3. KompoZer

KompoZer is a complete web authoring system that combines web file management and easy-to-use WYSIWYG web page editing. KompoZer is designed to be extremely easy to use, making it ideal for non-technical computer users who want to create an attractive, professional-looking web site without needing to know HTML or web coding.

You can download it here,   http://www.kompozer.net/

4. Trellian

WebPage is our easy to use, FREE website creation software. Trellian WebPage allows you to create your own web pages without having to learn complex scripting languages. WebPAGE’s WYSIWYG interface makes editing pages as easy as using your favorite word processor.

You can download it here, http://www.trellian.com/

5. NetObjects Fusion Essentials

NetObjects Fusion Essentials is a free web design software that offers many core features found in NetObjects Fusion 11. Excellent documentation and tutorials are available in their site. Please check it out.

1. Snap-CSS an open-source css editor for windows. Snap{css} is an extremely light-weight, notepad-like application that allows css designers to easily edit their code in a familiar environment while having quick acccess to helpful features such as our beautify and collapse functions.

You can download it here, http://www.improvingcode.com/snapcss/download/

2. Amaya is a Web editor, i.e. a tool used to create and update documents directly on the Web. Browsing features are seamlessly integrated with the editing and remote access features in a uniform environment. This follows the original vision of the Web as a space for collaboration and not just a one-way publishing medium.

You can download it here, http://www.w3.org/Amaya/User/BinDist.html

3. Freedomeditor, Customizable browser based (text/web(WYSIWYG)) file editors environment in PHP (GPL Licensed) with loads of features Per file extension customizable ways to modify files on a remote webserver from within a web browser (in other words, web/browser based). Therefore it makes intensive use of certain third party programs, for certain file extensions which already use custom configurations as of now (html, css, php)

You can download it here, http://www.freedomeditor.com/