Thanks for the input people - some positive contributions, others less so, others with non-technical observations. I shall look at the options specified and see what will work best for us.

BTW - I mentioned that configuring Apache seems to be such a struggle these days, with many options, configuration specifics and 'hurdles' to get over (cf the problem with 'my' Apache objecting to the licence configuration not being correct - what should it matter on my own PC?).

In a similar vein, I have just installed the latest Ubuntu on my wife's laptop - completely bare machine, nothing else on HDD, and trying to install the media player VLC was equally fraught with hurdles - needed different libraries, then different packages, then something else, all to simply play a DVD.

Having worked with computers since the late 1970's, it seems that we are going backwards, away from simplicity wrt installation, updates, upgrades and technology 'advances' and it requires a bit of nous to be able to get things correct, as opposed to just buying the latest device. This may be one of the reasons why the generation older than me (and I'm only talking here of those aged 60+) struggle so much with what is available. The younger generation of developers don't seem to understand the principle that they have to allow for things not being 'perfect' and that deviances have to be catered for. The way I used to explain what I did in the software industry was that if I handled everything that possibly could go wrong (what we called 'defensive programming') then what was left must be right.

Rant over! Again, many thanks to the Clerical Collective in their monastery

UPDATE

I have gone with WAMP package to do my testing, via the suggestions of user afoken, and everything is now hunky-dory: Apache (and everything else installed) without a hitch and I am now testing to my heart's content.

In reply to Re: Offline alternatives to Apache for CGI testing by gsd4me
in thread Offline alternatives to Apache for CGI testing by gsd4me

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