Lamptesting

Lamptesting is the practice of testing software that runs on a LAMP stack—Linux, Apache, MySQL (or MariaDB), and PHP, Perl, or Python—aimed at verifying the correctness, reliability, and security of web applications deployed on this stack.

It encompasses multiple testing levels: unit tests for individual PHP components; integration tests that exercise PHP code with the database; functional tests that verify user-facing features through HTTP requests; and non-functional tests such as performance, load, and security testing.

Typical workflows use local or containerized environments. Developers may run a LAMP stack locally or in Docker Compose; continuous integration pipelines run automated tests against a predictable environment to mirror production, while staging environments provide closer parity before release.

Common tools and approaches include PHPUnit for unit testing; Codeception, Behat, or PHPT for integration and acceptance tests; database fixtures and migrations to seed test data; and end-to-end testing tools such as Selenium, Playwright, or Cypress. Performance testing can employ ApacheBench, JMeter, or k6, and security testing with OWASP ZAP. Test data management and environment isolation are frequently emphasized to ensure repeatability across runs.

Best practices emphasize automated, repeatable tests with isolation of test data; use of fixtures and factories; keeping tests independent of external state; containerized environments to ensure parity; and integrating tests into CI/CD pipelines for quick feedback and reproducible results. Lamptesting aims for meaningful coverage across server, database, and application layers, while recognizing stack-specific considerations such as PHP versions, database schemas, and web server configurations. See also LAMP stack, test automation, CI/CD, and PHP testing tools.