What is MAMP???!!

check out this video: http://teamtreehouse.com/library/using-php-with-mysql/connecting-php-to-mysql/installing-mysql-with-mamp

MAMP is for Mac

XAMPP for Windows/ Linux (or I use WAMP): http://teamtreehouse.com/library/using-php-with-mysql/connecting-php-to-mysql/installing-mysql-with-xampp

Oh and to answer your exact question: MAMP stands for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. MAMP is an application you can install on your Mac which allows you to have access to a local PHP server and MySQL server. Essentially, MAMP gives you all of the tools you need to run WordPress on your machine, for development and testing purposes.

From the codex

MAMP installs a local server environment on your Mac that allows you to run Wordpress and develop your theme, plugin and or website in an environment on your computer rather than on your live web hosting server. Then when finished developing, you can just transfer it to your web host.

XAMPP is software pretty much the same software but was originally geared towards Windows, while MAMP was geared towards Mac. Now both will work on either Windows or Mac.

I am running a Mac and I prefer MAMP. I find it a little easier to use and seems to works better on the Mac.

MAMP: http://www.mamp.info/en/ XAMPP: https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html

Hope this helps.

OK, so XAMPP is equivalent to MAMP then? Or do I need XAMPP and WAMP/MAMP in order to run Wordpress locally ?

you only need one. either MAMP, XAMPP, or WAMP

Ahhh, OK. So the parts of the video that shows him using MAMP I should just try to do the same thing in XAMPP. Since that's what I have installed.

yep

Thanks!!