[MonkFish]

hi

i've never used linux, i used unix in the early nineties ( programming in cobol! ) but i can't remember anything

for work we're moving over to linux servers from windows for all our web sites, and i'd like to set up something so i can code and test sites on a linux platform

what would be the best way to go about it?

what would be the best ( and easiest ) version of linux to install and run?

i've read a little on virutalbox, which as i understand would allow me to run linux on my windows system. would that be a good way to go? would i still be able to install and run the software i need under linux?

i need it so i can run apache, mysql, php, so i was going to try the linux version of xampp.

thanks for any help, i'm sure i'll have more questions as i progress!