How run web software *locally* easily?

[Fuzzyman]

For development I run my own modified version of CGIHTTPServer.

It is called CGITHTTPServerWithSSI -
http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/recipebook.shtml#ssi

It implements *some* SSI functions and allows you to maintain sites in
*two* folders. A main folder and a second 'development' folder that
just has stuff you're working on. It looks in the development folder
first.

The HTTPServer classes make great base classes for messing around with
your own custom implementations for testing.

All the best,

Fuzzyman
http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/index.shtml