Could you tell me the basics things about PHP (and Apache)?

1 I started learning HTML (awesome and pretty easy to get started)

2 then after two years I found that css is the newer way to go (easier to have a single style on multiple pages at once, no table-based).

3 then, this summer I learned that there is PHP. I felt that this will make things even better because I can use this instead of iframes (which is old) and even read/edit text files.

For the past few weeks I used php on a web hosting site but it gets really annoying having to upload every time I change code. But whenever I look around the web about php, I see advices about installing Apache too. I went to Apache website but I didn't understand all the geek-words. I don't want to make my computer a server. I just want to use php on my windows xp. How? Will installing php from the php website just do it? I don't want to unintentionally open my computer to the world and/or have problems/viruses/extreme-slow-down on my computer.
Rather than just get everything with xampp, will installing just php do it?
 
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