[matei]

sorry, but from scratch (no apache, no mysql, no php) to running 2 php/mysql sites in different virtual hosts takes less than 10 minutes on a modern ubuntu box (and probably most of the time will be spent configuring the site, not the servers). plus, i don't want to run a php -something in a shell each time i want to test something. also, while modern ORM's abstract away most of the database , I still wouldn't use sqlite on the dev machine for a site which will run on mysql in production

[X-Istence]

You are the exception. You can still set up your environment as you wish, don't let the built in web server in the CLI stop you from doing that.

Also running php -S in a shell is simple, run it, and minimise the window.