What are the best practices for starting and managing Apache as a service in the context of PHP development on Windows?

When working on PHP development on Windows, it is important to properly start and manage Apache as a service to ensure smooth operation of your web server. One of the best practices is to use the Windows Service Manager to start, stop, and restart Apache as needed.

// Use the Windows Service Manager to start Apache service
exec("net start Apache2.4");

// Use the Windows Service Manager to stop Apache service
exec("net stop Apache2.4");

// Use the Windows Service Manager to restart Apache service
exec("net stop Apache2.4 && net start Apache2.4");