Why some tutorials have lesser modules?

[PHPz]

I'm looking to do something for fun with Linux that I've just installed, but I'm new to Linux. The first thing that I thought to do is to set up a web and mail server, and setup something like Wordpress with it, even though I won't be keeping my PC on more than a couple hours a day on Linux (the rest is for Windows ).

I'm looking through various tutorials and I'm puzzled - why some tutorials have as few as 3 PHP modules, while others have over 20? What's up with that? I'm looking for a more detailed answer, rather than "your site will work without these modules." I've posted a couple of variations I've discovered below.

php5-fpm php5-mysql php5-curl php5-gd php5-intl php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-ming php5-ps php5-pspell php5-recode php5-snmp php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl php5-xcache

php5-cgi php5-cli php5-mysql php5-curl php5-gd php5-idn php-pear php5-imagick php5-imap php5-mcrypt php5-memcache php5-mhash php5-pspell php5-recode php5-sqlite php5-tidy php5-xmlrpc php5-xsl php5-gd

php5-cli php5-cgi php5-fpm php5-mcrypt php5-mysql

php-5-cli php5-fpm php5-mysql

[falko]

It all depends on what PHP modules you need. You get a leaner server with less modules and a Swiss army knife if you install all modules.