I've been using OS X as my dev system for years - never used the built in Apache/MySQL stack after I discovered MAMP. Always felt cleaner to keep the stack isolated from my main system.

I see this as an opportunity to develop your skills as a web developer, not knowing how to work commonly used tools from the command line is a weakness that needs to be resolved.

Seriously, web devs don't use the built in sharing because it doesn't include database support. If you're going to configure the crap out of your server setup, why even have a crippled one?

As another poster suggests, use MAMP or OS X Server.

I don't know anyone who uses the basic web sharing.

Further to this, ML server is now $20.

sudo apachectl start/stop

It doesn't seem much of an issue to me. If you can program web pages, surely you can do this.

The problem is that they have removed the standard way for OS X Client users to administer Web server operation that has been there since at least 2002. What's more, they REMOVED the functionality for users who are upgrading to Mountain Lion, yet left those users with operating Web servers. So a client user that needs to disable Web Sharing now has no way to do it. Apple had their heads up their asses on this one, if for no other reason than they left users' computers in a state that the average user now has no way to control.

They could be assuming that most web developers are using a framework which comes with its own development server.