Tools required for a Web Development Project

Question

I wanted to design a project in linux which could contain programming languages(C, perl, PHP, HTML, XML etc) basically a web based project. Why i have chosen to build on Linux is because it is Open Source, and lot many things can be automated through scripting languages, which in windows i don't know.

So, i have installed linux on a virtual machine(Host-Windows 2007 & Guest Linux CentOS), CentOS(command line interface). Since i am a beginner, so I want to know what all tools can be used to facilitate and ease my development process. Some which i know are listed below, and request you to please share your experience on this.

1) Using Putty so that can access the Linux machine from anywhere within the network.

2) Since i want to develop on Linux, but want to use windows as developing platform. So have downloaded Eclipse Editor (C/PHP) on windows. But want to know how can i access linux files from here??

3) Installed Samba, and still trying to figure out how can i access linux files remotely on Windows.

4) Please share your experience, as how can i ease my development process. and what all tools i can use..??

Please let me know if you need any other clarification..

Answer 1

1. Putty is likely your best option for command line access. Installing a VNC server or RDP server will allow you to get access to a graphical console, but is a fair bit more work. I would stick with Putty until you need a graphical interface.
2. Use CVS, Subversion, or GIT as a repository for version controlling the files. Windows and Linux have different methods for marking the end of a line in text files. Eclipse will integrate with any of these. Check the updates out on Linux.
3. Configure the directories you want to share in /etc/smb.conf. You mount them like any other network shares. Windows will see the shares like any other network drive. Your windows tools (Notepad in particular) will have problems with Linux text files. You can set Eclipse to handle the Linux shares correctly, but you really should be working with local files in Eclipse.
4. Create the project(s) in Eclipse. Share them to the repository using the Team tools in Eclipse. Check them in from Eclipse. Setup a build/test environment on Linux, and check the projects out from Eclipse. You will need to plan the appropriate directory structure. Automate the build and test deployment on Linux. Use a packaging scheme so you can package your builds for promotion through the test environments into production. Design your application so that you do not need to build for each environment.

Answer 2

You may also want to consider making the switch to a Linux desktop. I use Ubuntu 10.04 both at home as well as in my workplace, and it's great. Here is my setup:

• Ubuntu 10.04 64 bit on Dell Vostro 200
• VMware to run Windows 7 and Windows XP for testing purposes.
• Eclipse with Subclipse Subversion Plug-in.
• Jetty 6.1.5 and Tomcat 6.0.14 running on Ubuntu.
• Apache 2.2 Running on Ubuntu.

The main advantage of this setup is that I don't need to run a Virtual Machine unless I'm testing my changes in Windows. All my code, as well as my Eclipse IDE, are all on the same machine, as is my Apache, Jetty, and Tomcat server. There is no need to setup Samba or any type of networking between file systems.

Apache serves the PHP files, and Jetty and Tomcat serve the Java files. For C, I have the gcc compiler at my fingertips.

The command line is really powerful in Linux, and should I need to use it, it's right there at my fingertips.

This is of course a big move as not everyone is ready to move away from Windows, and there's no reason why you couldn't start out using your current setup and then possibly experiment with this setup later on.

Answer 3

7 Great Web Development Tools

1. Sublime Text

Let’s start with the basics: a first-rate code editor – one that features a well-designed, super efficient, and ultra speedy user interface. There are several that do this well, but arguably the best (and most popular) is Sublime Text.

Artfully run by a one-man development team, the secret to Sublime’s success lies in the program’s vast array of keyboard shortcuts - such as the ability to perform simultaneous editing (making the same interactive changes to multiple selected areas) as well as quick navigation to files, symbols, and lines. And when you’re spending 8+ hours with your editor each day, those precious few seconds saved for each process really do add up…

2. Chrome Developer Tools

Wouldn’t it be great if you could edit your HTML and CSS in real-time, or debug your JavaScript, all while viewing a thorough performance analysis of your website?

Google’s built-in Chrome Developer Tools let you do just that. Bundled and available in both Chrome and Safari, they allow developers access into the internals of their web application. On top of this, a palette of network tools can help optimize your loading flows, while a timeline gives you a deeper understanding of what the browser is doing at any given moment.

Google release an update every six weeks – so check out their website as well as the Google DevelopersYouTube channel to keep your skillset up-to date.

3. jQuery

JavaScript has long been considered an essential front-end language by developers, although it’s not without its problems: riddled with browser inconsistencies, its somewhat complicated and unapproachable syntax meant that functionality often suffered.

That was until 2006, when jQuery – a fast, small, cross-platform JavaScript library aimed at simplifying the front-end process – appeared on the scene. By abstracting a lot of the functionality usually left for developers to solve on their own, jQuery allowed greater scope for creating animations, adding plug-ins, or even just navigating documents.

And it’s clearly successful – jQuery was by far the most popular JavaScript library in existence in 2015, with installation on 65% of the top 10 million highest-trafficked sites on the Web.

4. GitHub

It’s every developer’s worst nightmare – you’re working on a new project feature and you screw up. Enter version control systems (VCS) – and more specifically, GitHub.

By rolling out your project with the service, you can view any changes you’ve made or even go back to your previous state (making pesky mistakes a thing of the past). The repository hosting service also boasts a rich open-source development community (making collaboration between teams as easy as pie), as well as providing several other components such as bug tracking, feature requests, task management, and wikis for every project.

Many employers will look for finely honed Git skills, so now’s the perfect time to sign up – plus it’s a great way to get involved and learn from the best with a wide array of open-source projects to work on.

5. Twitter Bootstrap

Getting tired of typing in that same styling for a container? How about that button that keeps cropping up? Once you start building front-end applications regularly, you’ll start to notice the same patterns emerging.

UI frameworks are an attempt to solve these problems by abstracting the common elements into reusable modules - meaning developers can scaffold the elements of new applications with speed and ease.

The most widely used of these frameworks is Bootstrap, a comprehensive UI package developed by the team at Twitter. Complete with tools to normalize stylesheets, build modal objects, add JavaScript plugins, and a plethora of other features, Bootstrap can dramatically cut down on the amount of code (and time) needed to build your project.

6. Angular.js

HTML is usually the cornerstone of any front-end developer’s toolbox, but it has what many perceive to be a serious flaw: it wasn’t designed to manage dynamic views.

This is where AngularJS, an open-source web application framework, comes in. Developed by Google, AngularJS lets you extend your application’s HTML syntax, resulting in a more expressive, readable, and quick to develop environment that could otherwise not have been built with HTML alone.

The project is not without its critics: some feel that this sort of data binding makes for a messy, non-separated code, but we still think it’s an invaluable skill to have in your front-end kit.

7. Sass

Web dev tools that save time are your best friend and one of the first things you’ll learn about code is that it needs to be DRY (“Don’t Repeat Yourself”). The second thing you’ll probably learn is that CSS is usually not very DRY.

Enter the world of the CSS preprocessor, a tool that will help you write maintainable, future-proof code, all while reducing the amount of CSS you have to write (keeping it DRY).

Perhaps most popular among them is Sass, an eight-year-old open-source project which pretty much defined the genre of modern CSS preprocessors. Although a little tricky to get to grips with initially, Sass’s combination of variables, nesting, and mixins will render simple CSS when compiled, meaning your stylesheets will be more readable and (most importantly) DRY.