12 replies to this topic

[cstovin]

So far (and I know this is bad practice) since my store is not up and running I have just been making changes to my store in production environment so to speak since I don't have MySQL and PHP on my machine -

Can someone recommend an open source solution that I can install on my laptop to use to edit my files that included PHP and MySQL?

Thank you
C.

[DunWeb]

@cstovin

I use Uniform Server, but there are many available



Chris

[NodsDorf]

I use Xampp myself

[FWR Media]

It's very easy just to install the individual packages so this is what I do, the benefits are: -

Multiple versions of apache if needed.

Multiple versions of PHP if needed, including PHP 5.4.X

Multiple versions of MySQL if needed.

The packages to my mind are very restrictive and add unnecessary programs to the PC.

Having said that, of course many people find using a package far more simple.

I tend to use Nusphere and they offer a free package called TechPlatform. As they offer systems to professional developers it may be a great choice ( never used it myself ).

Edited by FWR Media, 01 July 2012 - 07:23 AM.

[Jack_mcs]

cstovin, on 01 July 2012 - 03:24 AM, said:

Can someone recommend an open source solution that I can install on my laptop to use to edit my files that included PHP and MySQL?

I use wampserver. It installs easily, allows you to switch between php.mysql/appache versions and has a nice GUI for changing settings.

[MrPhil]

If the base problem is that you don't want to experiment and develop on a live site (not a good idea anyway), why not install a duplicate store in a "develop/" directory and play in that sandbox? You can even set up a second database if you're doing anything that might change the database.

The problem with WAMPP/LAMPP/XAMPP installations on a PC is that you can never be absolutely sure that your environment exactly matches your live server. You may end up with something that doesn't quite work on the live site. I find it just as easy to have a "develop/" or whatever osC installation that I can play with code in an environment that I know exactly matches what the production site is going to be doing. Besides, most store owners find the hassle of installing and maintaining a PC-based server to outweigh the minor inconvenience of editing on the PC and uploading to the server (live site or develop sandbox).

[FWR Media]

Good point MrPhil

Personally I like to develop locally due to a range of profiling/debugging options I have on my local PC along with the ability to chop and change PHP/MySQL/Apache versions as needed. I also have a dodgy internet connection sometimes and the local system means that internet downtime does not mean I have to stop working.

Having said that, and to underline your point .. For some annoying reason I regularly get an affliction that I shall call "file name caps blindness", even though I know the class file should be named MyClass.php my fingers insist on typing Myclass.php, I don't notice my mistake because I develop on XP .. but as soon as I upload it on *nix, of course it goes BANG!

Which is doubly annoying when SVN won't accept the deletion of Myclass.php and the introduction of MyClass.php without a tree conflict

Edited by FWR Media, 01 July 2012 - 04:26 PM.

[bruyndoncx]

if I do a complete re-design I use uniform server as it also allows for standalone installation on a stick or so, so you can easily move your working environment from laptop to eg another desktop
The advantage of the local copy is the ease of making a lot of similar changes across files, find&replace across several files/directories at once.

for all smaller changes, I have 2 environments on the live server, one development with it's own separate development database, another one with just a copy of the php files configured against the same production database.
i further made sure that my image folder is shared across environments to save space.
My development on the development database starts with a restore of production data, so all data is realistic.

[FWR Media]

@bruyndoncx

Yup .. I tend to do ..

Development: local PC server
Staging: dev sandbox on server like MrPhil
Production: the live site

[NodsDorf]

I agree as well, I work locally, push the local version to a testing folder on the host in which I'm going to run the site, then move to the production directory after everything checks out.

I like using the same host in which the site will run on as it provides an opportunity to verify any server conflicts that you may not see in a local environment.

[cstovin]

Thanks all -this is what I would do in my work - day job - and my normal web development for my leather site was easy, there was no store so it was just in dreamweaver; but now that I am trying to develope store for my side business - this has a whole new headache, and my tech savy is about 10 years behind the curve!

Thanks for the suggestions- I didn't think about creating an exact copy of my store on the same site - in a development folder - that is a great option - think I will do that, also use something like winamp; I think that I did read about that one, what gets me into trouble is that I end up downloading  a ton of programs to try, not knowing exactly how to use them, etc (since this type of development environment is new)....blah blah....anyway - end up wasting a lot of time and not finding something simple to do what I want -

thanks a LOT for the input and suggestions, they will help me a lot -
C.

[MrPhil]

Just to clarify the idea I was trying to get across, you keep a complete copy of your files on your PC, downloading ones revised by add-on install, and uploading ones (to the server, develop/ tree) after editing on the PC. This way you can search, compare, and edit all your files from the comfort of familiar tools on your PC, using the real host server to actually run the site. Your files are kept identical between your PC and server as diligently as you can.

Don't ever use Dreamweaver (or any other HTML editor) on your osC files. It's too easy to get crossed up and mangle your files because you didn't edit in the right mode or didn't realize what DW was "helpfully" doing behind your back. Learn to use an FTP client (FileZilla, etc.) to transfer files, and learn to use a real file editor (ViM, Notepad++, etc.) to modify files.

[cstovin]

will do; I am having some trouble installing a /dev root folder - I imagine I will have to change the file paths in some of the files?  BUt my catalog folder is off of the main root, not by my choice, but required by where I host.  So, my catalog is already located in "/catalog"; so I will have to make a dev folder that then has the structure
/root
catalog
extras
dev
.../catalog
../extras

I tried to do it like that, but it won't install - so have to look at that in the morning -

I only used dreamweaver in straight HTML development - not this kind of stuff, but thank you for the clarification!
C>