Setting up Web Development Environment on new Mac

forgueam

iNET Code Serf
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
1
So, I've been a LAMP web developer for quite a long time and have always done my development on Windows machines. I've just made the switch to an iMac and am ready to delve back into programming.

I was wondering what your recommendations are for setting up a nice development environment in OS X. Some of the base things I would need:

Apache, PHP, MySQL, subversion, etc...

Do most of you Mac web developers install these apps independently, or do you recommend something like XAMPP? Also, what is your preferred editor? TextMate? Coda? Something else? Are there any development work flow best practices that I should be aware of?

Thanks! I can't wait to hear your comments and suggestions!!

Aaron
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
1,814
Reaction score
137
Points
63
Location
NY USA
Your Mac's Specs
iMac 5.1 | iMac 7.1 | iMac 12.1 | iMac 19.1 | iPhone 11 Pro | Watch s5
I'm somewhat of an oddball. There is method to my madness though. 10 years of experience, trials, errors, honing. I've been through MSSQL, ASP/.net, VB, PHP, PY, ColdFusion.
I found my groove about a year ago. And it goes a little something like this:

HOST
Server: Windows / IIS
Server Language: ColdFusion
Database: MySQL

WORKSTATION
OS: Mac (whatever's current)
Programming: Coda
Synchronization: Automator + Transmit + Time Machine
Database: Navicat

TESTING
VMware, XP+IE6
VMware, XP+IE7

What's possible with this combo?
http://www.WebVeteran.com/portfolio/
You should see the two sites I'm working on right now... ooooohhhh mmaann

If you use coda, DO NOT use it's built in preview. That uses WebKit. You'll want to develop with Firefox since it renders more like Windows IE. Then of course you need to test on a true IE. Thats where the virtual machines come in handy. Create an XP with IE6. Then duplicate the image and install IE7 on it. You can then go back and forth testing between IE6 and IE7.
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
If you're looking for an out-of-the-box server stack, then there's MAMP
http://www.mamp.info/en/index.php
Though you can do things "the hard way" if you like. I would, just to get things as similar as possible to my deployment server's configuration (whatever that may be.)

I use TextWrangler as my editor. Dreamweaver when I need something visual.
 
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
1,395
Reaction score
30
Points
48
Location
Central Florida
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro Unibody
I guess I am old school, I do all my php development in emacs on my Linux server.... then again, I came from Linux, and for the most part we didn't have them there fancy IDE's. ;)

My host uses Linux servers, so my Linux server basically mirrors what they have, makes it really easy.
 
Joined
May 10, 2007
Messages
502
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
Mac pro quad 2.66 / G5 1.8
I have 2 different setups on 2 hard disks, which is a complicated way to keep things simple - one of then boots php4 and the other php5.

I run Apache2, mysql and aforesaid php. I did everything 'manually', rather than use one of the packages, primarily because I wanted to know/learn exactly what was happening so I could fix it when it broke.

I also installed all the toys, like GD support, imagemagick etc. That was a fair amount of work, as it also involved installing the compiler/xtools an so on.

For actual development I'm afraid to say I use Dreamweaver. As well as having the spiffy graphics, you can go hardcore and just code it, if you want. I like the choice, but I do acknowledge it doesn't force me to be as disciplined as a plain text editor would.

Lastly, grab a copy of diffmerge for whenever you want to splice in updated code / custome addins. rarely used, but for me the best of the crop.

Quite a lot of work in the end - as you'll no doubt already know 'installing' a lot of stuff like that involves a fair amount of headscratching and Googling.

Have to say though, the end result I'm pretty pleased with. The Mac makes a great webserver. Attach it to a UPS and it's rock solid. Mines a 4x2.66 mac pro, with just about everything that can be expanded stuffed to the gills.

Just as an aside - if you want to run Apache through a router, as I do, the httpd.conf file and port forwarding on the router take a little tweaking. If you need any help, holla.
 
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Different sites need different tools. Starting a new site, inheriting a mess from someone else, need speed or security, want to block hacker, how many languages, want to change CSS or graphics often?

For 2 sites that serve languages, PHP, MYSQL and Navicat, BBEdit and PHPmyAdmin:
http://www.cleanaireurope.com Note: language for every page can be switched instead of redirecting to the language home.
http://www.alpha.cleanaireurope.com


For a quick simple NEW site I use Site Assist or Coda:
http://www.cleanair.com/Equipment/Express/main.html
http://www.betterdata.org/

For HTML only, Dreamweaver and Coda:
http://www.rentals.cleanair.com/
http://www.cleanair.com/

For managing stats AWStats, PMWiki, Automator and iCal.

I generally have 2 versions of Dreamweaver open since one private site has 100,000 docs and take to long to cache. I also us both BBEdit and Text Wrangler simultaneously. BBEdit can Tidy, check code and Preview but Text Wrangler is faster for Find and Replace and I also use it for non web text.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top