Alex Weblog

A few days ago, I started to set up a new development toolbox, with the following 3 main components:

• IDE: Eclipse PDT with two plugins: Subclipse and FTP and Webdav support
• SVN and collaborative workspace: Assembla
• Apache, MySQL, PHP and Perl development platform: XAMPP

Eclipse PDT is the PHP Development Tools framework of the Eclipse platform. The project can be found here. Because I did not have a previous Eclipse Platform installed on my computer, I took the easiest installation method: the all-in-one package. It contains Eclipse, required plugins (EMF, GEF, Java EMF Model, WTP), and PDT itself.

Assembla is an online service providing free workspaces for distributed development teams. It can be found here. It includes, among many other features, a SVN repository. Although Assembla is, to my knowledge, the only free SVN repository provider on the web (even for private, closed-source projects), it would be unfair to limit the description of their online service to this feature. I strongly encourage you to have a look at their feature list, take a tour, and to give a try to their free offering.

In order to connect my Eclipse Platform with the Assembla SVN repository, I installed the Subclipse plugin.

XAMPP provides the development environment (Apache, MySQL, PHP and Perl). By installing it in a root directory, it is possible to make it work out of the box without any setup. Then, I use the xampp/htdocs/ directory as my Eclipse Workspace.

Then, to deploy the code in production (on my shared hosting account that only accepts FTP), I simply use the “FTP and Webdav Support” plugin.

Out-of-the-box benefits

Thanks to Assembla, my personal, stand-alone development environment is ready for collaboration and distributed team development.

Wish-list

I am still missing an embedded javascript compressor within Eclipse. It would be great to integrate something like the dojo toolkit’s javascript compressor.

I am waiting for the ultimate storage system a.k.a. “Google Drive”. I may wait longer than I expected first.

Or should I say that I already use Gdrive on a daily basis?

GDrive already exists, but there is no public API yet, and the reason is, Google want me to use their apps, not their storage system. This is storage, Jim, but not as we know it.

By using Google Apps:

- Google handles the user interface, and can manage the advertising exposure (which is the business model of Google).

- My behaviour (whether searching, reading news, mail, working with office documents, photos, videos, etc) is recorded by Google, probably forever.

- Google has an increasingly deep knowledge of my individual profile, and always improve its contextual ad display.

- Google can use my profile data for statistical purposes and propose better advertising solutions to its corporate customers.

Here are some reference links for php programming:

• The php site
• The php category of devshed
• phpeverywhere
• phpdeveloper website
• the php code exchange
• PHP application tools in Germany
• PHP freaks
• codewalkers
• A good PHP FAQ for beginner questions

Here are some interesting javascripts resources:

• Article on closures
• Dustin Diaz article “top 10 javascript scripts“
• Jeremy Keith article “Using domscripting to plug the holes in CSS“
• The prototype library
• Other javascript libraries include: dojo, rico, jquery, mochikit, yahooUI, behaviour, moo.fx, script.aculo.us, qooxdoo,XHConn.
• Sun’s article on Javascript for object-oriented programmers
• Javascript ToolBox Best practices
• Douglas Crockford’s Javascript?web site, video 1, video 2, video 3, and zipped powerpoints

Here are some useful sites for web site statistics:

• www.netcraft.com: uptime, http server information
• www.alexa.com: traffic, response time
• www.alexaholic.com: comparison between sites (uses alexa webservices)