[thelist] Linux for development?

Aaron Holmes aholmes at pureguru.com
Wed Oct 8 17:08:51 CDT 2003


Tim Burgan wrote:
> I'm wondering many web developers use RedHat or another Linux
> distribution as their 'main' OS for working over Windows or Mac. (I'm
> not talking about hosting, but what platform you use everyday).
> 
> What software do you use in your development (html editor, graphics,
> etc)?


Noticed this thread and figured I would put in my 2 cents...

I'm a web developer/programmer using Redhat 9. I've invested in Sun One
Studio and tend to like doing all Java Development in Sun's IDE. It's
handy for more than just java, and it's what I've gotten used to for
even PHP/MySQL dev.

Quanta is fine for the webpage IDE development. However I must admit
that I have been spoiled by Macromedia Dreamweaver, and sometimes wish
it was available under *nix. Even though I always have and sometimes
still do use notepad for my CSS/HTML/XHTML/Whatever development,
Dreamweaver just saves me time with the redundancies. Perhaps something
to hope for in the future. (Additionally, Flash MX IDE would be
helpful). 

Gimp is a must for me as I'm a seasoned Photoshop user. The Gimp has
come a long way in providing the rich features and bells and whistles of
Photoshop. I can normally produce anything in the Gimp that I can do in
Photoshop, although it may take me some time to learn the trick.

One area where I do have problems finding replacement software is in the
3d/drafting realm. I currently use Blender3d, however I find myself
having to run Maya/3d Studio on a separate windows computer.
Additionally, I must use both 3d Studio Viz and AutoCAD under windows.
This isn't really a big surprise though, they are highly specialized
software packages and I don't expect them on Linux unless the makers can
be convinced there is a potential market with *nix users.

Other than that OpenOffice, Firebird and Evolution all make me happy.
Redhat 9 was an easy setup and it is getting better. Stability is good,
although not perfect in my experiences - this should be obvious, nothing
is perfect. And as previously mentioned, there are thousands and
thousands of free utilities, software packages and toys to play with
that will make your life easier ( *hopefully* :) ). 

All I can think of for now!
 
Sincerely yours, 
 
Aaron Holmes
CEO
Gurix Web Professionals
Welland, Ontario
Canada
 
Corporate e-mail: aholmes at gurix.com
 
V: 905.324.3241
F: 905.734.1398
http://www.gurix.com
 
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