Forum Moderators: coopster
There are some oddities that crop up but, looking for an excuse and being philosophical about it, it does keep you from writing platform-specific code.
Generally, most PHP stuff works pretty much the same under Win as Lin, it just gets problematic when making calls to the shell, sometimes with sending email, a few things like that which can have some gotchas.
[webmasterworld.com...]
XAMPP + virtual host for each site under development
I'm wondering if it makes a huge difference, if at all, to develop on one OS or the other.
scripting:
If you're developing using PHP/JSP/Servlets, then this can be done on both linux and windows. No probs.
database:
mysql works on both windows and linux. postgresql works only on linux. sql server sucks (hehe joking;)
so if you're going to development with mysql, both linux and windows are fine. If you're going to be using postgre, you have got to develop on linux, and if you're using sql server, windows it'll be.
web page graphics designing:
here you have more options on windows than linux.... stuff like photoshop etc wont work on linux. so for this windows is the better choice.
html scripting:
heck anything is okay for this from notepad to FP to DW. If you have specific preferences, for instance if you insist on using dreamweaver, you'll have to go with windows.....
if you're new to this, i suggest use notepad (on windows) and VIM on linux.
so there you are. there's no probs using both OSes for specific tasks, and then FTPing it to your host server.
It's also nice to know with the Linux permissions system that stuff that you write that writes to files won't accidentally go writing files where it's not supposed to. It does mean in graphics I'm limited to the gimp, but I find that this is all I usually need.
Windows also doesn't allow you to check how much memory your scripts are using very easily (which is really something you want to know if you do serious development work).
I must say, that I don't understand vim (I can't even open one file), therefore I use mc inbuilt editor. I love it! It's fast, fast to browse the files, fast to open them. Highlights the structure, shows bracketing. Did I mention that it's fast? :)
My colleague, who writes games for mobiles found similar program under windows called Far, but it's almost impossible to find anywhere.
It's the same with the graphics (creating them, not editing). They do it in paint, because it opens fast:)
To say the truth the problem windows/linux is not a problem really. You can use any freely unless problems mentioned in above posts.
I use both because it was easier for me not to install the linux at work, and after first week of finding good editing program it's no difference now really.
You have to decide what is easier for you!
Best regards
Michal Cibor
I dev in wins and ftp to linux box
However I dev too in Linux using Red Hat
Red Hat has an included PHP editor that works very well and offers all the Bells and Whistles named Quanta.
Cheers
database:
mysql works on both windows and linux. postgresql works only on linux. sql server sucks (hehe joking;)
so if you're going to development with mysql, both linux and windows are fine. If you're going to be using postgre, you have got to develop on linux, and if you're using sql server, windows it'll be
Postgresql has been available for Win32 platforms (i.e. not 95,98, ME) since about the start of the year (version 8.0).
>> sql server sucks (hehe joking
i know you were joking, but for the record sql server does not suck - it is fantastic and far superior to mySQL, however the current license fee is extremely high if you are a small business.
As opposed to the way I do it, you can do it the way Brett does. He has two hosts files (e.g. hosts.local and hosts.live) and creates a DOS batch file that switches them in and out, that is, he clicks on the "golive.bat" and it overwrites the hosts file with the contents of hosts.live. Click on "golocal.bat" and it overwrites the hosts file with hosts.local.
With that system you can use the exact same URLs locally and live, so even your absolute links the http://example.com resolve locally if set that way.
Personally, I find having domains named "example.loc" works fine for me most of the time.
Either way you go, virtual hosts are a fine tool for keeping organized.
One final note, the directories do not need to be subdirectories of htdocs. They can be anywhere as long as you set up the paths correctly in httpd.conf.
AranhaHunter - did you undertand all that ;-) Don't worry. There is no need. Just download xampp and away you go.
BTW, I evaded your initial question. Personally, I prefer to host on Linux, but there are sites far larger than ours that are hosted on both. If the admins and tech support people are good, both Lin and Win will work well for you. If they're bad, it will likely be painful either way.
We don't allow host recommendations here because the threads usually end descending into name calling and link drops, so please... let's not go down that road.
