An Introduction
Computer programming has a relatively low threshold for getting started. Web development requires nothing more than a text editor and a web browser and desktop programming only requires an editor and a compiler.
As you begin to work on more projects and want to experiment with more advanced aspects of development such as databases, server-side programming languages, and so on, things can get complicated quickly.
Keeping an organized development environment goes a long way in reducing the complexity of your project files. Of course, this actually assumes that you have an understanding of development stacks, environments, and file organization.
If not, don’t worry – this series is going to cover all of the above.
What’s Expected?
This series is going to assume that you know absolutely nothing beyond text editors and web browsers. We’re going to cover databases, server-side languages, IDE’s, and more.
Assuming that you’re comfortable with installing software, modifying a few configuration files, and are looking to improve your workflow, you should be good to go.
We’re primarily going to be focused on web-related technologies, but will be including a variety of editors in this series ranging from general text editors up to Microsoft Visual Studio.
The ultimate goal is to bring you up to speed on terminology, relevant tools, and a working knowledge of how to setup and configure a local web application development environment.
The Roadmap
Over the next few articles, here’s what we’re going to cover:
- What is a Development Stack?
- What is a Development Environment?
- Using Dropbox To Manage Project Files
- Installing a Web Server, Database, PHP, and Related Tools
- Configuring Dropbox, Apache, PHP, and MySQL For a Development Environment
- Configuring Multiple IDE’s For Your Local Development Environment
Throughout the series, I’ll be including screenshots and links to all of the tools and applications that we cover.
Feel free to bookmark this page – it serves as the landing page for the entire series!
[…] Software0What is a Development Stack? Posted by Tom McFarlin on Jan 19, 2011This is Part 1 of The Beginner’s Guide To Setting Up a Development Environment.If you’ve read any development-related content or talked with anyone in the field of web […]