The tools you use
Signal vs Noise asked today to tell them The tools you use. Since I have a new environment, I thought I’d share it here instead.
I am on Windows. I know, not the best. But, with a little help from virtualization technology, it’s not as bad as it sounds. I’ll get the easy bits out:
A few days ago, I wanted to try Ubuntu, just for kicks. I downloaded Ubuntu Server, and installed it on VMware Server, a free virtualization product for Windows. After setting up, I wanted something to play with, so I copied a Rails application I’m working on at the moment. I ran my tests, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. My tests were running faster than if they were run on Windows.
So, I took out a wristwatch, and ran the tests on both sides. Yup, Virtual Linux was faster than Windows. By a good margin too: 25 seconds vs 7. That’s from hitting Enter after “rake test:units” until the command line is back again. Obviously, YMMV.
So, I installed Samba on Linux, setup a shared drive, and am now happily editing using the e Text Editor, while running my tests under Linux, and serve the application using Mongrel, on Linux.
So, my development environment is:
If you are on Windows, I really encourage you to try this. It was worth it for me.
