There are many many different areas web developers need to cover. First you need to find the perfect text editor, set up a local environment, find a database management tool and then find a great FTP application. And for many of us out there freelancing, we have less of a budget to work with. So here’s 10 cheap or free web development tools for Windows and OS X.
Code Editing:
TextMate
TextMate is a text editor but has some essential functionality such as line numbers, code highlighting, bundles for completing repetitive tasks and a neat project draw. The project draw deserves a special mention; when you open a folder or create a project in TextMate you get a neat project draw with all the files and folders listed inside. This has to be my favourite feature of TextMate since it is so easy to see all the files in my projects, I never lose anything. At only €48.75 and 15% off if you’re a student, it’s a tidy sum for a powerful application.
Espresso
Espresso, the new web development tool for OS X is currently in public beta, but is available for pre-order for €59.95. Espresso has a neat sidebar which shows all files and folders clearly with indenting of folders. There is also a sweet integrated preview, which makes it easier to preview sites as you only need to switch inside the application. The best thing about Espresso though is uploading to a site. There are 3 tools, update, merge and mirror. “Update” uploads all the files you have changed locally to the live server; “Merge” merges the files locally and on the server; and “Mirrors” mirrors everything on the server to your local disk and vice versa. This would be the selling point for me, and when Espresso comes out of Beta I may just buy a license.
Local Server Environment:
If you’re developing for the web on a mac, this application is a must. MAMP is a package which installs Apache, PHP and MySQL on your mac; best of all, it doesn’t mess with the built in Apache configuration that comes with Leopard. I find this an indispensable application for a few reasons. First, it installs PHPMyAdmin which I love for many reasons; and second, it’s quick to install. Just run the installer and you’re done, no messing with the terminal like when you install each separately. The best bit? It’s free. There is a paid version which gets you virtual hosts, dyndns and more.
View the complete list of applications to use on a budget!
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