Development Environment

Here is a description of the One True Way you shall develop Plone code:

• It's better on a Mac or a Unix/Linux box.
• Use a powerful editor:
  • Emacs (the Mac version called Aquamacs is very nice)
  • TextMate
  • WingIDE (a very nice integrated editor with debugging capabilities)
  • Sublime Text 2, especially with Martin Aspeli's setup
  • Eclipse, especially the Pydev variant
• Use multiple browsers. We use Safari, Chrome, and Firefox primarily, but remember you will have to test with IE (all versions). Firefox is nice because you can use add-ons such as WebDeveloper toolbar or Firebug to debug your custom style sheets. There are other add-ons to track HTTP requests and inspect headers, etc. Chrome and Safari have similar Inspector functionality.
• Having multiple monitors will save your sanity.
• Develop locally on your laptop.
• Write lots of unit tests. Nathan can show you how.
• If in doubt, ask. You can reach us on the campus IM network's plone chat room. IRC is blocked on campus, unfortunately, but if you have access to an off site machine you can use IRC from it and connect to the real Plone chat room. Otherwise IM us (ask us for our various accounts) or email us individually or better yet email the campus Plone users and developer mailing lists.