This is the 3rd web project I have been developing and I have been a sole developer in all projects.
Now I need to change my style and don't know how to do it, so I need your suggestions.
My setup is;
Netbeans for PHP development
Github for private repository (As I am developing on Windows I found very hard to integrate Git-Windows-Netbeans so I can change it if needed)
Basecamp for project management (Even if I use GIT, I might change my GIT provider (github) and select a one which can be integrated with Basecamp)
My needs are;
For my current project, I will setup a dev server and test the changes there first. Then I will commit them to the production server. So I should be able to use netbeans while I can easily commit to my repository and apply the changes to the production server. How can I do it easily? Should I first commit to the repository and get the changes from the dev. server via command line? It seems a bit work to do this for every change. Should I directly upload to the dev. server, then commit the final changes to the repository and get the changes from there to the production server?
So, what do you suggest as a repository which can be integrated into the netbeans and how should I manage these changes?
I also would like to use one of these providers (http://basecamphq.com/extras - SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT TOOLS). So, if you have any suggestions from these companies too, that would be great
Thanks a lot,
Everyone's tastes vary.
There are many IDE/Editors, different version control systems, and even different methods of deploying to a live server.
So really the best way is to just experiment with different methods until you find one that suits you.
I will tell you how i do it, and take from it what you want.
And im sure this will be downvoted by certain people, but its what i found to suit me best.
My editor of choice is vim, but i also like Eclipse with the PDT plugin. Eclipse isn't as "snappy" as netbeans (at least on my computer), but its very nice.
I use SVN for my version control, this is just something that i have been using for years and i am comfortable with.
To deploy the latest code to my live servers i check out the trunk of my svn repo on my live server, for small changes i just commit them directly to trunk, but for larger changes i branch off the code to change, and then merge it back into trunk when its ready.
Then all i need to do is issue a "svn update" on live, and the new code gets checked out of the svn.
To avoid ssh'ing into the machine, this can even be called from a php script, from a protected file somewhere.
<?
$svnuser = username;
$svnpass = pass;
$returnString = exec("svn --username={$svnuser} --password={$svnpass} update 2>&1",$output,$returnVal);
header("Content-Type: text/plain");
print("Return value: {$returnVal}".PHP_EOL);
print("Return String: {$returnString}".PHP_EOL);
foreach($output as $line){
print($line.PHP_EOL);
}
?>
Related
At the moment I am using poor method to work at home and at work to do web development.
I use Wamp for testing/development and then I upload to a production web server (Linux) via FTP.
If I continue with the project at home, I have to download the files from FTP.
What is good method to work on same projects at multiple locations?
Someone suggest me to learn Git and get Github private account. Also suggested to get Vagrant installed at work and home. Do I need to install Git in Vagrant VM or local machine?
Learn git: http://try.github.io
Create a Vagrant/VrtualBox VM by following the directions at https://puphpet.com
One of the tricks here is to put the Vagrant stuff you get from Puphpet directly in your project and then commit all of it to git. You'll then be able to check out the project in a new environment and, as long as Vagrant and VirtualBox are installed, you can run vagrant up and be working in about 5 mins.
Here's an example of how I'm doing just that to allow people to easily try out a library I've written: https://github.com/jeremykendall/query-auth-impl.
Enjoy! Your life as a developer is about to get a lot easier and a whole lot better.
Github or Bitbucket. Git or Mercurial, and also Svn if it's just for yourself and you want an easier learning curve.
Any source control system would be ideal for this.
You don't want your production server to be the source of truth for the actual code. Those two concerns should definitely be separated. The production application is the output of the code, not the code itself. For a language like PHP the two may be identical, but the concerns themselves should still be separated. Indeed, for small systems the two services may even be hosted on the same server, but should still be logically separated.
The source control system maintains the changes made to the code over time, the production server is a snapshot of the current release version of the code.
I am an avid webdev hobbyist and freelance, up until now I simply edit the website live (put a maintenance message up while its being made), now all my projects up until now have also been very small.
eg I make a site, show em, take money and go, I've never had to work on a site after it's gone live.
Now my new project is pretty big and I know I will have to edit it after its gone live and maybe have a small team of devs (atm just me)
So how do people professionally handle this? I know I will need a prefix-amp app cos i run an apache server, I've also heared that people use github for versioning, but I'm not really sure because apparently its not svn?
Thanks
ps. I have a windows 7 pc, so no mac apps please
up until now i simply edit the website live
Terrible in my book ;)
so how do people professionally handle this?
First you need to setup a development server (it would be best to keep it as close as possible to the expected live environments). On this server you would install all the software you need.
You may also want to setup a staging server.
i know i will need a prefix-amp app
I hope you are not talking about those one click installers. If you would do it professionally you should install everything yourself that way you can set it up the way you need it.
ive also heared that people use github for versioning, but im not really sure because apparently its not svn?
GitHub is just a website. What you are looking for is git or svn for versioning. You could also setup a git or svn server locally instead of using services like GitHub. Basically what versioning is is that when somebody makes a change to the code he/she would need commit the changes. This way it is easy to keep track of changes in the codebase (like what was changed, when was it changed and by whom).
Local XAMP-stack (LAMP, or WAMP) for development
intranet-system for test and maybe staging
Of course the live system
Versioncontrol, I prefer git. Of course you can use SVN too, but... lets say: It's SVN.
Make changes local, test this changes local
everythings fine: Push it into the "master" vcs-repository
New version ready (or it's "sunday-night-release-time")? Push all that stuff on test/stage
Everythings fine there too: Push it into the live system
Thats very shortened of course, but it should give you an idea.
The tool where you manage your software version is not that important. Use Git, or SVN or whatever, the one you like most. But use _one_.
Equally important is that you run the "page" on two sites, a test and a live system, strictly apart. Both systems have to be very close in their layout, all changes must first be done in the test system, be verified and then done in the same manner in the live system. Do not allow changes only to be made to the live system ('cause it's just a small change'). No exceptions.
Then think about deployment: how will you transfer changed files to the target system ? You need routines for this, that run once started and don't forget a step in between.
Firstly you need some kind of versioning system: either SVN or Git. GitHub is simply an online service that provides managed Git repositories. Secondly you need a development server.
If it were just you doing development, you could host both of these on your local desktop PC, but since other developers are going to be joining, you need a remote server. If you don't want to be running a server out of your home, the best option is a VPS (virtual private server) on which you can install Git, Apache, etc. and anything else you need.
As for development software, take your pick- there are loads of options. A common choice is the NetBeans IDE and TortoiseGit combo. You use NetBeans to develop your code on, automatically uploading to your development server, then you TortoiseGit to commit and sync changes.
Only when you're ready to go live do you copy the code from the dev server to the production server.
We are two in a team working on the same project. i am on MAC and the other one is on PC. i have never used SVN before. googling about the SVN gave me basic understanding about svn. and what i understood is there should be subversion installed in client machine (i do not know which client, i assume there are many like versions and cornerstone for mac, tortoise for windows etc. and i require a repository where i will host the centralized version of the application. the client will get the copy of codes or files where they can commit the changes to repository (main application). which can be undone if required. however what i don't understand is, as our PHP code uses database(mysql in my case) how is it managed by SVN client?
lastly i expect my development environment to be implemented the following way.
i want to set up my mac as development server for SVN at the same
time i would like to work in the same machine making use of SVN.
PC should access the repository from MAC and commit the changes.
all the setup should be done and implemented locally via LAN. please correct me if i am wrong on my understanding about the svn and also do guide me about the requirements and resources i need to install in both the machine for me to get going using SVN for my projects.
thank you..
You can use your Mac both for hosting your SVN repository and also use it as the client to checkout your working copy. Have a look at this link (its slightly old but you'll get the gist).
Once you have the SVN repository setup you can enable HTTP access on it so that your partner can checkout the copy and commit changes to it. Have a look here on how to enable HTTP access for your repository.
Most modern day PHP Frameworks use migrations scripts that help in building and maintaining your database schema, if possible use a framework. Have a look at the migrations script of one of the frameworks for inspiration (i.e if you can't use a framework). Migration scripts under the hood fire create table or alter table commands, and all you do is add the migration files to your SVN repository to version control your database schema.
One caveat with hosting the SVN repository on your Mac is that for some reason if its down, your partner gets stuck as code changes can't be committed and new changes can't be checked out. Have a look at this thread for free online private SVN repositories. In case you want to go the paid route GitHub.com is awesome.
I develop on my own and use a repository hosted on http://www.springloops.com. On here I just export the database to a text file and keep historic changes to the database on there. Clearly this is not suitable for a team working together on a project unless you're well coordinated in recording your database changes.
This question looks useful MySQL Version Control - Subversion though it's specific to mysql subversioning - not quite the answer to your broader question.
Each machine should have the relevant Client software, I recommend Tortoise SVN for Windows - it's pretty popular. There is bound to be a similar alternative SVN Client for OSX that you can get your hands on.
I've read a number of topics in the same sort of ballpark as this one, but in all honesty I'm still not exactly sure on the best approach (as a starting point). I am a solo developer in a small office and I have around 30 websites which are hosted on a linux VPS. I want to start using using version control (probably SVN) and also set up a staging server. At the moment, I do development either locally on my machine before using FTP to upload to the live server, or ocassionally for small changes I edit the remote files directly, which is not an ideal approach.
I'm looking for some guidance on how to improve my development environment. I imagine I should be installing SVN on the web server, which would then allow me to check out versions to my local machine (which would also require SVN i think). Also, if I want to set up a staging server, should I just set up subdomains for each of the live websites, then use these subdomains for showing clients changes to the site before making them live?
Hope this makes sense!
This is what we do at work:
We have a staging server running Apache and a Subversion server. We have a post commit hook that updates a working copy in the htdocs directory, that way, when a developer commits something it automatically gets updated on the staging server, so everyone can see the latest code.
On the client's production servers (the ones we can control) we have the Subversion client installed and the website is a working copy. When we need to update the live site we login to a shell and run svn up. If you do something like this, make sure to limit access to the .svn directories, either with .htaccess files or from the main Apache config.
We have a custom app that manages the projects, but that is only because we're lazy and don't want to setup each project by hand, the app creates the necessary directories and working copies. You could write a quick script to do this.
We never, ever, edit files via FTP on the live site. All in all we have been using this setup for almost 2 years and aside from the occasional conflict on the staging server, we never have had any problems.
You can actually install the SVN server on your local machine, which I would recommend in lieu of installing it on the web server (assuming you make backups). The easiest thing to do, since it’s only you using it, would be to use the file:// protocol, but using svnserve is a little more robust, and the preferred method if you want to take the time to do it.
#Michael, I disagree - I would say it's better to install on the linux vps, especially if you are already paying for the hosting service. I find it very helpful to be able to browse and download stuff from my svn repo wherever I am, from whatever computer I'm on.
#nicky, I started with svn (and version control) several years ago and I took baby steps which made it easier to tackle.
If I had to do it over again, I'd read the svn book to start with. The book is very well laid out and didn't take more than 1-2 days to plow thru.
While you're reading, install svn on your linux vps with an apache front end.
Once you have that up, pick one of your websites and import it into svn. This is how I structure my svn repo. For example, say my repo is hosted at http://mysvn.mydomain.com/svn/:
mywebsite1
- trunk
- tags
- branches
mywebsite2
- trunk
- tags
- branches
Don't worry about creating the perfect structure. It's pretty easy to re-organize especially when you're starting out. After you import a few projects into svn, you'll start to get a feel for which projects should have their own "trunk/tags/branches" dir structure and which can be combined.
For creating test environments, I do exactly what you describe. I use build scripts to checkout from svn and download files into dirs that are mapped to subdomains like "test.clientsite.com" (I work primarily in java and use ant and maven, but I think you can use whatever scripting language you're familiar with).
Once you get used to version control, you'll never go back, good luck!
We have a PHP project that we would like to version control. Right now there are three of us working on a development version of the project which resides in an external folder to which all of our Eclipse IDEs are linked, and thus no version control.
What is the right way and the best way to version control this?
We have an SVN set up, but we just need to find a good way to check in and out that allows us to test on the development server. Any ideas?
We were in a similar situation, and here's what we ended up doing:
Set up two branches -- the release and development branch.
For the development branch, include a post-commit hook that deploys the repository to the dev server, so you can test.
Once you're ready, you merge your changes into the release branch. I'd also suggest putting in a post-commit hook for deployment there.
You can also set up individual development servers for each of the team members, on their workstations. I find that it speeds things up a bit, although you do have some more setup time.
We had to use a single development server, because we were using a proprietary CMS and ran into licensing issues. So our post-commit hook was a simple FTP bot.
Here is what we do:
Each dev has a VM that is configured like our integration server
The integration server has space for Trunk, each user, and a few slots for branches
The production server
Hooks are in Subversion to e-mail when commits are made
At the beginning of a project, the user makes a branch and checks it out on their personal VM as well as grabs a clean copy of the database. They do their work, committing as they go.
Once they have finished everything in their own personal space they log into the integration server and check out their branch, run their tests, etc. When all that passes their branch is merged into Trunk.
Trunk is rebuilt, the full suite of tests are run, and if all is good it gets the big ol' stamp of approval, tagged in SVN, and promoted to Production at the end of the night.
If at any point a commit by someone else is made, we get an e-mail and can merge those changes into our individual branches.
Beanstalk has built-in post-commit hooks for deploying to development, staging, and production servers.
One way to use subversion for PHP development is too setup a repository for one or all three developers, and use this repository, more as a syncing tool, than true version control.
You could,
Make a repo
Add your entire PHP document structure of your project
Checkout a copy of this repo into the correct spot on your dev server
Use an svn hook, that activates on commit
This hook, will automatically update the contents of the dev sever, whenever anybody on the team checks in any code.
Hook resides in:
svn_dir/repo_name/hooks/post-commit
And could look like:
/usr/bin/svn up /path_to/webroot --username svn_user --password svn_pass
That will update your working copy on the dev server to the latest check in.
What about something distributed? You can start for example with Mercurial, try different workflows, and see which one fits you the best.
Each of you could run it locally, or on your own dev server (or even the same one with a different port...).
One possible way (there are probably better ways):
Each of you should have your own checked out version of the project.
Have a local copy of the server on your computer and test it there throughout the day. Then at the end of each day (or whenever), you merge together whatever you are ready to test, and you check it out onto the dev server and test it.
Another tool you can use for the builds is TeamCity which is free for 20 build configurations (enough for most small companies/projects.) This way you can run your tests as well as schedule builds.