What's your development environment?

[titaniumtommy]

I'm wondering what y'all use as a development environment? Do you have a staging domain with separate database so you can test your changes before you deploy to your store? If so, do you use a different database? Is it possible to use the same database and have a set of pages (staging environment) pointing to the production database?

[jpf]

Lunix or Windows based - Apache (perfered) or MS-IIS - php and MySQL - latest stable/production version possable (not the latest beta - too unreailable).

I tend to develop on Windows (using a varity of editors) and deploy on Linux.

Other than that- Any way you want. I have setup test stores in a number of ways to be accessed.

Single domain with diffent sub directories. (like www.localhost/test1/catalog/ and www.localhost/my_other_test/catalog/ ) with it accessing the same or differnt databases.

To even mulit domains/servers/url - all accessing the SAME Database.

It depend on what your doing. If your doing site setup (look and feal) then using the same database for diffent sites is okay - ONLY if the "MODS" (that make changed to the DATABASE) are loaded and installed is the same on each.

For sites that use diffent mods then a differnt database has to be used.

Also it you do most of your configuration at the the test site then you will also need a spearate database from the other test sites. I always setup my "test" sites database with as much of the the same setting (username/password/directoires) as the "live" site is to have. Just makes it a bit less confusing.


As for domain name - I don't bother (I use localhost or a single IP address) - but other people some times do if they are working on a few sites and they want there "many" clients to be able to view online your progress or to demo several diffent sites.

Typically 3rd level domain name is fine ie: www.testsite1.mylivesite.com, www.customernamedemo.mylivesite.com, or www.demo.mylivesite.com.

Personally I just use directorories like http://127.0.0.1/demosite1/catalog, or http://127.0.0.1/customername/catalog etc....


Good Luck