Starting Computer Science: A Good Web Development Enviroment for Linux? | Hacker News Reader

Starting Computer Science: A Good Web Development Enviroment for Linux?

3 pointsAlexN10 comments

Hello, I'm just starting my Computer Science studies, for the moment as hobby, studying at nights after a full time job. I'm starting from zero.

Could you recommend me a good set of web development tools (IDE, I guess) for Ubuntu? (I'm not trying to start a flamewar, I guess good options from KDE and Gnome will appear, both are fine for me)

I plan to focus on LAMP. (specially interested in Python)

Thanks in advance. Alex

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For the budding student, Ubuntu is a fantastic idea. Good idea also with LAMP. I recommend using simply phpmyadmin for your backend work as it's simple and intuitive. Get XChat and stay tuned to the #ubuntu, #python, #apache, channels etc for instant assistance. I believe there's a Dr. Python IDE/Interpreter, similar to Dr. Scheme... if you look in Synaptic and do a search for python, you'll find a few IDEs you can install and take for a whirl. I have Netbeans and Eclipse installed, but for quick throwaway programs, nothing beating the terminal, Vi and/or Gedit.

Best of luck!

PHPmyadmin? Only behind the firewall please, it's pretty much equivalent to a root login with a 'changeme123' password if it's publicly accessible.

If you want to use a graphical SQL client use http://www.squirrelsql.org/ (mysql is not the only database, squirrel talks to most of the common ones including mssql, sybase, postgres and oracle)

Thanks to ALL for the responses.

I will look at those SCIP lectures. I'm not really that noob, but I wanted you to assume that when giving me advice.

Also will check the developer toolbar for firefox.

I have never used IRC, maybe later I will make use of them, thanks.

Thanks for pointing me to Django, that will be later, when I have developed my skills.

BTW: Ubuntu is awesome.

I plan to focus on LAMP. (specially interested in Python)

Well, you're already off to a great start, and welcome to Hacker News. Take a look at Django if you're interested in Python. Fantastic documentation, and great support on a variety of things.

Do you think is worth trying Python 2.6 or maybe (asumming it's going to take a while for me, and maybe by that time will be stable) better focus on the new Python 3k?

That's a good question. I want to say start with python 2.6 and get the fundamentals under your belt, but at the same time I picked up PHP right in the middle of the transition period to PHP4. That said, my best advice would be to start with 3 and have all the new concepts right away.

Get the webdeveloper toolbar for firefox3 and install firebug; learn to use those tools to examine other websites.

Pick an editor (vim, emacs, gedit, kate; whatever works for you) and learn it to the point where you can add functions to it.

If you are starting Computer Science then you want to download the SICP lectures from MIT and work through the examples in Scheme before even thinking about making websites.

Could you give a link for those lectures?

Here you go:

http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.001/abelson-sussma...

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