What do I need to know about software and hosting?
Jen's criteria for great software for front end web development fits this learning environment:
- Free, or at least a lengthy free trial
- Works on Mac and PC
- Fairly easy to use
- When possible, an industry standard that you might encounter in a "real" job.
This is how software is chosen for class. It may not be the right fit for your web development company, but it works for this class!
Do I have to use the software and hosting that Jen recommends for this class?
No. You can use whatever you want. However, be aware that Jen (and TAs) only supports the software and hosting described here. You can use other software and other hosting, but you're on your own for support issues. If you're OK with that, we're OK with that.
What is Jen using?
Some students like to follow along with Jen EXACTLY like she does in lecture. If you are one of those types of students, you will want to follow the list below.
Web hosting
It's expected that you will post your assignments to your web hosting. Why? Because in the real world, you don't zip up your files and email them somewhere... you post them to a website.
To post things to a website, you'll need web hosting and a FTP program.
For web hosting, you can get a year's free web hosting through SiteGround Links to an external site.. This web hosting is compatible with PHP and MySQL, so you can use it in DGMD E-25 (the content management system course) as well.
To get free hosting through SiteGround, you need a harvard.edu email address. You can register for one of these. DO NOT WAIT TO REGISTER as you can't get one instantly anymore.
FTP software
You will need a way to transfer your files to the server. You can do this with a FTP program, like FileZilla Links to an external site., or you can do this with the control panel that comes with your web hosting. Jen usually uses FileZilla, but on occasion she will work with the control panel (especially if there's any permissions requirements that need to be changed for the files).
A way to edit HTML and CSS
Jen uses SublimeText 3 Links to an external site.. She adds a bunch of plugins to complete the configuration.
Other students like Brackets, Aptana, Notepad++, and Dreamweaver. These are all just fine to use. Personally, I would not spend the money on Dreamweaver... but perhaps you are different.
(You should be familiar with code view in Dreamweaver, and you should be able to write your own code. If you are trying to get through class using Design View, and/or if you don't know code, you probably won't be very successful.)
A Sass compiler
When we get to the Sass unit, we'll work with Koala, a Sass compiler. More details on that later.