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0 pointsAvalaxy11y ago0 comments

Sure. Couple of scenarios where I've seen people working on a server and why that's bad:

1) The developers in this company that work with ColdFusion develop their software on a dev server because they would otherwise require expensive licenses for each dev machine. This means that devs often find themselves editting the same file. It also means that one dev can break the software for all other devs. Last but not least, it makes version control a ton harder.

2) Another scenario is where you fix a bug on the production server to roll out a fix as soon as possible. Sometimes this is acceptable, but there's a big risk because you no longer have the ability to test the code first. This also makes version control harder, because the next time you deploy your code, the changes will get overwritten.

3) Working with a remote IDE or just having your own development server: doesn't really make any sense, most devices (laptops, PCs, tablets) can run some kind of IDE/editor locally and allow you to run the code locally. Using remote software only adds a huge dependency on having a working internet/network connection.

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3 comments · 3 top-level

aidos11y ago

Actually, I have a coldfusion app that I look after (small amounts of maintenance). These days it's easiest for me to simply make changes in the production machine and then commit/push when done. It's not a big deal if you're the sole developer and the changes are simple enough.

Regarding the license issue, I believe Adobe have a developer edition that's free to install but is limited to a single ip accessing it. That may have changed now - I've used an open source alternative called Railo for years that away better in almost every way.

My setup day to day is a local vagrant machine I ssh into and do everything from there (vim). Some of my work requires far more powerful machines so I also have machines running at AWS that I use in exactly the same way with exactly the same config.

I just got sick to death of trying to install / configure stuff on OS X where nothing works quite as it should.

snowwrestler11y ago

This all seems related to web development. A friend of mine codes for genetic research and the data sets are far too big, and the processing too intensive, to run on any laptop. He works directly on the server because that is the only place his code can run.

SpaceInvader11y ago

Well, that is true if you're working on the production code directly and this is not always the case when working on remote server.

But I understand your point of view. :)

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