A good host is hard to come by, but Media Temple is by far the best I’ve come across in all the years I have been developing for the web. For low-traffic sites, their Grid Service seriously can’t be beat, and for more demanding applications, their DV service is a fifth of the cost of a dedicated host without the compromises you might expect.
Dropbox is an excellent and free tool that lets you share files among different groups and clients. I wrote more about Dropbox in this post. Sign up for Dropbox with this link and get an extra 250MB of shared space for free!
LockBox is a free, secure repository for all of your sensitive bits of information. Examples include passwords, account log-ins, product serials and more. LockBox can store almost any information you want. How you use it is up to you.
Link: http://lockbox.cc
A free online tool that quickly packs your JavaScript and CSS code for optimal download speed.
A free, open source, web-based tool for developers who need a visual tool to build MySQL queries quickly and intuitively.
Links:
New to web development? Here are five books that absolutely must be on your bookshelf. I use them so frequently, my copies are dog-eared and coffee-stained. I'm even on my second copy of two of them.
If you bounce between programming languages, and have to dust off the syntax, the PHP Cookbook is a fantastic resource. Well indexed, and exceedingly thorough, this book is a must-have.
Programming PHP is also a must-have given its in-depth explanation not only of the lexicon and basics, but also its detailed explanations of some more advanced concepts such as object oriented programming, script security, error handling, and performance tuning.
You'll learn more about optimizing MySQL in High Performance MySQL than you ever will from the MySQL manual.
Fat. Definitive. Exhaustive. Terrible if you're human. Fantastic if you're a book. JavaScript - The Definitive Guide is the bible for JavaScript.
Look, ma! Stupid web tricks! Actually, this is a handy way to get up to speed on DHTML painlessly. Like the indispensable PHP Cookbook, JavaScript & DHTML Cookbook will quickly become your go-to reference for real-world JavaScript.
Links:
MapTechnica.com offers free mapping tools like US 5-Digit Zip Code Maps and US County Maps. MapTechnica.com also sells ready-to-use map overlay tile sets that can be used for custom Google Maps applications, and processed data files that can be used for online geographical data applications. If you are creating online mapping apps for to visualize geographic data, visit MapTechnica.com for the mapping resources you'll need to succeed.
I just discovered this little gem today. Intel has something called an Application Accelerator that speeds the data transfer from disc to processor. It’s available on certain chipsets. Check this link to see if it will work for you.
Sphere: Related ContentOne not-so-great aspect of using Flash is how crowded your environment can be when using only one monitor (a dual-monitor setup is highly recommended). I find that my ActionScript window is constantly competing for valuable screen space with my timeline window.
Well Dreamweaver to the rescue. Go File > New > Basic Page > ActionScript to open an AS document. Reference it in your Flash doc by using the ‘#include’ directive (e.g. #include “my_as_doc.as”). Now you can Alt+Tab between Dreamweaver and Flash while you are developing your ActionScript and testing it in Flash. It’s a godsend.
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