Resources for Web Developers on Ubuntu

Below are some links to software and web sites that I use on a regular basis. I post these as a resource for myself (when I inevitably have to rebuild a box) and in the hopes that it is useful to others.

Applications

Firefox: the majority of readers will already be users, or at least aware of this excellent browser, but I mention it to give context to the add-ons below (and because it is so good).

Add-ons (a.k.a. Extensions)

• Firebug: The ability to debug and step through JavaScript code is amazing. I have never used Microsoft’s products for web development (which I understand also provide this ability) so this is practically revolutionary for me.
• Web Developer: A collection of very handy tools for Web Developers. You have the option to use it as a toolbar, or keep it out of sight, and access its tools through the context menu.
• Live HTTP Headers: A simple tool that allows you to see the request and response HTTP headers. Although, the Firebug add-on contains header information as well, I keep coming back to Live HTTP Headers as it is simpler to use.
• Google Browser Sync: I never found bookmarks useful until I found this add-on. With this tool you can synchronize bookmarks between multiple Firefox installations. As an added bonus, it serves as a backup when you need to unexpectedly scrub your box.

Eclipse: As an Ubuntu user, that needs a full featured Java IDE, Eclipse is a pretty solid choice. Installation is a snap (apt-get, done) and the plugins can make it very powerful.

Plugins

• Aptana: IDEs or Eclipse Plugins to assist in AJAX development are few at this point. Aptana seems to be a pretty good choice so far and works with many of the major JavaScript libraries out-of-the-box. It has excellent documentation and is open source to boot.
• Subversive: I just started using this plugin. Until recently I was using Subclipse but found it a bit buggy and awkward to use. So far, Subversive has been a pretty solid replacement. I’ll need more time to fully vet it though.
• Veloeclipse: A plugin that will aid in developing velocity templates. It provides some much needed syntax highlighting and other features. What is Velocity? Velocity is an awesome Apache replacement for JSP.
• QuickREx: An indispensable tool for writing/testing your regular expressions. Includes a very handy method of converting your RegEx into Java syntax (you know, extra escape characters to make the RegEx less readable)

Useful Sites

• Regular-Expressions.info: A very handy reference site for looking up some of the more obscure aspects of Regular Expressions or trying to write a Regex in a new language.