My top Mac apps for web development
I’ve seen many blogs from colleague web developers sharing their top 10 mac apps or something like that, I always find it interesting to read what applications they use. So here I am sharing my top applications I use daily for my work.
I am not putting the apps in a Top # order but in order how many times I use it, or the importance for the app to me.
Coda
Coda is in my eyes the holy grail of web development apps in the genre Text editors, but it’s so much more then just a text editor. Many people prefer Text Mate, I’ve tried that too, but once using coda u never go back. Hehe. Coda is lightweight and fast to use, It has build in Sites to save your sites obviously, very easy to use. And it has a build-in preview option, but I don’t use that, I prefer switching to Firefox. What I do use is the build in Books option, this lets you view for instance the PHP documentation, and you can easily search the books. For more information about all functionalities of coda like Sites, Preview, CSS, Terminal and Books visit their website.
Pipette
Pipette is a quick and handy tool to easily grab the color of any pixel on your screen, and copy the HEX code to your clipboard. Its fast and lightweight which is pretty important to me. Having to wait for an app is very frustrating while developing.
Transmit
Transmit, from the same developers as Coda. Again is the holy grail in the genre FTP apps. Very easy to use, and the app design is very slick. It also has an Sync option which synchronizes your local folder with the external folder, a time saver. Also the performance of the app is super fast. For more information visit the Transmit website.
Querious
For many years I used phpMyAdmin for mysql database management, but since I found Querious I never touched it again. Having mysql management directly from my desktop saves time, works faster and again in a slick design. You can easaly connect to the mysql database server directly, or use a SSH or SSL tunnel. More info visit the website.
Firebug
The number one extension for FireFox for web developers, I simply can’t or won’t do my work anymore without this extension. Inspect elements, debug AJAX responses and output, you name it and Firebug has it. If you are a big fan using Firefox while developing u should definitely have Firebug enabled. It’s a must have for developers.
Versions
When you are using Subversion while developing your project, Versions is a handy application to check timeline’s, checkout your work or browse the repository, view changes etc. If you are using Coda it is not required since Coda has Subversion build in. But I like to use this app to view changes or check the timeline. Also it’s easy for checking out changes to multiple sources.
Billings
Time management, client management, invoices, project timeline etc. Billings has it all. I use this application to log my work by simply turning on the timer. You can add working slips to your project and invoice these to your customer. They also have a nice iPhone app which connects to your Billings. To view all the functionalities visit the Billings website.
QuickSilver
I simply can’t and wont work on a Mac without quicksilver, it’s a time saver for sure. Easily start your applications by simply typing the name and hitting return. This should be standard on all mac’s if you ask me. I think all mac users also know this app, at least all mac users I know have it installed and can’t go without it. Check it out.
If you have a nice app that fits on this page please post a comment 
Share what apps you use.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Michel Hiemstra on May 13, 2010 at 6:07 pm, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
