Over the past weeks, I noticed that open source software has replaced almost any closed source application in my workflow. Most likely I started to use them because they were freely available and I don’t have tons of money available for all those software packages. On the other hand, I just try to choose the application that gets the job done in the most efficient way, therefore the software doesn’t have to be Open Source.
Here is a part of the applications I use almost daily.
Netbeans
My main IDE, a essential tool for any PHP developer. Although this open source program is written as a Java IDE, it has native support for C/C++, PHP, JavaScript and many more. It has an excellent project manager to easily manage a lot of websites, this includes support for adding libraries and automatic FTP uploads.
And that is just a fraction of its possibilities, the editor has live parsing, refactoring and terribly good code completion (configurable to your needs). Also version control systems are available like CVS and Subversion and a really nice diff viewer that compares files per line or even per sign.
This piece of software runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and even Solaris. I recommend Netbeans to any Dreamweaver user who works in code mode, give it a spin and if you like it you’ll save a lot of money.
Website: www.netbeans.org
Geany
This tool runs quite often next to Netbeans (or sometimes instead of Netbeans). It is accualy a lightweight GTK2 based text editor and, like many editors on linux, it has syntax highlighting for a zillion languages and automatic code completion. In my latest projects, I’ve used it mainly as a Python editor/debugger and I also took my first steps in C++ with it a few months ago.
It has build-in support for using the compilers installed on your system and you can use any terminal you prefer. Recently they also have released some Windows builds, more info on there website, although I’d recommend using Notepad++ on Windows.
Website: www.geany.org
GIMP
GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program, in other words, the replacement for Adobe Photoshop on Linux. Probably the only, such advanced and well known, open source photo manipulation program. I mostly use it as an addition to Inkscape and recently Scribus to preform web design tasks like creating buttons and simple backgrounds.
Like with Netbeans, you’ll save a lot of money if you are willing to try something different. If you can’t get used to the interface, than check GIMPshop, it is a hack that imitates Adobe’s Photoshop interface including menu structure. Both applications are available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
Website: www.gimp.org
Inkscape
Another essential program for creating graphical designs. It has, for only being at version 0.46, a very nice set of tools on board. Most of the stuff in Advertising is made with this program and also the menu structures you see on this website. This program is a replacement for Adobe Illustrator and is available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. The program sometimes has its quirks and you’ll notice it is still not complete.
Website: www.inkscape.org
Scribus
Scribus is fairly new to me. I’ve heard about people using Adobe’s InDesign but didn’t really know what it was. After some research and finding out it is one of the many applications from Adobe that costs too much and doesn’t even run on Linux, I’ve found Scribus as a alternative.
At first, it was a little confusing what the program actually did but then I found the light. Immediately I started trying out both the trial from InDesign and Scribus and tried to reproduce the design of this website. I got stuck in InDesign fairly quick because I needed to install a third party plugin or another program for just doing something essential like pattern fill, I didn’t even found usable documentation on the net. Scribus on the other hand had a quick manual which put me on the right path instant.This gave me enough courage to learn Scribus first and drop InDesign until a later point in time.
Like most popular open source software, this program is available on Mac OS X, Linux and Windows, there is even a build for OS/2.
Website: www.scribus.net
rdesktop
If you need to manage Windows servers from your workstation, this tool is a necessity. It has support for any server reaching from Windows 2000 and NT 4.0 till Windows 2008. The program is very flexible and can be used at almost any resolution. It is all command line, but some GUI clients are around. This program is available from source and is included in most linux distributions repositories. It is also known to build on Mac OS X, but Microsoft has released a RDP client for Mac. An RDP client is included by default on almost any Windows disc.
Website: www.rdesktop.org
VirtualBox
At last we have VirtualBox. An easy way to simulate testing environments on your computer. This is useful for both web developers as for offline application engineers. You can test your program and make or break the system without harming your main operating system. Web developers probably use it mostly to run all kinds of web browsers on a wide variety of operating systems. It is another Sun Microsystems application that fits in the row or Netbeans (see above), OpenOffice.org and MySQL.
Conclusion
I can continue for a long time, talking about the wonderful world of open source. I’ll stop now and give you a chance to explore all of these great projects. In the end, you just have to make the decision which program you like most and think is the right one for the job and go for it. I doesn’t matter if it is open source, as long as you can see it as equals to commercial projects.